Author Archives: solwayshorewalker

Barrages, ‘breakwaters’ and ‘bridges’: three proposals for harnessing tidal power in the Solway Firth

Posted on October 26, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

It’s the ‘Energy Coast’ – but where do West Cumbria’s priorities for the county, the country and, more importantly for the long-term future of the planet, lie? We have onshore and offshore wind power-generation (Robin Rigg), an Anaerobic Digester near … Continue reading →

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Snippets 6: ” ‘Tis the voice of the lobster’ I heard him declare…”

Posted on October 21, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

Cumbria isn’t just about the National Park and Herdwick sheep, but even on the Solway coast, it sometimes helps to have ‘Lake District’ in your title. The Lake District Coast Aquarium at Maryport is a little gem of an aquarium … Continue reading →

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Ship’s-keel scaur: but whose keel?

Posted on October 6, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

(For an update on the changes to the keel, see the blogpost on the vanishing keel) On a warm, calm evening in May, at a low Spring tide, Ronnie Porter led me along the shore at Allonby. As we walked, … Continue reading →

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Snippets 5: Angels, salt and shroud-pins

Posted on October 2, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

Pat Bull unlocked a peeling black door and showed me into a small brick-walled room. On the plain wooden table which almost filled the space were small polythene bags and boxes, labelled in black feltpen with numbers and letters. At … Continue reading →

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‘Signor tuberculato’, PH Gosse and Charles Kingsley

Posted on September 13, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

Cockle shells are piled like snow-drifts amongst the trees at the top of the bay; they form banks and ridges along the shore. Balcary Bay, its entrance partly plugged by Heston Island, looks to be a tranquil and sheltered haven, … Continue reading →

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The design of the Solway: an aerial perspective, part 2

Posted on September 7, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

September 2nd, 0845h: Andrew Lysser, pilot, aerial photographer, instructor, and owner of Cumbria Gyroplanes, and I lifted off from the runway at Carlisle airport in a silver-coloured gyroplane. This time I wasn’t nervous, and there was no wall of rain … Continue reading →

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Waths: fords and borders

Posted on August 22, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

On a very low Spring tide in August, my guide Mark Messenger and I crossed and re-crossed the Solway on foot, from England to Scotland and back. We waded across the Firth through the outgoing tide and the flow of … Continue reading →

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The design of the Solway: Hems, reestings, holes and shoals

Posted on August 13, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

The turning tide takes time to fill the Solway. Today (August 12th) the first low tide at Maryport was at 0544h, height 1.5m; after turning, the flood tide was at its highest at Maryport at 1102h, height 7.5m. Heading North … Continue reading →

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The design of the Solway: an aerial perspective, part 1

Posted on August 10, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

To understand how something works, you need to understand not only its design, but its interconnections and interactions with its surroundings. So it is with the Solway Firth. My ongoing fascination with the Firth’s ‘design’ is why I have recently … Continue reading →

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The volcanoes of Workington

Posted on July 16, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

The colours of pebbles on the shore range from grey and ochre through green to blue, and the eroded cliff is banded orange and purple and red, like a section through an old volcano. Pebbles are bubbled with cavities, though … Continue reading →

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