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The A74(M) from Carlisle to Glasgow passes through Annandale whose main towns are Annan, Lockerbie and Moffat. However, the first small town you reach when coming over the Border, is Gretna Green - famous for its wedding ceremonies at the blacksmith's. The differences between Scots and English law allowed English couples to elope and marry quickly in Scotland without the need for a licence and for young couples aged 16 to marry without parental consent (the minimum age was 21 in England). About 5,000 weddings still take place here each year. The Old Blacksmith's Shop is a busy tourist attraction and offers a museum, sculpture park, art gallery, 'tartan' shops and restaurant. There is also a tourist office. The Hazeldene Hotel has a honeymoon suite with four-poster bed and sauna. Buses and trains run regularly to Dumfries.
The Devil's Porridge (named after the explosive paste made there) in nearby Eastriggs off the A75, houses an exhibition of the munitions factory built there in World War I in which 30,000 people worked and which had its own power station, railway and state-owned pubs. Ecclefechan, 10 miles north of Gretna on the A74(M), was the birthplace of the early 19th century historian, writer and social reformer Thomas Carlyle and his life is depicted in the Thomas Carlyle Birthplace. The main local hotel is the Cressfield Country House Hotel which was designed by Carlyle's father. About 6 miles further north lies the town of Lockerbie where the tragedy of the terrorist bombing of the Pan-Am plane occurred in December 1988 which is commemorated in a garden of remembrance at the Dryfesdale Cemetry.
Set in rolling hills, the market town of Moffat, on the A701 off the A74(M) about 15 miles further north of Lockerbie, was originally a spa town but is now a centre for the local woollen industry whose history and weaving demonstrations can be viewed at the Moffat Woollen Mill. The Moffat Museum displays the history of the spa town. Other local activities include the Moffatasia (a water park) and a range of walks. There is a tourist office in the town, open April to October, and buses operate to Glasgow, Gretna Green and Dumfries. Hotels include the very narrow Victorian Star Hotel, Well View Hotel and the Moffat House Hotel, and there are some good restaurants, such as The Lime Tree, Claudio's and the Black Bull.
Langholm, lying east of Lockerbie on the B7068, is a mill town and was the birthplace of the 20th century poet Hugh MacDiarmid. There are various routes out of Langholm into the Borders but if you take the B709, you reach Eskdalemuir and the Samye Ling Tibetan Centre, the first Buddhist monastery to be established in Europe (1968) which offers a retreat and residential courses. Day visitors are also welcome.
Sleeps: 4 (5) , Bedrooms: 2
stands detached, in its own pretty garden, in the hamlet of Newton Wamphray near the River Annan, about 7 miles from both Lockerbie and Moffat and some 20 miles from Dumfries. Beautifully-kept, well-equipped, this traditional Scottish stone cottage makes a very comfortable holiday house indeed.
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