Thursday 1 February 2018

Weekending In Scotland

The first time I trod on Scottish soil was back in 2015 when we crossed the Union Chain Bridge. We'd taken a holiday in Northumberland and as we were in the very north of England we decided to hop across the border. We didn't see much of Scotland, just a couple of days in Eyemouth, which is about eight miles north of Berwick upon Tweed, but I knew that I'd like to visit again and so I popped Visit Scotland on my 50 Before 50 list.

I've been watching the deals on Groupon and when a suitable offer came up, we jumped at it and spent last weekend there. The hotel was situated in The Borders, again, not too far into Scotland, but as we were only going for the weekend we didn't want to be travelling too long.


Somewhere I've always wanted to go is Gretna Green so we decided that we'd stop off on the way up. Back in the 18th century, marriage laws in England were tightened and couples were unable to marry under the age of twenty one without their parents' consent. The law in Scotland was different and with a more relaxed arrangement, many young couples simply eloped across the border in order to marry. Gretna Green was the first village in Scotland and situated on the route from London to Scotland, so very convenient. Any responsible person was able to conduct the marriage but the local blacksmith often carried them out 'over the anvil' and so the village blacksmith and the blacksmith's anvil have become the enduring symbols of Gretna Green weddings.


Round the back of the blacksmith's shop is a museum dedicated to the history of Gretna Green which is accessed through the Lucky Arch.



The area around the blacksmith's shop has been geared up for tourists with souvenir shops, a lovely food hall and a restaurant, and there's also a courtship maze. Weddings are still performed here and there was a bride and groom who had just tied the knot during our visit.


The Big Dance is the title of this thirteen foot tall sculpture of two clasped hands which was created by artist Ray Lonsdale, it stands in the centre of the courtyard.


After a whistle-stop tour, we continued on our way up through the Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys, such stunning scenery.


The drive was a little hair-raising at times with sheer drops at the side of the road, but the views were breathtaking. We encountered birds of prey soaring above the valleys and so many sheep grazing on the hillsides.


Eventually, we reached Ettrickbridge, our destination.


I knew straight away that I was going to like it here. Look how these traffic cones have been yarn bombed.


A small village, there's only one pub, The Cross Keys, which is where we stayed. This is a 17th century former coaching inn and we got a warm and friendly welcome from Trevor, our host. The room was clean and comfortable and the food was wonderful, we really enjoyed our stay.


The view from our room.


On Saturday, we decided to head towards Edinburgh. In hindsight, we should have planned this trip more carefully as the one-way traffic system coupled with a lack of car parking spaces and poor signage let us down. After trying for what seemed like an eternity to find somewhere to park, we gave it up as a bad job and decided, instead, to head to Portobello, a coastal suburb of Edinburgh.


I'm always happy to get a beach fix and so is Archie. Here he is doing what he always does as soon as his paws touch the sand.


Unfortunately, we hadn't taken into account just how windy it was. Can you see how the sand is blowing around?


Archie wasn't happy about the wind, here he is looking rather windswept, and it was only minutes after this photo was taken that he was trying to rub sand out of his eyes with his paws so we decided to call it a day and head back to the car.


We spent the rest of the day driving back towards our digs, stopping off at little places along the way and taking in the wonderful scenery. Mick got a new car last week and the sat nav would insist on taking us down little winding back roads, he needs to have a look at it and program it better, but we got to see some fantastic sights this way.

It was raining hard on Sunday morning so we decided to head back home after breakfast. On the way, we saw signs for Hadrian's Wall. I'd visited a different stretch of the wall on a school trip many years ago but Mick had never seen it before so we took a little detour. In AD122, the Emperor Hadrian ordered his soldiers to build a 73 mile coast to coast wall between Roman Britain and Scotland.


Some parts of the wall have stood the test of time better than others, but it's amazing that something nearly two thousand years old is still standing.




The glorious view back towards Scotland.


We had a wonderful weekend and I know we've only touched the surface of Scotland, there's so many more places to discover. I'm sure we'll be back again.

62 comments:

  1. Lovely post, it reminds me of a trip many years ago with both daughters and my mum, we ere in our caravan, we stopped at Hadrian's wall, and then finished up at Gretna Green, which looks to have more there than when we visited. I have photo's of my daughters and mum at both locations, lovely memories, thank you. I'm glad you had fun, the overnight deals can be good fun.

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    1. I'm so pleased the post brought back some happy memories for you. I really enjoyed Gretna Green, there's enough there for tourists without it being over the top and there's also an outlet centre on the outskirts of the village, though we didn't visit that.

