Berwick News
Riding the Bounds - 1 May 2011
04 May 2011
Continuing a 402 year-old tradition of Riding the Bounds, the Town Mayor gave her permission on Sunday 1 May for almost seventy riders to check the boundaries of Berwick .
The historic event started at Berwick Barracks as the riders, led by the chief marshall, Shaun Eltringham, headed to the Guild Hall in Marygate to seek permission from the town's Mayor to check the town's boundaries are intact.
Berwick's bounds date back to 1438 when representatives from England and Scotland agreed where one country would end and the other begin. Records show that as early as 1542 the bounds of Berwick upon Tweed were patrolled to remind the English and the Scottish where the boundaries lay.
While the need to protect against encroachment by the Scots has long since past, the 15 mile ride is still a popular event and a much celebrated part of Berwick tradition drawing in hundreds of spectators to the town.