Scottish watershed

Similarly Cumbernauld is a point on this line and arguably its Gaelic name has, for hundreds of years, reflected this fact.

Although the concept of geographical watersheds is common, the first unequivocal reference to the Scottish watershed is to be found in Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of 1884, in which the entry defines the northern terminus as being at Duncansby Head.

This was followed in 1912 with the Bartholomew Atlas Survey (NLS) which shows the entire geographic feature, from the border with England to Duncansby Head.

It was mapped out in that year by Dave Hewitt, who in 1987 then walked the line of the watershed from south to north.

[1] The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) reviewed Wright`s 'Ribbon of Wildness' in 2011, and in acknowledging the significance of the route, stated that "Ribbon of Wildness gives a vivid introduction to this hitherto largely unknown geographic feature".

The first miles of the Tweed further upriver than the burn that carries the name Tweed, this is a confluence of the Powskein and Whitehope Burns. The Whitehope Burn is probably the branch of the system furthest from Berwick. The hill is Chalk Rig and it carries the Dumfriesshire/Peeblesshire march and the East-West watershed of Scotland.
Dave Hewitt en route back to the watershed route after a rest day in Shiel Bridge in 1987.