Two lovely days

I'm currently sat in the warm sunshine of the early evening, recalling the places I've walked through since leaving Mary's in Beattock yesterday morning.  I followed the Annandale Way for the entire day yesterday, continuing on it for a while today before moving onto National Cycle Network route 74 (which runs close to the route of the M74, which carries traffic between the northern end of the M6 and the central belt of Scotland).

Annandale is a strath (large valley), and runs north–south through the Southern Uplands from Annanhead, close to Moffat near where I stayed with Mary) to Annan on the Solway Firth, just a few miles away from where I am tonight.  The Annandale Way runs close to the river, providing lots of views of the mostly agricultural land it supports - some arable, but plenty of grazing land being managed alongside mixed forest.

The weather has been dry, and nicely warm with a cooling breeze, except for the last few miles today when it was beginning to feel hotter.

A small, municipally-run, campsite in the centre of the small village of Lochmaben provided last night's resting spot right on the loch edge.  After an early start, I was on foot just after 8 today, reaching Kirkpatrick-Fleming in the early afternoon.  I passed through Ecclefechan around lunchtime, strongly linked with Thomas Carlyle, 

essayist, historian and philosopher who influenced (amongst others) Oscar Wilde.  One unusual fact about Carlyle is that he decided to study Theology at Edinburgh, but in the eight years of doing so, lost his faith.  He developed strong links in London for most of his life, but asked to be buried in Ecclefechan.

For what should be my final night's camping, I'm at Bruce's Cave Campsite which includes a cave where Robert the Bruce, Scotland's national hero is reputed to have stayed, contemplating some of his defeats.  Legend has it that whilst in the cave, Robert noticed a spider trying time and again to make a web.  Robert was inspired to continue to try again to achieve his ambition of a free Scotland, which came to be in the early 14th century.

Crossing the border 

I'm now just a handful of miles west of Gretna, the border town known for elopement!  All being well I should pass through in the morning as I head to Carlisle for the night in a youth hostel.  It's taken 35 walking days to reach here from Cape Wrath.  It feels quite an accomplishment to have reached this point, equally a moment to be thankful for the beautiful surroundings I've walked through, soaked up and tried to learn more about as I've passed through.

I don't want to say which has been the particular highlight so far, but several have contributed to the sense of well-being that's developed over the past weeks.  Amongst the mountains of the Highlands and Islands, equally the Southern Uplands, it's easy to recognise these encouraging words of Scripture:

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

(Psalm 122 vv1-2)