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  2. Like you we fell in love with Scotland but many years ago, we then started to discover the Islands and you know the rest. We often stop at Gretna on our way to/from England to have a break and stroll around the shopping centre/outlets. You took us on a wonderful tour.

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    1. I'm sure we'll be returning to Scotland now that we've got a taste for it and exploring other areas. We wanted to stop off at Kirkpatrick Fleming, a few miles from Gretna Green, to see Robert The Bruce's Cave but it was really muddy so we gave it a miss. It's still on my list though so we'll have to return.

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  3. We have given up on sat navs. Even ones that are supposed to be the bees knees leave much to be desired. Now we use an app on our mobile phone. It can be set in the comfort of the house and there are no costly updates. Harian’s wall always makes me remember falling down a trench hidden in the shadow of part of the wall and taking Tivvy down with me.

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    1. I think sat navs are a bit hit and miss, I'm sure Mick will fathom out how best to program this new one in time. Oh dear, I hope you didn't hurt yourself when you fell in the trench, Tivvy too.

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  4. How wonderful to see Hadrian’s wall, what a part of history. I’ve never been to Scotland, sounds like you had a lovely time, interesting hearing more about Gretna Green xx

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    1. It's amazing to think how long ago Hadrian's Wall was built and yet here it is still standing. If it had been a nicer day I'm sure we'd have walked along part of it, there were some beautiful views from there. Gretna Green has been on my places to visit list for a long time so it's nice to cross it off, I really enjoyed my visit.

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  5. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to Scotland, Jo. Yes, Edinburgh is not the best place to go in a car. The car parking is dire and really expensive too so, if/when we go, we always go in the train.

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    1. Neither of us gave parking a second thought when we'd decided to go to Edinburgh, in hindsight we should have planned a bit better, but I'm always happy with a visit to the seaside and so is Archie so it didn't really matter. We did get to see some sights on our many drives round the city, ha ha.

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  6. Ah yes, Scotland. It can be addictive! I came for a short while and never left. This was 19 years ago. Glad you enjoyed your weekend trip.

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    1. I know lots of people who visit Scotland year after year because they've fallen in love with the place and those who have moved there too. We're lucky to have so many fabulous places in the UK.

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  7. A wonderful visit Jo, just look at that amazing scenery and aren't those traffic cones a delight! If you ever go back to Edinburgh there is usually parking to be had by the station or you can always use the park and ride service. X

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    1. The scenery, especially on the way up, was breathtaking and as soon as I saw those traffic cones it was like home from home. I wondered about a park and ride but we never saw one sign for it, we should have looked into it all before our trip, we were a bit silly really.

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  8. I've always wanted to visit Scotland. It looks so interesting. My brother's girlfriend came from Scotland as a young child and he has gone back to visit with her, but they never seem to do anything when they go, no touring or sightseeing, just sitting in her mother's house. I always feel like they need to do more, at least so I can see it! Haha. I enjoyed reading about/seeing Gretna Green, I have heard of it before and wasn't sure if it still existed. I loved seeing Archie on the beach. He really does always do that when he hits the sand! :)

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    1. It's taken me all this time to visit Scotland, yet it isn't that far away. We're so lucky that we have so many wonderful places here in the UK, I really mean to see more of them. I know what you mean about your brother visiting Scotland, Daniel's girlfriend is from Colorado and they visited towards the back end of last year, it was Daniel's first time there, but because his girlfriend hadn't seen her family for so long, most of the trip was visiting relatives. They did manage to get up in the Rockies and they went into Denver and to a baseball game, but not much else. I really enjoyed Gretna Green with all its romantic history and I was pleased to get a little beach fix too, I think Archie enjoyed that bit the most, despite the sand in his eyes.

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  9. This post brings back many good memories of a trip we made in 1990. We visited the same blacksmith shop in Gretna Green-there was a wedding going on then too! Thanks for posting these lovely pictures!

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    1. I know of two or three couples who got married in Gretna Green, I think it's just as popular these days as it was with elopers, it's the romantic connection. I'm pleased my post brought back your good memories.

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  10. Fabulous post, Jo, with stunning pictures. Love the yarn-bombed cones. I've never been to Gretna Green so that was really interesting reading. Brought back great memories of a trip to Scotland made with my husband some years ago. Now I want to go back. P. x

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    1. I've only just been and I want to go back too. It was a lovely weekend, everything was new to us, which made it even more interesting. It's definitely somewhere I'd like to visit again.

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  11. One summer while visiting England and it was so hot we had to buy a fan, we went up to Scotland and nearly froze. We went to Gretna Green too.

