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Author Archives: solwayshorewalker
The vanishing keel on Ship’s-keel Scaur
Back in 2015 near Dubmill Point on Allonby Bay I finally found what I’d been searching for: the ‘ship’s keel’ for which Ship’s-Keel Scaur is named. Its timbers were as hard as iron, the keel (if that is what it … Continue reading
Posted in Allonby, coastal heritage, industrial archaeology, ships
Tagged shifting sand, shipwrecks
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Bores on the Solway
The tidal bore on the Solway approached “… with a hoarse and loud roar, and with a brilliance of phenomena and demonstration, incomparably more sublime than if the wide sandy water were densely scoured with the fleetest and the most … Continue reading
Posted in crossings & waths, Spring & Neap Tides, tidal bores
Tagged kayaking, River Eden, River Nith, River Wampool, tidal surge
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Grazing and Growth on Rockcliffe Marsh
“At Rockcliffe [Marsh] it’s about the birds, it’s about the saltmarsh as a vegetation community; it’s about the geological interest in the development of saltmarshes. Many other saltmarshes have been enclosed and changed because of agricultural methods, but the Solway … Continue reading
Posted in conservation, saltmarshes, wetlands
Tagged creeks, grazing, levees, sediment
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The acronyms’ stories: imagine.
‘Alphabet soup’: AONB, EMS, MPA, MCZ, NNR, SAC, SPA, SSSI – how many more of these acronyms for conservation designations can you recall? Do you know what they mean? (If you don’t – and not many people do – you … Continue reading
Posted in conservation, Marine Conservation Zone, mud-shrimps, peat, bogs and moors, saltmarshes, wetlands
Tagged acronyms, conservation designations
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SACs, SPAs, SSSIs on the Solway Firth: Learning to love the acronyms
“Think of [the list] as not so much an inventory as a catalogue leading to compelling and interacting stories.” [1] Conservation designations: their borders aren’t marked by posts or buoys, but they are marked by lines on maps, and by … Continue reading
Posted in conservation, Marine Conservation Zone, mudflats, peat, bogs and moors, saltmarshes, wetlands
Tagged acronym soup, acronyms, Marine Conservation Zone, Ramsar site
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“Look!”
“Look what I’ve found!”“Look at that!”“What’s this?” We do it automatically, hold out the treasure on our hand. For about 10 years I’ve been taking pictures of what people have found when they joined me for low-tide guided walks on … Continue reading
A Solway small-holding
Yesterday I stood leaning on the pitchfork by the glowing ash-pile, just looking around at the trees and the hedges and our sheep. Two weeks ago, on a blue, still morning, there had been a sound like a gun-shot from … Continue reading
Posted in conservation, farming, smallholding
Tagged pond, sheep, small-holding, springs, woodland
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Tidal Power proposals on the Solway: an update
When I first blogged about this topic, back in October 2015, I explained why the Solway Firth is being considered as a suitable estuary for the construction of tidal power schemes, and the basic ideas and technology behind the schemes. … Continue reading
Posted in renewable energy, tide & wind
Tagged electric bridge, NIMBY-ism, russell lagoon, ullman lagoon
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Where ships meet …
Goldilocks would have liked the tanker Zapadnyy’s cargo: molasses, at just the right temperature, not too hot and not too cold. Transporting molasses is tricky – it must be kept fairly fluid, so heating coils warm it to 24oC in … Continue reading
Posted in coastal heritage, ports, ships
Tagged molasses, piloting, sandbanks, Silloth, Workington, Zapadnyy
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Port Carlisle: canals and ships and trains
(September 2020: you can now also view two videos about Port Carlisle, made for the launch of my book The Fresh and the Salt. The Story of the Solway: links are on the website.) When the tide is out, Port … Continue reading
Posted in coastal heritage, industrial heritage, ports, ships
Tagged canals, emigration, memories, railway, steamers, wharf
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Solway Shore-walker 