Abington - Lockerbie. 40.2 miles. Still very cold, little sunshine, no rain.
We enjoyed the rest yesterday, also we missed the constant rain. When leaving this morning we were in good spirits again, had a lovely ride on the B7076 all the way to Lockerbie and mostly downhill. Abington is supposedly the highest village in Scotland, so no wonder we were exhausted from all that cycling uphill!
As we have never been to Lockerbie we wanted to take the chance this time to visit the Remembrance Garden. Here is a reminder of what happened. A bomb exploded on board Pan Am Flight 103, over Lockerbie, killing all 259 passengers and crew, together with 11 people on the ground. The design of the garden is quite beautiful in its simplicity and a large granite stone records all the names of those who lost their lives. There is also a visitor's centre and in their Dryfesdale Room is a large Commemorative Quilt on display. Again the quilt is dedicated to all who lost their lives in the events of 21 December 1988. The scene of the quilt is of the countryside with a tree in the foreground. The 259 leaves on the tree depict the souls who lost their lives. The 11 pebbles depict the residents of Lockerbie who lost their lives. The tree, underpinned by strong roots, represents the continuity of life, which reflects the way the people of Lockerbie and families of those who died, have striven to overcome this tragedy. The quilt was made as a remembrance of the twentieth anniversary of the disaster. The Town Hall in Lockerbie has a Memorial Window, depicting the flags of all the nations who lost citizens on that day. This year it will be the twenty fifth anniversary.


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