Anyone know what this is?

[Brianjeff50]

Spotted by the road somewhere just north of Gretna Green. A lot of Lejoggers seem to have seen it too but no-one knows what it is.

[Bmblbzzz]

It's a monument to the French painter Toulouse-Lautrec, who while on a cycling holiday in 1892 married a barmaid in a short ceremony in Gretna Green.

Or maybe it isn't. A local paper or the relevant parish council (or whatever they're called in Scotland) might be a good source of info? Or the tourist board?

[Brianjeff50]

This seems to be the closest I can get to any information about it.

https://www.trucknetuk.com/phpBB/viewto ... 2&t=161178

And this may be where more recent tales have originated.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-toulouse2

Seems extraordinary that it’s fascinated people for years and remains a mystery. It’s in the Moffat/Beattock area by the old A74.

[Nessie23]

I think that is in Paulatic’s neck of woods and he might have some local knowledge.

[backnotes]

A few more clues - according to Google, it’s a sculpture of a hot air balloon, by Breton artist Stefanie Bourne, and is one of the Sustrans artworks.

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Sustrans_artwork

138 Toulouse - Mongolfiere (1997). - Sculpture by Stefanie Bourne SCOTLAND Moffat

https://www.deveron-projects.com/stefanie-bourne/ has no further info.

Haven’t found what the link between Moffatt, hot air balloons and Toulouse is yet! The first hot air balloon flight in Scotland seems to have been in Edinburgh, so it’s not that.

PS someone could start a quiz where people have to identify places and unusual objects that can be seen while on cycle touring holidays - you could it something like the Lockdown Non-Touring Quiz.....

[bogmyrtle]

I always understood it was a shelter on the Glasgow Toulouse cycle route put there when the road was upgraded to motorway.

[Paulatic]

I think that is in Paulatic’s neck of woods and he might have some local knowledge.

Missed this first time around.
AFAIK It was sponsored by Toulouse originally it had cartoon characters, on the bottom corners, depicting Scottish and French charactertures They were either stolen or removed for not being PC.
Initially it was built up in a different place on a prominent mound the other side of the A701. There was total confusion and no one knew anything about it. Transpired it was built in the wrong place and while the motorway was being constructed it was taken down and put up in its present location.

[Brianjeff50]

Mystery solved! Almost four years to the day since I cycled past it. Must go back.