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    1. It's amazing how Scotland's weather can be so different to England's sometimes. I hope you enjoyed Gretna Green as much as we did.

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  12. Perhaps next time you could stay in or near Galashiels, then you can take the Borders Railway up to Edinburgh ..... and I can suggest lots of places to visit in the Borders (including a wonderful shoe shop!)

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    1. A trip on the Borders Railway sounds like fun. I think we'd plan any future trip a bit better than we did this one, though we were only there for the weekend and we still fitted plenty in. It's nice just to get away for a break.

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  13. What a lovely get away. I went to Gretna a few years back it's quite an interesting place. Love the traffic cones. Last time I went to Edinburgh they had just finished the tram lines that had taken years and were doing trials. It was causing chaos. Scotland is beautiful.

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    1. I really enjoyed our weekend away, it's always nice to discover new places. It was a shame we didn't see more of Edinburgh but we still enjoyed the places we did see.

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  14. Thank you for sharing, a lovely interesting post. I have never been to Scotland, shame the weather was a bit wild and windy xcx

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    1. I'd like to go a bit further north the next time we visit Scotland. It was a bit windy but I know the weather has been quite bad in Scotland, there was still snow along the sides of the roads so we were quite lucky that it wasn't any worse.

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  15. Hello,

    Perfect pics !

    Sarah, http://www.sarahmodeee.fr/

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  16. I'm so glad you've got there to see how lovely it is & I know that even though I've seen quite a bit, I still want to see so much more. Your photos have definitely shown it to full effect, especially the sand blowing on the beach. Poor Archie needed a coat on and those blinker things horses wear to keep the flies out of their eyes(giggle). Thanks for taking us too & take care.

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    1. Poor Archie looked so comical rubbing his eyes with his paws, it certainly was blustery. I'd definitely like to see more of Scotland, the Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys were absolutely beautiful, we saw lots of stunning scenery.

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  17. What a wonderful weekend, you managed to do so much and the weather was pretty good considering it was January.

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    1. I know the weather wasn't brilliant but it was good for January, there was snow along the sides of the roads so I'm glad we missed all that. It's good when you can pack plenty into a weekend.

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  18. You are so lucky being in such a huge country - I've been to most of NZ, and it's hard to find places for weekend trips we have not been to that aren't too far away for a driving trip. My brother got married in Gretna Green and we read about it in the newspaper a few weeks later! Ha. My great grandmother was Scottish and I've spent hours in cemeteries many years ago taking photos for my mum. I love Edinburgh. We've done a tour in our 20s called "GoBlueBananas" which was a lot of fun through the Highlands/Isle of Skye etc.

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    1. I don't think we'd ever run out of new places to discover in the UK, there's so many places that we haven't been that we'd like to see, and nowhere is too far to drive to, perhaps not always for a weekend, but a weeks holiday is doable for most places. How lovely that your brother got married in Gretna Green, it's still a popular wedding destination. The GoBlueBananas tour sounds great.

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  19. What stunning countryside you found yourselves staying in.
    A real blast of fresh air and tranquility for the weekend.
    Love how the cones have been altered!
    Portabello looks like an interesting place to visit.
    Lisa x

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    1. It was absolutely beautiful, especially the drive up through the Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys, so peaceful. We'd have had more of a look around Portobello had the weather been better, we were just glad to get back to the car.

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  20. The view from your window must have been wonderful to wake up to.

    I'd be interested to know more about Groupon. I've not come across it before so after reading this post, I went to its site. But you have to sign up to look at it - and I am reluctant to do this until I know more about it.

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    1. We had a balcony outside the room but it was no use to us in the weather we had. It would be lovely to sit out in sunshine and soak up that view though. Groupon's quite a popular site, I know lots of people who have used it. It's basically a deal site, they have deals on holidays, hotels, restaurants, events, products etc. I've used it lots of times and have never had any problem with it.

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    2. Thanks for the info.. With that reassurance I'll take a proper look.

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    3. I hope you find something of interest. This trip to Scotland cost us £99 in total for the two of us, that included breakfast which consisted of toast, cereal, fruit and yoghurt. We could have upgraded to a cooked breakfast for an additional charge but we didn't bother. One evening meal was also included and I have to say, the food was fabulous. We ate there both nights, paying extra for just one meal, which was very reasonable anyway. Hotels usually charge extra for dogs but Archie was free here so all in all, the weekend cost us £99 and the price of one evening meal.

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  21. Great! Thanks a lot! I have wanted to see Hadrian's wall for a long time. PHE says flu is still circulating in the UK. Take good care. Have a nice weekend.

