Goodbye to Scotland

Today would see us leave Scotland after nearly 13 days of walking – a huge country!

We left Lockerbie (Scottish Gaelic: Locarbaidh) on our way down to Carlisle. Even though Lockerbie only came to prominence after the tragedy of Pan Am 103 it has existed since as early as 900 and the Viking influence on the area. Remains of Roman Camps close by suggest that Lockerbie could have existed even earlier.

It was great to be joined by Stuart and Ryan for today’s journey.

A slightLy earlier start than usual meant it was quite chilly as we left and we knew a big rainstorm was heading our way for the afternoon, but we headed down the road to much the same type of scenery that we had been “experiencing” for the last two days.

Finally – we walked into a village – Ecclefechan (Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais Fheichein – probably meaning “little church”). The village is famous as being the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle who was also buried there. Archibald Arnott, Napoleon’s doctor on St Helena, was also born in Ecclefechan in 1772 and returned to Ecclefechan in his retirement and he was also buried in the Ecclefechan churchyard.

After the rain started it was a reasonably long slog to reach the village of Gretna Green. For those who don’t know (or need to be reminded) Gretna Green is most famous for weddings, following the 1754 Marriage Act, which prevented couples under the age of 21 marrying in England or Wales without their parents’ consent. As it was still legal in Scotland to marry, couples began crossing the border in to Scotland and their first stop was the Famous Blacksmiths Shop, Gretna Green.

Despite the driving rain, we just had to stop and take a picture at the Welcome to England sign. We have had 600km of walking in the most amazing scenery from the top to bottom of Scotland and have been left with a hugely positive impression. (I’m glad I’ll be back up to the Highlands for some Scottish Winter Climbing in January).

Having crossed the border we were now walking alongside the M6 – it was raining heavily and the wind was driving it into us from the right (almost horizontally). It was a huge relief when the rain stopped just as we reached Carlisle. After crossing the River Eden we finally arrived at our city centre hotel and could look forward to tomorrow’s day of rest.

The sponsorship we have received so far now stands at over £41,000 which is going to be a huge benefit to Haven House. If you have donated already then thank you so mUch – if not then you know what you should do 🙂

Thanks to Stuart and Ryan for taking time out to join us today – we hope the blisters heal quickly!