We had to get up unbearably early- 6:15- due to our plans.My husband K made himself coffee and I had juice. Our daughter J doesn't eat yogurt, but we do and got oat bars to crumble up in them. We had a banana, too.
We had a rather long wait on the platform to be allowed to get on the train. Finally, at 7:45, we were seated in Car B on the Trans Pennine Express. Two minutes later, we were underway.
I read and dozed. Then, at 9:17, we had to get out at Carlisle to change trains. It was now 63°,
The train was already sitting there at 9:28, but it wasn't until 9:52, that they turned it on and finally let people get on board. This time, we were traveling ScotRail, when we left at 9:55.
Weirdly, Carlisle is past Gretna. We actually went north to get there. I guess that shows it is not a common destination from Glasgow.
Why were we going to Gretna? Actually, we were going to the Gretna Green part. This was the final piece in our Jane Austen visits on this trip. You may recall that in Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet was supposedly headed to Gretna Green with George Wickham to elope. Since we were so close, J wanted to visit.
When we arrived at the train station at 10:06, there was some sun. There was nothing remarkable about the station and there was really no one about. We did see some pretty fireweed.
As we made our way toward Gretna Green, we only saw cars, no people moving about. We saw some nice houses, great willowherb, and an interesting signpost.
Finally, we saw a highway sign that pointed us in the right direction. We soon passed the Graitney Kirk or Gretna Old Parish Church, part of which is a 12th century Norman church built with stones from Hadrian's Wall, which is not far away. It wasn't clear that is open any more.
Not far away was one of those helpful signs chock-full of information.
Just ahead was the blacksmith shop mentioned in the sign.
We finally found people on the other side, which was sort of a big courtyard with other buildings. There was a nice sculpture of clasped hands perfect for posing under. There was an arch by the doorway of the blacksmith shop that was ringed by lucky horseshoes actually worn in races.
That doorway was for weddings. Another one farther on led into the shopping portion of the smithy. There was also the possibility to take in the "Gretna Green Experience" in a museum they'd set up. K demurred, but J and I went in at 10:39 at a cost of Ł6.95 each.
Here, we learned a lot about marriage customs from old England and Scotland. I suspect that some of them were true elsewhere. For instance, in the Old West, a couple who lived in an area without a preacher would just move in together until once showed up to do the wedding.
Rather than me summarizing, I will let the signs do the talking.
You'll note the name "Gretna Green" on the coach. Stagecoaches had the names of their stop painted on them. This one would signal a couple that this one would get them to the town they needed.
The had a wonderful audio of the description of a chase being read, complete with galloping horses.
There was an area that was made to look like the old forge. I was amazed at how big the bellows were.
Of course, eventually, somebody had to go and pass a law that effectively ended elopements to Gretna Green. But, there is a hero to the story.
I found the fact on this board fascinating. But, then I remembered that there were mail-order brides at one point in the States.
Same-sex marriages became legal there in 2014.
We had a peek at the wedding room. Yes, they still do weddings. We must have seen a good four or five today. And, they were obviously not elopements- they had attendants and some family. Evidently, you could pay for the bagpiper to play and to be taken away in a horse-drawn carriage. Sometimes, the guys were even in kilts.
They still have the original anvil.
The museum exit put us in the gift shop. We did pick up a few things before moving on to another shop. Outside, we saw this sculpture of lovers.
There were several different shops, including a grocery. There we saw these chips, but were not tempted.
After lunch, we went to the back of the complex, which is where the parking lot was. We found another sculpture, which was called "Lovers" and a helpful map. That's what happens, when you enter from the wrong side.
The part of the parking lot nearest us had quite a number of tour buses. I suppose that this place is a bit touristy, but not quite to the point of being a "tourist trap". We realized that the cafeteria alone would be a good draw for tour buses.
Crossing the parking lot, we could see the Courtship Maze on the other side. When we drew closer, we could see highlands in the distance and a number of wind turbines. Off to the side was that rather trendy nod to love locks, but instead of a bridge, it was just a mesh wall to attach them to.
When we turned to go back, we saw a very nice sculpture of the national flower of Scotland, the thistle.
At 2:25, we were on the train. We arrived in Carlisle at 2:37. I liked this sign there.
I think J was inspired yesterday, when we passed The Willow Tea Rooms, because she checked to see if they were still open. They were and we could make a dinner of it.
We arrived at 4:25 and she went upstairs to see if they had a table. They did and K and I climbed up, too. Signs told us about the history of the place. We now understood why Glasgow's native son Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired the look of the place.
We decided to order the Classic Afternoon Tea, as that would give us both savory and sweet. They had quite the list of teas. J ordered rooibos, K got Willow House tea, and I was thrilled to be able to order Mixed Berry iced tea, because I don't like hot tea.
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Even the napkins had a great design.
The cost was Ł17.95 each. For that, we each got our choice of tea. We had a choice of sweets and chose Victoria Sponge, strawberry tart, and carrot cake. We had a mixture of fruit and plain scones with clotted cream (which I finished off) and jam. We let K have the Scottish smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches. We split up the egg, mayonnaise and cress, cucumber and cream cheese, and the ham, grainy mustard, and butter sandwiches. What a delicious meal!
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Such a British thing to do. Next to us was a young couple, who were obviously on a date, perhaps their first.
Before we left, I bought a few items in the gift shop, including wooden cards that were to be punched out and made into miniature furniture. We admired more of the look of the place and read more history before leaving at 5:40.
We were back at the hotel 10 minutes later. We asked at the desk about J's bag, but the guy knew nothing. However, when we got up to the room, there was the wayward fellow just past the bathroom door. There was much joy. Tags on it showed it had been handled a lot.
Since we were leaving in the morning, K and I organized our bags and J sorted the stuff she'd been buying along the way and got it into her bag.
My phone showed 8,398 steps today for 2.6 miles.
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