The bird on the bell tower

After a full-on day at work (it's report time and, with the deadline fast approaching, much somewhat more stressful than usual), I walked into Berwick. Had a few minutes to spare, so wandered down through the Greenses and had a look at the bell tower.

Apparently, it stands on the line of Berwick's first town walls. This Elizabethan tower, built in 1577 on the foundations of a mediaeval building, is the only example left in Britain. But bell towers were once common features of a mediaeval town's defences, and served as a lookout point as well as somewhere from which to raise the alarm. This one provided views to the north - Scotland - and out to sea.