The first place you come to when you arrive over the border into Scotland on the M74 is Gretna Green, world famous for it's runaway marriages at the Old Blacksmith's Shop.
The Scots, like the Celts, are warm, hospitable & loving people who have always had an open & progressive attitude towards marriage. Other countries, including England & many other European countries, hold different values. Traditionally, in Scotland, a man & woman over the age of sixteen could be married by declaring themselves husband & wife in front of witnesses.
In England, such marriages were prohibited by Act of Parliament in 1745 with the result that eloping couples fled to Scotland for their marriages. Gretna Green was the first changing post across the Scottish Border for the stagecoaches on the main London to Edinburgh route & so began its long association with the romance of the runaways.
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Scotlands Saltire
The Old Blacksmith's Shop and complex at Gretna Green
