Day 87 – Rockcliffe to Longtown

The Hunters Lodge provides an early breakfast during which several attempts are made, by us and our host, to obtain transport back to Rockcliffe. The phone numbers provided yesterday evening provide no joy (in most cases no answer), but eventually a taxi firm in Carlisle is able to supply a Colin which returns us to the Crown and Thistle by 9 o’clock. The Esk follows a semi-circle to the Metal Bridge but the path along the river bank doesn’t extend all the way to the bridge. We follow it as far as we can – which includes making a telephone call to a local nature conservation authority for permission to use a track along a raised bank alongside some apparently “protected” land – but eventually we have to cut inland just before the Esk boathouse. We’re not 100% sure that we then follow the prescribed route through some small fields and paddocks, but eventually we emerge on a lane which leads to a footbridge over the main west coast railway line and from there to the Metal Bridge. The walk from Rockcliffe has taken almost a couple of hours, reconfirming the wisdom of our decision to bale out yesterday at the Crown and Thistle. Despite several attempts by John to find alternative routes, the next section of about 45 minutes over the bridge to the outskirts of Gretna has to be walked alongside the main A74. Fortunately, the traffic isn’t too heavy, due in no small part to the M6 running in parallel. The road sign which we saw yesterday is still warning of heavy rain, but the sun continues to shine as we turn north east and start our attempts to reach Berwick-on-Tweed by staying as close as possible to the Anglo-Scottish border. These attempts begin by walking through what appears to be somebody’s garden to reach the River Sark, which forms part of the western border. We cross the river a couple of times as we continue through a series of fields and then along country lanes which eventually bring us to a junction with the A7 to the north of Longtown. A decision has yet to be made on whether our next trip will start here or whether we will follow a more southerly route starting in Longtown itself. To keep options open, we walk the final couple of miles into Longtown which conclude with Gary coming a cropper on an overgrown alleyway running alongside some kind of lorry park/storage depot. Crossing the bridge over the Esk, our eyes light on a pub on Longtown’s high street (possibly the Globe) outside which our Colin from yesterday is conveniently parked. However, he has arrived 30 minutes early, so there’s more than enough time for a reviving cider in the outdoor shade, postcard purchases for Ben and John, and post-cropper clean up for Gary. The drive back to Carlisle includes a minor “carve up” incident at a roundabout which our driver unjustifiably blames on the other motorist in a manner which leads us to question whether he will receive the benefit of our custom next time. He does, however, get us to Carlisle in very good time for our trains, so we while away the wait by having a drink and a sandwich in the Griffin, a large pub just outside the station. On the train back to London, Ben and Gary notice across the carriage aisle Alan Johnson MP – a reminder (if one is needed) that, by the time we return to Carlisle, the EU referendum will have taken place. If polls which John has been monitoring on ShedWeb (Gloucester RFC) are to be believed, it’s going to be very close and, if anything, is tending towards Brexit. (We also notice from the comfort of our carriage that the heavy rain which was forecast earlier has at long last arrived!)