to Gretna Green

We woke to wet roads and cloudy sky's - but no rain at the moment.  This being probably the easiest day of the tour there is no reason to leave early.  Weather forecasts are mixed so no help here on when to leave.  We're on the road by 9:45 and may have missed a turn by 9:50.  It makes no difference as long as you're going downhill.

We did encounter a number of showers throughout the day.  Most were light, what the Irish call "an Irish Mist."

Due to the weather, I only took two photos all day.  The one below should be titled "An Old Phone Booth, Repurposed"

Our destination is Gretna/Gretna Green.  They are separate towns but not separate.  You can't tell where one ends and the other begins.

In the early 1700's England was facing serious social problems by the large number of irregular marriages. The solution was the Parliament Act of 1754 which restricted the places  where marriages could take place, and outlawed marriages of people under 21 without permission of both sets of parents.  But that did not apply to Scotland; here anyone over 16 could get married without any permissions.  Since Gretna Green is the first place you reached in Scotland travelling north from Carlisle, it became the center of runaway marriages.  Anyone could perform the ceremony; it was most often the village blacksmith.  Even today, Gretna Green is a center of marriages.

When we came through Annan most of us were hungry and I think the whole group discovered Café Royal.  The biggest problem was parking the bikes.  Tomorrow is a more difficult  day but the weather looks good.