Day 7 arrived and we were all delighted that the breakfast in the hotel was better than dinner the previous night! We don’t know what happened last night but after pre ordering our choices , we still hadn’t had our dinner by 10pm! When it did arrive, nobody wanted to eat it and there was a mass exodus to MacDonalds!

it had rained in the night but the roads were drying! We had a long day ahead and breakfast was at 6.30am with a depart time of 7.30am.

We all felt slightly jaded after the long day yesterday, but we had 40 miles of relative flat today before any climbing!
The ride out of Carlisle was smooth as it was so early and Longtown was our last English town to go through! It wasn’t long before we made it to Gretna and made it on to home soil.
I have to say at this point that the roads have been noticeably worse in Scotland today!

We headed around Annan and the Solway Firth and first stop was at 19 miles at Eastriggs, where we chatted to a local and found out all about it being a commonwealth town and the Devils porridge! Well worth a visit for that bit of history! Phil, our team mum, brought out the Scottish goodies as we crossed the border!

The morning was long today as lunch was up the hill in Sanqhuar at 62 miles, so Phil gave us another water stop just after Collin at 32 miles! My sister in law Chatlotte and father in law Raymond came along to support us which was lovely ! They also brought some lovely home baking which has all been gratefully devoured by the cycling team here!

After they saw us off, we headed for the hills! They were not very big today but the roads were not great! Instead of taking the A76 straight to Sanqhuar and on to Kilmarnock, we were directed on to the much hillier and bumpier smaller roads which are obviously safer for cycling but a bit more work for the cyclist! We detoured to Drumlanrig castle which is very impressive but so we’re the cleggs (horse flys) and I got bitten by 3 today!

The scenery today did not disappoint! The rolling hills were in full glory!
Lunch was in Sanqhuar which was most welcome, lasagne which was the best yet! The majority of the lunches we have had are lasagne or chilli, but I am not complaining!! I never had to cook it!

Sharon’s dad, my uncle Sandy came along and met up with us with Dot at lunchtime to spur us on! It really is nice to see people on this journey! It makes it seem that I am in the home country and not just pounding away on some holiday!

This afternoon we only had 34 miles to Kilmarnock, but they were off the beaten track miles and it seemed to take forever! My bottom has been sore, no reprieve or toughening up yet and it’s a very constant and distracting pain! Co codamol and paracetamol helped though!
What a mega day! We got back to the hotel about 5.30pm and we are staying at the Park Hotel which is very swish! We are all looking forward to a good feed tonight and a good sleep to recharge!
Day 8 tomorrow!! It’s going fast which I am happy about and I am amazed at how quickly we have cycled up the country! I am so grateful for all The support and messages and I am genuinely impressed than I am still on this road!