Day 7 – Kendal to Dumfries

The contrast between the starts of the last two days riding couldn’t have been more different. After leaving the rather tired and unloved County Hotel, in less than a mile I was out on quiet country lanes in the Cumbrian Hills. The eerie silence was broken when I inadvertently separated a couple of calves from their mother by herding them up the rode. I could still hear the mooing or lowing or whatever distressed sound they made long after I’d closed the gate behind me.

The big climb of the day was on the A6 and all my fears were put to bed as I joined the rode from a hill and could see the light traffic. A short rest in Shap to find out my sons’ GCSE results (good ones) and stock up on Kendal Mint Cake which I’d somehow forgotten to buy in Kendal, gave me fuel to continue onwards.

I missed the turn for my country lane detour but decided that the A6 had been such a positive experience that I’d stick with it. For once, my meddling with the route paid off and with the climbing behind me, the ride to Penrith flew by.

Back to NCN routes to Carlisle and a stop on the way in the sunshine to eat the lunch picked up in Penrith and discuss GCSE results with son.

It’s slightly disappointing that the gateway to a country as beautiful as Scotland is Gretna Green. Worse still that the approach is directly alongside the M6, so close in fact that when I was looking at the route last night, I thought I’d made a mistake and put myself on the motorway.

A quick stop to take the tourist selfie by the ‘Welcome to Scotland’ sign and a turn left to head West into the first headwind of the ride so far. The last 30 odd miles were a bit of a slog with no dramatic scenery for compensation. As nice as Dumfries itself is, the county of Dumfries and Galloway isn’t Scotland’s prettiest.

Tomorrow I get to see the ‘real’ Scotland and finish the day in Ardrossan with a view of Arran. A takeaway on the harbour is calling.

88 miles today. 594 in total.