Festival celebrates 'spiritual home' of salmon fishing

A second edition of the festival aimed at boosting the River Tweed's reputation as the global home of salmon fishing is being held in the Borders.

The Tweed Salmon Festival, launched last year, returns this Saturday and Sunday and has been organised by local ghillies, anglers and fly-casting instructors.

The free event is being staged at the Schloss Roxburghe Hotel near Kelso.

Last year, close to 1,000 people took part in a weekend of activities, with just under 100 people recorded to have caught a fish for the first time.

The event attracted some of the most famous fly fishers from around the world and this year, the new Scandinavian documentary series, Wild Fish, Wild Places, is basing its latest episode on the event and the Tweed.

Main organiser Eoin Fairgrieve, a former world spey-casting champion, said: "Much like St Andrews is the 'home of golf', my hometown of Kelso has such a long and proud history with Atlantic salmon fishing.

"I've been fortunate to work alongside some leading anglers and instructors from North and South America to Scandinavia and Russia, and they regard the River Tweed as the spiritual home of Atlantic salmon fishing."

This year they are launching their first annual journal with articles on "every aspect of fishing" and much more.

Eoin said that to have Swedish filmmaker Emilie Björkman attending was "another coup".

"But, again, it just underlines the place the Tweed holds in the Atlantic salmon fishing world," he added.

There will also be instruction available for anyone looking to take up the sport throughout the weekend.

"This year's festival will be bigger with more on offer," said Eoin.

"But with the social fun it remains true to its original values of offering a friendly, welcoming pathway into fly-fishing on the River Tweed system and raising awareness of the need for Atlantic salmon conservation."