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    1. There are the remains of forts which can be visited along Hadrian's Wall, all very interesting for a day out. There's lots of bugs going around at the moment, Daniel's girlfriend has just had a bout of flu, she's been really quite poorly but on the mend now.

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  22. Hi Jo, my comments seem to be not getting through again, hopefully this time will work.
    Looks like you got a good deal on Groupon, it's always worth checking to see what's on offer. I had never visited Scotland either until a few years ago when Mark had a couple of jobs their, I loved my visits when he was working there such lovely scenery, never seen Hadrian's wall or been to Grtna Green though.
    Have a great weekend x

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    1. I'm sorry you're having problems with the comments again, if it's just at work I would assume it's something to do with their security software as I can't see anything here which would prevent you commenting. There's some great deals to be had on Groupon, you have to wonder how they make a profit with some of them. It's good that you're able to visit places when Mark's got a job, you get to see more of the country that way, and I enjoy a tootle around on my own.

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  23. It looks and sounds like you had a enjoyable break, which I'm sure was most welcome at this time of year.
    I've been to most of the places you mention, albeit a long time away, and recollect them all as places I'd be happy to visit again.
    Lucky you seeing some birds of prey as you did. xx

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    1. I must admit that I wondered if we'd get anything out of a weekend away in January but it was brilliant, it was a nice change from spending the weekend at home, even though the weather could have been better. I don't know what the birds of prey were but they were huge, we pulled over a couple of times to watch them soaring over the valleys, fabulous to watch.

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  24. Looks like a wonderful time.
    I've only ever been to Glasgow and Edinburgh (business trips) so I'd love to see a bit more of Scotland.
    I'm not sure about the oversized hands (bit creepy!) but I love the traffic cones.
    Archie looks as if he has fully recovered from his little mishap I'm pleased to see :)

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    1. My trip away has me wanting to spend more time in Scotland discovering new places. Archie's fully recovered, thank goodness, though the insurance still hasn't coughed up. I'm just glad that he's better though.

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  25. I do love Scotland, my grandfather live close to Dunoon, you looked over the River Clyde out of the window whilst eating your breakfast. My mum had a trip back there recently with my brother and brought me a bookmark cross stitch kit form the Gretna Green shop ... I wonder where that is?
    Great pictures you captured.
    Have a lovely weekend

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    1. It sounds like your grandfather had a wonderful view from his house, there's so much stunning scenery in Scotland from what I saw. I never saw any cross stitch kits in the Gretna Green shop, that would have been a lovely souvenir.

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  26. I love Gretna Green. As a teenager I've read so many romance novels in which Gretna Green made an appearance that, for one of our wedding anniversaries we went there. I loved it.
    I'm also very found of Hadrian's Wall. My husband and I had a holiday exploring it and there is still a lot to discover.

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    1. How lovely to spend one of your wedding anniversaries in Gretna Green, a romantic destination for a romantic event. We only explored the area around the Blacksmith's Shop but I'd like to return to look around the surrounding area. I was still at school when I first visited Hadrian's Wall, it was during a trip to Northumberland, and this time we visited a totally different section of the wall. I think it would be interesting to visit the Roman forts which were built along the way.

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  27. Hi there.Love Scotland such a Beautiful Country.We have been to the Cairngorns ( is that spelt right lol ),we went by Train took us 8 hours lol.Love the wonderful photos,love Archie,bless him.xx

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    1. The Cairngorms are quite a way further than we went but I'd love to venture further north next time, I'm sure the scenery there will be spectacular. Archie always enjoys his trips with us, he's so good in the car so we always try to find somewhere that he'll enjoy too, like the beach.

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  28. It looks like you had such a lovely weekend, Scotland is on my list of places to visit, we've not spent much time there really.

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    1. It was a great weekend, it was nice to see somewhere new to us and a lovely break away from home too. I'd definitely like to see more of Scotland.

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  29. I'm glad you had a wonderful weekend. I love the shot of your windswept dog! :)

    I'm hoping to make it back up to Scotland sometime this year.

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    1. Archie wasn't keen on the wind at all, it does tend to blow his ears around and when you've got ears as big as his, it can get very annoying.

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  30. What a fabulous weekend! My kind of a getaway for sure. Sat nav keeps sending huge trucks across tiny lanes around here, most end up in a ditch! I love how Archie goes away with you, he has a fabulous life, gosh...that sand!! I could almost hear the wind howling!!! xxx

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    1. I really enjoy having a weekend away, it certainly recharges the batteries. Archie's a well travelled dog, we've never put him in kennels, he's always gone wherever we've gone.

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