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Couples could marry in Scotland without parental permission. Gretna was the first place in Scotland that travellers on the west coast got to.

Re livs' post, some way back, about the central clues:

I think the numbers in these clues refer to the position of letters in alphabets, rather than to other clues:

21a - ETA is the 7th letter of the Greek alphabet, which has 24 letters ("7 of 24")

17d & 18d - ARE sounds like the 18th letter of the English alphabet, and TEA like the 20th ("18 ... / ... or 20, say, of 26")

I guess the other parts of these clues then provide double definitions?

Thanks johns (obvious when someone tells you!) and mamya. Much obliged.