A little past the Beef Tub, near the head of the Cross Burn, on the A701 heading towards Tweedsmuir, is the Postie Stone. It commemorates the lives of John Goodfellow, a coach driver, and James McGeorge, a coach guard.
These two good friends were taking the mail coach from Dumfries to Edinburgh in February 1831. But they were caught in a fierce blizzard which forced them to abandon the coach and set off on foot through the snow to try and deliver the mail and make it to safety.
They took the mailbags and the horses but, sadly, they were overcome by the terrible weather and died of exposure. The horses carried on, eventually reaching a nearby farm which raised the alarm. The men were not found until some days later.
The stone was erected in their memory in 1931, exactly a century after the event. The men were laid to rest in what is now the old churchyard in Moffat, remembered by many for their dedication to duty.
A famous name you will see in the churchyard is that of John Loudon McAdam, of Tarmac fame. Born in Ayr, McAdam died in Moffat, while returning to his home in England from his annual summer visit to Scotland.
