It wasn't the best nights sleep I'd had, the ground was uncomfortable, it was cold and the traffic ran almost continually all night. Eventually dragging my ass out of the sleeping bag around 7:30 despite every effort to have a little lie in i made breakfast and packed my gear away ready to cross the border and leave Scotland behind me.
Before i left the country though i had to stop for a coffee and birthday bacon bap at the first and last house in Scotland, the old toll bar. The bridge that was to carry me a mere couple of steps away. Part of me wanted to stay in Scotland a bit longer but i knew although I was only 470 odd miles from lands end as the crow flies my journey ahead would be considerably longer.
It was still very misty as I left the cafe to cross the river that defined the border. Stepping into England was a monumental achievement and a very special occasion for the trek. As i did i thought back to my time tackling the Scottish coast, the people i met and hospitality I'd recieved, the freedoms of the land, the weather.
As i continued passed the welcome sign to follow the road back to the coast the mist gradually cleared and the sun shone hard on me. I couldn't ask for more. I wouldn't see the coastline now until i got near to bowness on solway which first meant negotiating the river eden.
Finding the hadrians wall walk off the road taking me through fields and along the river bank was a nice break from hiking the busy English roads not that i saw any signs of a wall roman or otherwise.
After many miles hiking, the sunny weather almost tropical, i eventually found the coast almost directly opposite Annan by the eden channel. It was about 7:30pm when i finally found somewhere to camp up. I had to be sure i was high up which limited my options a little. This was due to the high tides that were expected later during the night. The area i had been hiking was prone to flooding when the tide levels rise above 9 meters. The prediction for the night was, you guessed it 9 meters and 10 the following day.
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