Author Archives: solwayshorewalker

Floating cows and snarling dogs: William Mitchell of Maryport

Posted on December 7, 2023 by solwayshorewalker

There is a self-portrait of William Mitchell (1823–1900) in Maryport’s Maritime Museum [1], painted in 1899. Most of Mitchell’s other portraits are rather lacking in life, but he clearly knew himself better than his other subjects: the lower part of … Continue reading →

Posted in art and science, coastal heritage, ports, ships | Tagged , | Comments Off on Floating cows and snarling dogs: William Mitchell of Maryport

A Solway smallholding: update 2023

Posted on October 26, 2023 by solwayshorewalker

Six o’clock, and the rooks and jackdaws are wheeling in the darkening sky, shrieking and cawing in a cacophony of sound, their attention focussed on the garden below. The football-rattle clatter of vigilant magpies adds another layer of sound. Like … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, farming, smallholding | Tagged , , | Comments Off on A Solway smallholding: update 2023

Neaps and Springs: high highs, low highs, and high or low lows.

Posted on May 4, 2023 by solwayshorewalker

During the biggest Spring tides of the year, often in September, the height of the water in the Solway Firth might change by almost 10 metres – that’s nearly 33 feet – during the course of one tidal cycle. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Allonby, Marine Conservation Zone, rowing, Sabellaria, honeycomb worm, Spring & Neap Tides, tidelines | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Neaps and Springs: high highs, low highs, and high or low lows.

WeBS counts and webbed feet

Posted on March 11, 2023 by solwayshorewalker

“You can tell barnie poo from pinks’ poo because the pinks’ is greenish,” Frank bends down and points to the soft cylinders of pinkfoot goose poo that are scattered on the cropped turf. “Barnies’ are brownish. But they all have … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, mudflats, saltmarshes | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on WeBS counts and webbed feet

Protecting the coast: limestone rock armour

Posted on November 18, 2022 by solwayshorewalker

A local Cumberland councillor, who sits on the Board of the cross-border Solway Firth Partnership, often refers to the Cumbrian coast as being the ‘soft side’ of the Firth, in contrast to the rockier Scottish, side. And once you have … Continue reading →

Posted in geology, LIMESTONE, limestone fossils, limestone rock armour, stones | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Protecting the coast: limestone rock armour

Wandering walls in limestone country

Posted on October 17, 2022 by solwayshorewalker

Dry stone wallers need to be pragmatists, building around or over problem areas, or incorporating boulders too big to move. At Bents, near Newbiggin-on-Lune on the edge of the Westmorland Dales, red sandstone and pale limestone are strikingly juxtaposed.  Huge … Continue reading →

Posted in geology, LIMESTONE, limestone and drystone walls, limestone scenery, quarries | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Wandering walls in limestone country

‘Saltmarsh writing workshop’ – some words and images

Posted on September 18, 2022 by solwayshorewalker

The RSPB’s Campfield Reserve near Bowness on the Upper Solway is a perfect place for a writing workshop, especially if you want to ‘experience’, think about, and write about saltmarshes; they form a land- and sea-scape that most people probably … Continue reading →

Posted in bioturbation, mud-shrimps, mudflats, saltmarshes, tidal bores, Writing | Tagged | Comments Off on ‘Saltmarsh writing workshop’ – some words and images

The charisma of Corophium, the mudshrimp

Posted on July 18, 2022 by solwayshorewalker

Snowdrifts! Small semicircles and rippling lines of white on the grass of the saltmarsh: the cast exoskeletons of thousands of mudshrimps. My friend and former colleague Professor Geoff Moore (himself an expert on amphipod crustaceans including Corophium) once told me … Continue reading →

Posted in bioturbation, mud-shrimps, mudflats, saltmarshes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The charisma of Corophium, the mudshrimp

Rocks and patterns: Fleswick Bay

Posted on June 28, 2022 by solwayshorewalker

Whatever the weather or state of the tide, Fleswick Bay never disappoints. Sheltered within the two arms of the St Bees headlands, it is an anomaly on the Cumbrian Solway coast – tall cliffs, caves, rocky platforms pitted with deep … Continue reading →

Posted in geology, sandstone, stones | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Rocks and patterns: Fleswick Bay

Saltpans or fish-tanks? Stone basins on a Solway shore

Posted on June 10, 2022 by solwayshorewalker

Along the top of the shore between Maryport and its golf club is a high and wide promenade, constructed in the 1930s from an astonishing volume of concrete. At weekends it’s a perfect walkway for families with pushchairs, small hairy … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, coastal heritage, fishing, salt, sandstone | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Saltpans or fish-tanks? Stone basins on a Solway shore