Sister cities of Coldstream

Coldstream (Scots: Caustrim, Scottish Gaelic: An Sruthan Fuar) is a small town in the Borders district of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Tweed in Berwickshire, while Northumberland in England lies to the south bank, with Cornhill-on-Tweed the nearest village. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, and is the location where Edward I of England invaded Scotland in 1296.

In February 1316 during the Wars of Scottish Independence, Sir James Douglas defeated a numerically superior force of Gascon soldiery led by Edmond de Caillou at the Skaithmuir to the north of the town.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Coldstream was a popular centre for runaway marriages, much like Gretna Green, as it lay on a major road (now the A697). Notable buildings in the town include the toll house where marriages were conducted, and The Hirsel, which is the family seat of the Earls of Home.

An imposing monument to Charles Marjoribanks, MP for Berwickshire, stands at the east end of the town, near the Coldstream Bridge.

Alec Douglas-Home, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1964, is buried in Coldstream.

Each year, during the first week of August, Coldstream hosts a traditional "Civic Week" where it includes historical aspects of the town's history such as the Torchlight procession and horse-rides to the Battle of Flodden battlefield.

A history of the town has been published by Coldstream and District Local History Society, 'Second to None A History of Coldstream', 2009.

Books by Antony Chessell relating to the town and surrounding area are 'Coldstream Building Snippets Cans, Quoins and Coursers', 2010; 'The Braw Trees of Coldstream', 2011 and 'Leet Water From Source to Tweed', 2012.