Gretna Green

Many young couples are arriving in Gretna so as to escape the strict marriage laws requiring both partners to be 21 years of age. The blacksmith shop was the historical site of these elopements in the 18th century. It has been considered as a prominent tourist spot for over a hundred years. Over 1000 couples a year still choose the Blacksmith Shop as the site of their auspicious wedding ceremony.

Gretna in Scotland was historically known for the HM Factory, it is codenamed Moor side, huge cordite munitions factory built nearby on the shore of Solway Firth to supply ammunition to British forces during World War I. The factory is the biggest of its kind ever built; it stretched for nine miles from Eastriggs along the Solway coast as far as Longtown in England

Gretna and Eastriggs were built to house the workforce, and many were accommodated nearby in Carlisle. When 5000 workers arrived back by train to Carlisle, one publican had 1000 whiskies lined up! The labourers and workers had such a reputation for drunkenness that Gretna and the surrounding area became one of the few places in the UK to come under the jurisdiction of the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 (DORA) passed by Lloyd George's government.

Today major portion of the local economy is derived from the marriage industry having its base in Gretna Green. It is considered that one among every six Scottish wedding takes place in Gretna. Some marriage takes place at the register office in the centre of the township. Gretna is also home of the Gretna Football Club of the Scottish Premier League.

Romance is all around you when you visit Gretna Green in Scotland. You can feel it in the atmosphere and in the sparkling conversations with the friendly local people.