Dai's Slow lejog

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Day 25 Carlisle - Langholm 25 miles (771)

A short hop today which was just as well as heavy rain was forecast for the afternoon.It duly arrived but by then I was in my very comfortable lodgings.
After cycling through the centre of Carlisle and crossing the Eden Bridge in the rush hour traffic I was soon following a quiet route out along the estuary past an enormous timber yard with its own railway sidings. The route then turne inland to cross the main railway line where I had to wait for 3 trains at the level crossing and then on a bridge over the new "missing link" section of the M6 which had recently been opened connecting the M6 amd The M74. Quiet lanes and a section of disused railway line took me into Longtown where I took a coffee break whilst watching the many livestock and timber trucks thundering down the main street.
Crossing the river I met the first of two welcome to Scotl;and signs the second being a couple of miles further on. So far the countryside had been pretty flat and low lying but the last dozen or so miles of my route saw the hills get ever bigger. Arriving in Langholm I was very much in the hills.
Although a small town Langholm boasted being thwe birthplace of Thomas Telford the bridge builder, Hugh MacDiarmid the Poet and Neil Armstrong the Astronaut - not bad for a wee town!
The comfortable lodgings were matched by a very tasty evening meal in the local hotel which made my brief stay one to remember.

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Photos

Carlisle
Carlisle - Citadel Court House

Cycleway
Cycleway near Longtown

Scottish Border
Scottish Border 760 miles down

Langholm
Langholm Town Hall

Bridge, Langholm
Bridge over River Esk, Langholm

Building Langholm
Old and New - the new Buccleugh centre with the old drinking fountain. The Duke of Buccleugh owns a considerable amount of the land hereabout