What a day.  We made it to England after 23 days, 400 miles, and over ¾ million steps, with the climb of Ben Nevis still very fresh in the memory.  Beautiful weather again today apart from a 15mph warm wind right into my face most of the day.  15mph doesn’t sound much but when it blows against you all day it gets tiring.  It didn’t prevent another record mileage day at just under 23 miles.

 

A few interesting things from the day.  We drew a crowd of bulls when I met up with Hazel for lunch.  They are clearly used to the farmer pulling up where we stopped and then giving them their food.  Sorry boys.  Hazel bravely jumped in the car and told me I could deal with them.  Thanks!

 

 

One of the places we passed through is Eastriggs.  There is a museum celebrating the greatest munitions factory on earth.  Started in 1915 the HM Gretna Factory stretched for 9 miles and employed 30,000 workers.  By 1917 the factory was producing 1,100 tons of cordite every week, more than all the other munitions plants in Britain combined.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:

“There the nitro-glycerine on the one side and the gun cotton on the other are kneaded together into a sort of Devil’s Porridge.  This is where the danger comes in.  The least generation of heat may cause an explosion.  Those smiling, khaki-clad girls who are swirling the stuff round in their hands would be blown to atoms in an instant if certain very small changes occurred.”

Also interesting were these memorials to animals at war.

Another nice day forecast tomorrow but not quite as warm as we head towards the Lake District and Scafell Pike on Sunday.