The gentle rolling hills of the border country.
Walking down the B7076 north of Lockerbie. I made sure that I did not break the speed limit!
The mounted riders set off to patrol the Marches of Lockerbie.The Queen's Birthday Honours list has obviously been paying attention to the KBW awards and has made Mario (he is the one with the Playgirls!) an MBE for his services to the Care sector. Congratulations Mario! I cannot promise that all KBW holders will be similarly honoured - but I am sure that your KBW is reward enough.
Today started with me witnessing the start of the Lockerbie Gala. This consisted of over 100 riders setting of from the town hall at 8.30 to patrol the Marches (boundaries) of Lockerbie to ensure that they are safe. Our waiter at the hotel told me that they were looking for any Englishmen. A Scot at the opening ceremony confirmed this and said that it was a pity that they could no longer shoot them! They were both joking - I think!
Jean and Graham visited the Garden of Remembrance to commemorate the Pan Am crash in 1988. They said that it was was very moving.
Adrian Moore (remember him as my excellent support driver in the South West) rang me today to say that he was back from his holiday in Spain. He had lost touch with my progress and was surprised when he learnt that I was now in Scotland. The last he had heard was that I was suffering with my shins. A belated Happy Birthday to Heather for a few days ago.
The walk today was entirely along the B7076. This road is very good for walking as it has paths or cycle lanes for the whole length. I walked about 19 miles to 5 miles north of Moffat (where we are staying for 2 nights). The 2 photos above show the contrasting views from the road. The first shows the gentle rolling hills of the borders - I am told that these are "trainer" hills in preparation for the mountains that I will face on my stroll through Scotland. The afternoon walk was not as attractive and, as can be seen from the second photo, it was often through a tunnel of trees which restricted the views of the countryside.
After having company for the last few days it seemed strange not to have anyone to talk to. I even resorted to singing to myself at one point - much to the puzzlement of the local cows! I also had a quieter wild life spotting day without Graham's excellent eyesight. I did however spot a shrew.
There were a lot of cyclists on the road today - more than on any previous day. Several of these were endtoenders - and because they were travelling south I could feel superior as I had covered more ground than they had. However the one I spoke to expects to reach Lands End next Saturday, about 3 weeks before I finish.
For some reason I haven't seen any St George flags on cars today. Any ideas why?
Tomorrow is a rest day so that there will not be a blog. Walking north again on Monday!
Today's KBW's are:-
Des - Services as support driver and sandwich buyer for the last 5 days. He returns home tomorrow.
Mario - For bringing even more prestige to the KBW award system.
"All walking is discovery. On foot we take time to see things whole." - Hal Borland
Cheers
Keith
