Border Crossing

We made it into England wohoo! :) Quite mixed emotions actually - incredible feeling to have made it across the whole of Scotland, but sad to say goodbye to it. No more highlander accents, haggis for breakfast, or middle-earth-like scenary...
BUT...on to new English adventures! Journey from Moffat to Shap was amazing... 76 miles, another sunny day, and mostly stunning country-side views, if you skip over Carlisle... Luckily a brass band and hot sun and huge chicken tikka baguette made up for it.
Passed through Lockerbie and stopped for snacks - old,slightly odd guy walking past stopped to chat to us as we were munching on Greggs delights on the street. Told us all about the plane coming down,and how it had affected the whole village. Was actually quite a strange feeling being in Lockerbie - a place you've heard so much about, and suddenly you're in it, and all you know of it is its horrific history. But it was a sweet, v friendly village - during the time this guy was chatting to us, at least 5 other chaps passed by who knew him, raising their caps and going about their mid-morning business.
Heading South through England, roads became a bit busier, but colours seemed more varied and oddly things felt more familiar, even though neither of us know this part of the world.
One of the strangest parts of the day was cycling through Gretna - there had been no-one in any of these tiny villages we'd passed since leaving Moffat,and then all of a sudden this bizarre tourist trap,and all because of the old tradition. A bit like passing through Loch Ness and finding it heaving with tourists, whilst Lomond and countless other beuatiful Lochs were blissfully empty.
Felt like a fair amount of uphill. Kept passing fields with those ancient old wibbly-wobbly walls - incredible that they were built with nothing like cement, just each rock miraculously fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle - and still standing today!
Came into Shap around dusk, an old, farmy-feeling village with stone houses and one main street with a pub where we stopped for some guinness.
Made a big load of pasta in the hostel we were staying in, and hit the sack (Rich on mini camp bed). :)