Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GRETNA GREEN MARRIAGES
Up until 1754 English couples could buy a quick and secret wedding at London's Fleet Prison,
bribing imprisoned clerics with small amounts of money. The
Hardwicke Marriage Act
brought an end to this seedy wheeze, enforcing the requirement of a licence and a church
ceremony. However, in Scotland, a marriage declaration made before two witnesses remained
legal. The consequences of this difference in the law verged on farce: hundreds of runaway
couples dashed north to Scotland, their weddings witnessed by just about anyone who came
to hand - ferrymen, farmers, tollgate keepers and even self-styled “priests” who set up their
own “marriage houses”.
Gretna Green
, due to its position beside the border on the main turnpike road to
Edinburgh, became the most popular destination for the fugitives. In their rush, many people
tied the knot at the first place to hand after dismounting from the stagecoach, which
happened to be a
blacksmith's shop
situated at the crossroads, though the better-off
maintained class distinctions, heading for the staging post at Gretna Hall. The association with
blacksmiths was strengthened by one of the first “priests”, the redoubtable Joseph Paisley, a
25-stone Goliath who - in business from 1754 to 1812 - gave a certain style to the ceremony
by straightening a horseshoe, a show of strength rather than a symbolic act. His melodramatic
feat led to stories of Gretna Green weddings being performed over the blacksmith's
anvil
, and
later “priests” were more than happy to act out the rumour. Gretna Green boomed until the
marriage laws were further amended in 1856, but some businesses continued right up to
1940, when marriage by declaration was made illegal.
The only marriages that take place in Gretna Green nowadays, however, are for couples
taken in by the “romance” of the name - more than 4000 annually - and English couples under
18, who want to get married without the permission of their parents (
W
gretnaweddings.com).
3
Galloway continued to be a fiercely independent region, typified by local hero Robert
the Bruce. Later, it became a stronghold of the Covenanters, and suffered terribly
during the “Killing Times” following the Restoration, when the government forces
came to impose Episcopalianism. From around the seventeenth century, the ports of
the Solway coast prospered with the expansion of local shipping routes over to Ireland.
he region subsequently experienced economic decline as trade routes changed,
turning busy ports into sleepy backwaters.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY
By train
Three train lines run through Dumfries and
Galloway. One tracks the A74 motorway between Carlisle
and Glasgow, while another heads up Nithsdale via
Dumfries and a third stretches from Glasgow to Stranraer in
the far southwest.
By ferry
Two companies provide services between
Northern Ireland and Cairnryan, 6 miles north of Stranraer
with 4-8 daily bus connections from Cairnryan to Stranraer
and Ayr: StenaLine serves Belfast (5-6 crossings daily; 2hr
15min;
T
08447 707070,
W
stenaline.co.uk) and P&O
Ferries has services to Larne (5-7 crossings; 2hr;
T
08716
642020,
W
poferries.com).
GETTING AROUND AND INFORMATION
By bus
The main bus company for the region is Stagecoach
West (
T
01292 613502,
W
stagecoachbus.com) servicing
all the main towns and villages but of little use for the
Galloway Forest Park.
Tourist information
W
visitdumfriesandgalloway.co.uk.
A good resource for in-depth information and ideas,
particularly for families and walking enthusiasts.
Dumfries
Situated on the wide banks of the River Nith, a short distance inland from the Solway
Firth,
DUMFRIES
is by far the largest town in southwest Scotland, with a population of
more than thirty thousand. Long known as the “Queen of the South” (as is its football
club), it flourished as a medieval seaport and trading centre, its success attracting the
