Having found a lot to look at in Holmes Chapel, we set off for Glasgow a little later than planned, but made good time for the first couple of hours. We were on target to arrive in Glasgow by late afternoon, which would give us a couple of daylight hours to visit nearby Greenock.

The M8 motorway wove its way along the edge of the Lake District to the west and the Yorkshire Dales to the east, both of which were as spectacular as they look in the movies and on TV. We are keen to come back and explore this area more on a future visit.

Unfortunately our drive was stopped short by a massive traffic jam caused by an accident near Carlisle – see photos 6-8. After sitting stationary for about 90 minutes we eventually had the opportunity to exit to Carlisle with the hope of finding a way around, however this just led us to more traffic jams! We decided to stop for dinner to wait for the congestion to clear, so didn’t make it to our motel in Glasgow until 9pm.

We got a photo of the Welcome to Scotland sign as we crossed the border at Gretna, but by that stage it was dark and the heavy rain from Storm Amy had begun as it moved in from the west. I have therefore subbed out our photo with a stock photo of the same sign taken in daylight.

It was a bit unfortunate that our afternoon and evening turned out the way they did, however it was another unique experience we certainly won’t forget. We did get to visit Greenock the following day.