Author Archives: solwayshorewalker

The Solway saltmarshes

Posted on August 29, 2017 by solwayshorewalker

At first light on a Sunday morning in late September, Norman Holton sat on the edge of Campfield Marsh near Bowness on the Solway. On the Scottish side the starlings were, as usual, gathering in great wheeling clouds, and as … Continue reading →

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Capturing memories: the ‘Remembering the Solway’ oral history project

Posted on July 30, 2017 by solwayshorewalker

‘I’ve enjoyed every single bit of it – every interview, every person has been a sheer gem,’ Jean Graham told us at the celebration that marked the end of the oral history project, Remembering the Solway. ‘And how marvellous it … Continue reading →

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Snippets 13: “A hare in a fix”

Posted on June 16, 2017 by solwayshorewalker

The polar bear on the ice-floe is the iconic image of climate change and the warming of our seas. Here on the Solway Firth nearly 140 years ago, the climate had changed in the other direction – towards a bitter … Continue reading →

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What’s a clay dabbin?

Posted on May 5, 2017 by solwayshorewalker

“The first thing people do is stroke the walls – it’s tactile, there’s something about it that makes people want to touch it.” Alex Gibbons On April 28th 2017 the first clay dabbins building to be constructed on the Solway … Continue reading →

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Snippets 12: In praise of Bowness Moss

Posted on March 27, 2017 by solwayshorewalker

Bowness Moss or Common is one of the South Solway Mosses National Nature Reserves, NNR. The near-pristine centre of this raised mire is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, SSSI;  it’s also a Special Area of Conservation, SAC. Acronyms are … Continue reading →

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Ask the fellows who cut the peats

Posted on March 13, 2017 by solwayshorewalker

“I just went and asked for a job – I fancied gaan cuttin’ peat. The foreman said, ‘I’ll take you up on the moss’ – and what a walk it was! A big wide open space, peat stacks everywhere. And … Continue reading →

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Time-warps and gnomons

Posted on March 8, 2017 by solwayshorewalker

It was a fine bright morning, there was still a sprinkling of snow on the fells, but Spring was clearly on its way; I’d spent too much time at my desk writing and longed for the changed perspective of the … Continue reading →

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Lighthouses of the Upper Solway: a guest post by Captain Chris Puxley

Posted on December 19, 2016 by solwayshorewalker

For many years, Captain Chris Puxley was Harbourmaster of the Port of Silloth and  a ship’s pilot, bringing ships up the Solway’s unpredictable channels from Workington. He has always been interested in the Port’s history and has written a book … Continue reading →

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Snippets 11: big moon, big tides, at Allonby Bay

Posted on October 19, 2016 by solwayshorewalker

On Monday night the full moon, its face very slightly squashed, shone down on a stormy Solway Firth. The brown silt-laden waves pounded ashore and shortly after midnight the incoming tide that was battering the sea-defences at Dubmill Point reached … Continue reading →

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Snippets 10: stone stoops

Posted on August 19, 2016 by solwayshorewalker

Gateposts don’t normally attract our attention, so it is easy to miss the fact that many of the ‘posts’ supporting field gates on the Solway Plain are not posts at all, but are the traditional red sandstone pillars – known … Continue reading →

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