Day Seven - Westmorland to Dumfries -72 miles

After a good night’s sleep in the most comfortable bed yet breakfast was at 7.15am. Settling the hotel bill was challenging as a second glass of malbec wine from dinner the night before hadn’t been claimed. For once it wasn’t mine!

We set off about 9am and it was already feeling quite warm. The forecast was indicating that showers were going to be chasing us as we travelled further north so the big question for the day was whether we would manage to evade them.

Our first stop was Penrith and with few options someone made the call to head to Greggs - coffee and a vegan sausage roll for me while Max managed to grab a macaroon from a nearby takeaway cafe. It was a good shout given the limited options and anyway a small pasty seemed pretty harmless given all the miles we’ve clocked up.

From Penrith we headed for Carlisle choosing not to stop in an attempt to stay ahead of the showers. As we approached Gretna Green the temperature dropped and there was no mistaking the rain clouds sweeping in towards us. We chose the Inn opposite the Welcome to Scotland sign and no sooner had we sat down inside the heavens opened! We bagged a table next to the Marriage Room but our only agenda here was food and that’s exactly what we got. We haven’t sampled any haggis yet but it’s only a matter of time before we do. 

Luck was on our side again today because by the time we’d finished lunch the rain had passed and we continued the ride in perfect cycling weather conditions. The scenery was beautiful albeit it doesn’t feel very Scottish yet and we’re definitely enjoying the absence of cars on the road.

It was a relatively easy cycling day today - mainly downhill or on the flat. We’re feeling a little tired and saddle sore so it was good to finish early and have a brief chance to relax before heading out for an early dinner.

I suspect some hills are beckoning us for tomorrow and I’m reluctant to check the route for fear of what I’ll find out. Sometimes it’s better not to know! Tomorrow is another day but for now I’m just pleased to have another great day under our belts. 

Thanks to everyone for all your kind messages of support. It’s lovely to hear from you and has made all the difference to keeping us going.

Town clock

Scotland already