Barrasgate House Bed and Breakfast

Barrasgate Bed and Breakfast - B&B Gretna Green, near Hadrian's Wall, Lake District, Carlisle and Weddings Gretna Green

Gretna Green

Whats on in our area

There is lots to do in Dumfries and Galloway and Cumbria. Whether it’s out-door pursuits, history and heritage, or just relaxing, that you are after, there’s lots on offer. Here are some suggestions…
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events calendar please click

Origins of the Ridings Common Ridings can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries when the border lands were in constant upheaval during the long wars with England and because of the tribal custom of plunder and cattle thieving, known as reiving (the ancient word for robbing) that was commonplace amongst the major Borders families. In such lawless times, townspeople would ride their boundaries, or 'marches', to protect their common lands and prevent encroachment by neighbouring landlords. Long after they ceased to be essential, the ridings continued in commemoration of local legend, history and tradition. The Ridings Today Today, each Borders town celebrates its history once a year during June - August with magnificent rideouts involving hundreds of horses, ridden with a passion worthy of the reivers old. Community spirit is symbolised by the Burgh Flag or Standard, which in a colourful ceremony is 'bussed' where ribbons are tied to the staff by the principal lass, recalling the days when a knight's lady attached her ribbon to his lance before battle. The principal men are elected annually and honoured with such titles as Standard Bearer (Selkirk), Cornet (Hawick), Callant (Jedburgh), Braw Lad (Galashiels), Reiver (Duns), Whipman (West Linton), Melrosian (Melrose), Coldstreamer (Coldstream) and Kelso Laddie. On horseback they lead their followers in the festivities. Old songs and tunes are played, banners waved and local pride expressed. In some towns the festivities extend over anything up to two weeks, with a programme of ceremonies, rideouts, entertainment and traditional sports. In others, the action is focused over one or two days within the summer months… For more information and a list of dates for each event / festival please visit our events calendar. Whitehaven Festival 2011 Written on February 11, 2011 by Luke in Event Listings 27Share Date: 17th, 18th and 19th June 2011 Start Time: Officially 10am Friday 17th June Venue:Whitehaven Harbourside Well what can we say? Another year, another fabulous event brought to you by the Whitehaven Festival team, supported by Nuclear Management Partners. In fact a major thank you has to go to the team at NMP, who have been supporting the Festival for several years now. To be quite honest we wouldn’t have been in a position to host such fantastic events without their generous support. So NMP, from the Festival team, thank you! Now 2011 – what does it hold? The Festival arena is coming back; last year it played host to some of the biggest names in the business – Katherine Jenkins, Status Quo and N-Dubz. It was a complete success and topped by an absolutely cracking performance of precision and beauty by the Red Arrows. And I’ll let you in on a little secret – this year’s Festival Arena is going to be even better! The Sugar Tongue will once again be playing host to celebrity chefs, tall ships and one or two surprises. I’ll keep you posted on facebook and twitter about these. And that’s all I can tell you at the moment. We’re working on some cracking plans and, as per usual (without bragging!) I’m sure they’re going to be absolutely amazing. So sign up to facebook, follow us on twitter and keep visiting our website.

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