Coming from England, once you cross the Scottish Border and head west you enter the region of Dumfries and Galloway. We were just passing through, heading for more significant attractions further north, but we did have time to stop and see a few interesting things.
The town of Ruthwell looks to be too small even for a Pub, but it does have a tiny nondescript church. It's nondescript from the outside anyway, seeing it, you would never imagine such a valuable monument as the Ruthwell Cross was contained within. The Cross dates from the 7th century and is covered in Saxon Runes and scenes from the Bible. The Church isn't tall enough to hold the cross so before it was re-erected in the 19th Century they dug out a pit in the church floor so the Cross could stand fully upright. It must make an imposing impression on the village parishioners.
After touring the outside with a lap of the moat, we went inside to admire the still imposing stonework and clamber up stairs and through various rooms.
After Caerlaverock we had time for a quick stop at a dairy where we sampled some amazing local Ice Cream before heading on to our B&B further north in Ayr.
The town of Ruthwell looks to be too small even for a Pub, but it does have a tiny nondescript church. It's nondescript from the outside anyway, seeing it, you would never imagine such a valuable monument as the Ruthwell Cross was contained within. The Cross dates from the 7th century and is covered in Saxon Runes and scenes from the Bible. The Church isn't tall enough to hold the cross so before it was re-erected in the 19th Century they dug out a pit in the church floor so the Cross could stand fully upright. It must make an imposing impression on the village parishioners.
Not far beyond Ruthwell we made our main stop for the afternoon, Caerlaverock Castle, slightly inland from the Solway Firth. Except for it's unusual triangular shape, Caerlaverock is exactly as you would visualise an old English Castle would look. It has a full moat all around with an imposing keep with the gatehouse built in. Despite it's daunting appearance, Edward I of England did capture it when he invaded Scotland in 1300, however he had (and needed) a significant manpower advantage to do so.
After touring the outside with a lap of the moat, we went inside to admire the still imposing stonework and clamber up stairs and through various rooms.
After Caerlaverock we had time for a quick stop at a dairy where we sampled some amazing local Ice Cream before heading on to our B&B further north in Ayr.
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