Tag Archives: ships

Piloting a ship up the Firth to Silloth

Posted on April 1, 2016 by solwayshorewalker

You have probably never thought what  it would be like to pilot a ship: to be in charge of, say, a cargo vessel with a hold-full of sticky molasses, that is about to enter the narrow dock gates of a … Continue reading →

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The Walls of Parton

Posted on March 22, 2016 by solwayshorewalker

‘Are you looking for the old port?’ The man seemed to have appeared from nowhere, yet he was tall and strongly built, white hair sticking up straight, not easy to overlook. ‘Port?’ I was bemused – I’d been poking at … Continue reading →

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Ship’s-keel scaur: but whose keel?

Posted on October 6, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

On a warm, calm evening in May, at a low Spring tide, Ronnie Porter led me along the shore at Allonby. As we walked, he showed me the various rocky scaurs and boulders, and he told me their names. Near … 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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Snippets 2: A chance encounter, as lifeboat ’47-024′ leaves the sea

Posted on May 6, 2015 by solwayshorewalker

The man with the camera seemed to know a bit about lifeboats. We were standing on the dock at Whitehaven harbour, watching as a lifeboat was hoisted out of the water. I hadn’t known that was due to happen: I’d … Continue reading →

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‘Trains and boats and … cranes’: the Port of Workington

Posted on September 12, 2014 by solwayshorewalker

Once upon a time you could – it was said – walk from one side of the Prince of Wales dock to the other across the decks of ships, and the Port of Workington employed 150 people. Now, there are … Continue reading →

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