Day 9! With our stomachs still full, we woke up to yet another miserable and wet morning – I’m starting to think this might be the theme of our honeymoon!
As we had little water, as we couldn’t fill up following yesterday’s events, we couldn’t even stop for a cup of tea, so thought we would let the school traffic die down and then make our way to Bonnie Scotland – first stop: Gretna Green!
Gretna Green
The drive up felt somewhat effortless, from previous experience driving in Scotland (in a car) the motorways are a lot less congested and people actually drive on them properly – but we won’t get into a how to drive debate! And before we knew it we had reached Gretna Greens’ famous Blacksmith Shop, wedding venue and Courtship maze!
The parking was super easy, as they had designated parking spots for Motorhomes, so we parked up and went to explore!
We found that the Courtship Maze was closed, we are assuming due to Covid as not all the shops were open either, which was a real shame as we were both looking forward to a bit of cheesy fun!
They also boasted a padlock ‘love sign’ (a similar concept to the padlock bridge in Paris) which we thought we would add too – until we found that the only shop that sold padlocks sold them for £20 and our love wasn’t worth that much, so we just took a photo of it instead!
We mooched round the gift shop and the grounds, there were a few statues dotted about along with lots of history regarding both the Blacksmiths shop and the weddings, which was lovely and then we grabbed a cup of tea and cake and headed back to the van!
A little retail therapy
We decided to head over to the Gretna Green Gateway Outlet, which was around 10 minutes down the road. The last time we came we managed to get some really nice gifts and bits and pieces for us, so we were really looking forward for another go!
Again, parking was super easy as the South Car Park had designated spaces for Motorhomes, it was then the short walk over to the shops, which Bentley could also join us on! The village is currently undergoing some upgrades, with new shops coming soon but that had no impact on our shopping trip!
It was pretty quiet and all Covid precautions are still in place in Scotland e.g masks are compulsory, social distancing etc, which is really reassuring to see. We mooched in and out of the shops, taking Bentley into those he was allowed into, again he got all the fuss imaginable and was pretty pooped when we took him back to the van!
We were done earlier than we had originally anticipated and were due to stay quite local to Gretna in a Britstop. When we got to the van we quickly went online and found a park4night stop in Lanark which would reduce tomorrow’s drive, so we phoned them and they had space, so we decided to head up there instead!
A quiet night at Lee Castle
Again, the drive was super easy and we were there in just over an hour. This site has a toilet, fresh water and waste disposal – as well as stunning views! We parked up and went for an explore, and we were not disappointed!
The site is part of Lee Castle, which is a private residence, but there is a walk which takes you pretty close to the house and uses the woods of the estate. It was spectacular! It was only a 40 minute walk or so, but simply breathtaking and so nice to be outside despite the weather!
Whilst we haven’t used all the facilities, from the views alone and how easy it has been since we got here, we would definitely recommend paying this a visit! I think it’s site name is Lee Garden Campsite, it’s big enough for 3-5 electric hook up motor homes but it’s just so quaint and quiet, it is glorious!
Now to relax, with an early tea in time for the football! Stick around as we explore more of what Scotland has to offer! ✌🏼