After spending the evening with Stuart and Nicola, I was ready for another milestone in the journey – crossing the border into Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Stuart is also cycling LEJOG but he is doing it in 4 or 5 day segments. I met him in Devon while he was cycling Cornwall and Devon. He decided to join me into Carlisle as he had not done that section. So the two of us set out around 8:30am and joined the National Cycle Network route 7.

It was a misty morning but the mist soon cleared and we had lovely sunny conditions with no wind.

After about an hour and a half, disaster struck. A vehicle pulling a trailer failed to slow down for us as we were in a very narrow part of a lane. Both Stuart and I tucked into the grass verge but the trailer clipped Stuart and he fell off his bike. We thought Stuart had broken his arm as he was in a lot of pain. The vehicle didn’t stop and there was no cell phone cover. I flagged another car down and the driver drove to a place where he had a signal and called an ambulance. We waited for what seemed like ages for the ambulance to arrive. I cycled further up the lane and called on a farmer to see if he could call an ambulance. While we were talking, I saw the ambulance pass by. I flew back down the lane and the very nice farmer followed in his car. Stuart was examined at the scene and then taken to Carlisle Infirmary. I left Stuart’s damaged bicycle with the farmer and exchanged contact information before following the ambulance to Carlisle. As soon as I had cell phone signal I called Stuart’s wife, Nicola, and left a message. I had to ride approximately 17 miles to get to the hospital. As I arrived I saw Nicola and found out that Stuart was being seen. I was allowed to go back and see Stuart and I was able to answer some of the questions the doctor had. We decided that because Stuart was in good hands and there was nothing I could really do now, I should continue with my journey. Stuart was taken to have x-rays and promised to let me know later in the day how he got on.

I continued with my journey and navigated my way through Carlisle to get back to my route. On the way I passed Carlisle Castle. This is where Mary Queen of Scots was a prisoner from 1568, by order of her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. It sounds like it would be an interesting place to visit with many exhibitions, but I didn’t have time. Next visit!

I crossed the border into Scotland at Gretna later that afternoon and met a couple of ladies who were following the Sustrans LEJOG route on road bikes with support from their husbands who were in a camper van. The ladies took my photograph and I took theirs. We chatted for a while and I felt a momentary pang of wishing I had Jacques with me as support. I was feeling a bit vulnerable after the crash.

Gretna Green was a mile detour but I had never been there and was curious about the place where so many people had eloped. In 1754 changes in law prevented couples under the age of 21 marrying in England or Wales without their parents’ consent. However, in Scotland it was still legal to marry without parental consent, so couples began crossing the border into Scotland to marry.

The weddings took place at the blacksmith’s shop in the middle of Gretna Green at the junction of five old coaching roads.

I found Gretna Green to be rather unremarkable and touristy but I was able to snap a good photo of the blacksmith’s shop and a picture of a couple who had just been married.

I continued with my journey heading towards Lockerbie. It was fairly windy but sunny and I took a nice back roads route until I started the descent into Lockerbie. Right at the top of the descent, a thunder storm came in and I got wet while donning my waterproofs. I had intended to camp 7 miles west of Lockerbie but since I was wet and tired from a rather stressful and long day, I decided to stay in a hotel at Lockerbie. I spent the night in the Kings Arms.

After checking into my room I called Stuart and heard that he was back at Whitbarrow Village and had stopped off for a meal in Greystokes on the way back from the hospital and after collecting his bike. Fortunately, he had no broken bones but some deep lacerations and a huge hematoma. I was very relieved to hear he was okay and in minimal pain. It could have been a much worse outcome!