I couldn’t decide on the title for this one, so I gave you a choice of two. I think I prefer the second one! There’s a wee prize for those who can tell me what “Failte” means.
Scotland is cold. It’s lucky that it’s so picturesque or else it would have lost a great many brownie points. Our first stop was Gretna Green. This small, wee town is famous for it’s runaway weddings. I was hoping I’d run into Brad before visiting this place, not after. This place is like the Vegas of Scotland, but to be fair, it’s been around a lot longer. One out of every six Scottish wedding take place here. Basically, from about 1753, if you were under 21 and lived in England you had to get your folks consent to marry the bloke/chick you liked. We all know how likely that would be…your parents liking your choice at that age! Solution? Go to Gretna Green. Problem solved. It was the first village in Scotland so out of the English jurisdiction. All those crazy elopers still love to come up here to be married by the local blacksmith at the anvil. Next we drove through Dumfries and picked up supplies at the local Aldi (I’d actually never been in one of those before! One experience after another!), and then onto the Royal Burgh of Lochmaben for the night. It was rather chilly camping so not much sleep was had. We met an interesting bloke from Kent who was on a treasure hunt all around the UK, just for something to do. The only stipulation was that you had to have a Triumph motorbike. Now, I’m not really into bikes, but it was gorgeous! He collects bikes, boats and planes as a hobby so obviously not short of a quid. Lochmaben is another wee little town (do you like how I’m getting into the lingo??) about 7 miles from Lockerbie. It’s famous for being the birthplace of that very well known footballer Angus Douglas. No….I hadn’t heard of him either!! For such a little place, it has an impressive history. The Romans were here for a while (weren’t they just everywhere!) but after they left and a few others had a turn, it was Gregory King of Scots who decisively beat the native Britons here in 890. The next ruler of note, and one that I’m sure you’ve heard of was Robert The Bruce. He became lord of the area in the 1100s after doing a lot of shmoozing in court and becoming besties with the heir to the throne. Somethings never change…it’s not what you know, but who you know, huh!?!?
Lesson/tip of the day: “Don’t judge the day by the weather” -An Hawaiian saying
