Into Scotland

Breakfast was provided by an ex-biker Geordie who served Steve two enormous kippers and was horrified that Andrew and Pete asked for a side order of haggis with their smoked salmon and eggs! We’re all getting a bit tired of full English breakfasts so this was a welcome relief, and splendid too.

The chef wasn’t half as shocked as Steve when Andrew arrived for breakfast wearing a towel! He even declared to the room (not just us) that his arse was on 🔥 fire! The nurse wasnt going to escape duty yet!

Outside the sun was shining and the forecast for the day was warm with friendly tail winds. The first 10 miles continued along the Eden valley in the same vein as yesterday. Andrew has an ambition to collect points on his Boots card in every Boots along the route, so rather than cycling straight through Carlisle we went to the shopping centre so he could stock up on bum pads. Pete wasn’t too unhappy about the hour delay and getting lost finding the way out as he had purloined one of said pads from Andrew and was finding it quite efficacious. He did apply it himself though!

We crossed into Scotland at Gretna then headed up on the B Road that tracks the A74(M) for 30 miles. This road demonstrates the working of Scotlands highly functioning government in practice. There was a line painted the full length of the road to indicate a cycle track at the side. Only problem was that every time a contractor had won a bid to resurface the road, it had not included the cycle lane. Overgrown vegetation, broken surface, potholes, unswept! Steve described it as ‘a lesson in platitudinous greenwashing from a distant corrupt dysfunctional administration of the nationalist variety’! Bit harsh, but after 30 miles of bone shaking tedium the others couldn’t disagree!

We finally turned off towards Leadhills and up a hill Steve had omitted to point out to his companions in the planning stage. But it took us properly into the Southern Uplands and we finally felt like we were in Scotland. Our hotel for the night is the Hopetoun Arms - the highest residential hotel in Scotland, they claim, at 1395 feet above sea level. Given that Pete’s original suggestion was the Days Inn motel on the A74, the climb was worth it. Only one beer on offer, but an extensive selection of whiskies we didn’t dare try (well one maybe), and a fabulous dinner.

Oh - and there’s bloody midges already!

Stats 76 miles, 3884 feet

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