Day 7: Birmingham, England to Gretna Green, Scotland

Day 7     7/2/17

We are finally getting over the jet lag, I think. Everyone got up in time and had a good breakfast. The bus got packed.

We left at 9:00 a.m. and headed north. After a few hours, we stopped at Windermere, a large lake in the Lake district of England. We had a few hours to ear and take tours around the lake.

The tour was relaxing, especially when the sun came out. The tour just pointed out different small islands and homes as well as where boat races start. It certainly reflected how the English like to spend their time if they are on vacation in the Lake district. It seems like the cottages and places they could stay were very quaint.
Derek and I touring Lake Windermere

We got on the bus again and went around the Lake to Rydal Mount, home of the poet William Wordsworth. We got to look around at his home and see the gardens and grounds, which were very beautiful.

I also learned what a romantic poet was. I thought that this type of poet dealt with true love and the like, but they actually concentrated on emotion and individualism as well as nature.

Wordsworth  had a great passion for his family and his gardens, letting it grow wild and shaping his garden to beauty. Wordsworth composed poets based on these ideas and inspirations. It was a nice little nature walk.

We got back on the bus and entered Scotland, stopping to eat at Gretna Green.

The students at a display at Gretna Green

As the sun sets in Gretna Green


People from all over would come to Gretna Green to get married. Here, you didn't need a parent's permission to marry. If people wanted to elope against their parent's wishes, they would come here, just on the Scottish side of the border and it would be done. While we were eating, I actually saw a bride as well as her father (I guess) in a kilt preparing for a marriage.

We arrived at our hotel, called Days Inn Gretna Green, to rest and relax before another big journey tomorrow.

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