Day 10

The day we had been waiting for was now upon us - the day we'd cross into Scotland. We knew this would be a landmark moment in the trip, and we'd cross the border in Gretna, in about 10 miles.

From LEJOG Day 10

After a nice bit of cereal and toast, we got on our way. As expected, it wasn't long before we'd reached the sign, taking lots of pictures and feeling excited about how far we'd come. Today the navigation was as simple as it comes - just one road for the entire day. This road had a cycle path as well, which was unusual on such a deserted road, but still appreciated.

The weather was miserable all day, and we got really wet. The clouds were very low for the first bit of the day, so the visibility was really poor and we couldn't see any views. In fact, we couldn't even tell if we were cycling up a hill or not.

Scotland, we thank you for building your roads correctly. Cornwall, Devon, listen up. Build your roads between the hills, not over them.

Towards the end Sam got the only puncture of the entire trip. However, we're pro at replacing inner tubes after the stupid amount of punctures on our practise rides, and it didn't slow us down considerably. In fact, because the roads were so flat, we were going at a really nice speed.

Never trust Scottish cows. There was one standing in the road, about 10 miles from Lanark. It led us down the wrong path for a few miles, and up a hill. The cow then left us on our own and we realised we were lost.

Lanark was a nice town, but was at the top of a giant hill. We knew we deserved one after being spared for so long. We were staying in a B&B (last of the trip), which turned out to be really nice and looked after by a friendly woman. Charles rejoined the group and his dad took us for a curry.

The total distance was 83.3 miles. Our route is here.