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Weave your way down tiny lanes with overhanging trees, sleepy fields full of contented cows and Georgian farmhouses, to this great expanse of shining water. You can take time out from the hectic world and find solace in this special place, the Solway Firth, caught between England and Scotland, in this lovely outpost of England’s furthest shore where tiny cottages bright with flowers nestle close to the water’s edge. There is an indefinable magical quality, a sense of wilderness in this little corner of Cumbria, a magic created by the flat light, the great waters, the haunting calls of the rich bird life on the shoreline, that distant coastline of Scotland wreathed in mists across the Firth, like a mystical land of legend.
It’s time to draw breath in this place of history, where Hadrian’s Wall, built by the Emperor in 122 A.D., comes to a stop before turning briefly south, and the new Hadrian’s Wall path, opened in 2003 and stretching right across England, comes to an end. Viking boats once swept up on the tide to settle these marginal lands, Viking settlers reaching far inland into the fells where their descendants live to this day. Here haafnetters still ply their trade in the waters of the Solway, a traditional practice dating back to Viking times. Here too, Edward Longshanks, the ‘Hammer of the Scots’, lay on his deathbed and looked across at the land he had failed to conquer. And once, at Port Carlisle, a bustling port held cargo ships fuelling Carlisle and beyond. From here, George Stephenson transported his locomotive Rocket from Port Carlisle bound for Liverpool and the Rainhill trials in the 1820’s… History is everywhere in the rich heritage of this unique coastline, where marsh and water nibble at the land, and here, as you follow the Heritage Trails, old pubs full of smugglers’ tales and fishing stories will give you a warm welcome. Eat delicious fish and chips at Silloth, watch for migratory birds in the Nature Reserves on the great expanses of marsh, explore ancient churches, and this end of Hadrian’s Wall, visit Roman sites and the remains of old ports, or just experience the peace and beauty of this place, taking time out from busy lives to find tranquillity and space… © Angela Locke 2009 |
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