The coast and dunes

There are plenty of different coastal environments to explore along the Solway Coast National Landscape – not least our many miles of dunes. Inland from the sand and mud flats along the southern stretch you will reach the unbroken belt of sand dunes. Two of the loveliest are Mawbray Banks, north of Allonby, and Wolsty […]

Special characteristics

The Solway Coast National Landscape is a special place. We are relatively small in comparison to some of the 46 designated NLs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but we are distinctive because of our habitats, heritage and landscape which are of international significance. We could write endless lists of the area’s special qualities – […]

Patterns on the landscape

‘Mosaic’ is a word often used to describe the Solway Coast National Landscape and it’s an apt description in both the physical and metaphorical sense. This is a place which has its origins in nature, but which has been shaped by both nature and man, and those patterns on the landscape spread across its entire […]

Salt Pans

The salt pans of the Solway Coast National Landscape are a lasting monument to a bygone industrial age. In Anglo-Saxon times, salt production was the country’s third most important industry behind agriculture and fishing – and Cumbria, as it is known today, was one of only six areas in the country which tapped into its […]

Milefortlet 21

Milefortlet 21 is a fascinating spot on the Solway Coast National Landscape. It’s located just off the coast road, just over the brow of Swarthy Hill, overlooking the area’s historic saltpans. This was a key part of the Roman’s defences and it was excavated in the early 1990s and  its turf banks rebuilt so you […]

King Edward I Monument

Edward I of England was king from 1274 to 1307 and spent most of his reign campaigning on England’s western and northern borders as he battled the Scots. He was known as Longshanks, for his height, and the Hammer of the Scots for his hard and efficient pursuit of supremacy in Scotland. In the winter […]

Port Carlisle

Port Carlisle is one of the most interesting areas of the Solway Coast National Landscapes’ built heritage and was once known as Fisher’s Cross. In 1823, a canal was dug to link the village to Carlisle and help the city’s rapidly expanding manufacturing base, which is when it was decided that Port Carlisle was a […]

Newton Arlosh

Newton Arlosh is a place in the Solway Coast National Landscape which was built out of tragedy. In 1304, a sea dyke was breached by a massive storm in nearby Skinburness, devastating the port and its town. The abbot of Holme Cultram Abbey requested that the survivors be moved to a ‘new town’ at Newton […]

Bowness on Solway

The area around Boustead Hill is very popular with horse riders keen to explore the Solway Coast National Landscape. There are two equestrian centres in the hamlet and some horse owners even bring their animals here on holiday. Boustead Hill is a pretty unusual place – a hamlet perched on what is almost an island, […]

Boustead Hill

The area around Boustead Hill is very popular with horse riders keen to explore the Solway Coast National Landscape. There are two equestrian centres in the hamlet and some horse owners even bring their animals here on holiday. Boustead Hill is a pretty unusual place – a hamlet perched on what is almost an island, […]