Managing for the future

What is a National Landscape

The National Landscape, abbreviated to NL, is a precious landscape with such a distinctive character and natural beauty that it is in the nation’s interest to safeguard it. National landscapes range from rugged coastline, dunes, salt marshes, peatlands, woodlands and estuaries to water meadows, gentle downland and upland moors. The Solway Coast National Landscape was […]

Tourism

It’s no wonder that tourists have been coming to what is now the Solway Coast National Landscape for hundreds of years. With its stunning views, huge expanses of space, lovely towns and villages and proximity to two World Heritage Sites in Hadrian’s Wall and the Lake District, it’s an amazing place to visit. The Victorians played a huge […]

Fishing

There has been a fishing industry in the Solway Firth for centuries. Today, the commercial operations are largely confined to boats sailing out of the harbours of Maryport and Silloth with plaice, skate and whitefish their primary catch. But there are more varieties to look out for around the Solway Coast National Landscape. The Firth’s […]

Farming

The landscape of the Solway Coast National Landscape has been massively influenced by farming. It is the industry which has had the greatest impact on our landscape and farmland now covers the biggest proportion of the NL Centuries ago, the Solway Plain was a wild and inhospitable place but demand for agricultural land saw the […]

Energy

The issue of renewable energy production is one that divides opinion, though one thing is for certain – changing climates and rising sea levels are a key threat to the Solway Coast National Landscape into the future. Wind is the most common energy-creating asset around the Solway – that’s why both the sea and the […]

Vernacular and clay dabbins

These are one of the most intriguing forms of architecture in the Solway Coast National Landscape. The clay dabbins as the name suggests are earth-built buildings, in part a response to the limitations in building materials on the Solway where building timber and stone are rare. Once common on both the Scottish and English sides […]

Fortifications

Given the Solway Coast’s location on a border between two countries, it’s no surprise that this area has many historic fortified buildings. Take any route around the Solway Coast National Landscape and you will see churches and homes built to keep raiders out, not to mention the likes of Hadrian’s Wall and the remains of other […]

Farmsteads

The size and shape of the farmsteads of the Solway Coast National Landscape is wide and varied. They range from substantial farmhouses and longhouses owned by the bigger landowners, to small cottages built to house their workforce. The materials used vary greatly too – from the local red sandstone or brick to slate from Wales […]

Churches

It was the creation of Holme Cultram Abbey in 1150 which drove the religious architecture of the Solway Coast National Landscape. Most of the churches on the Solway Plain were endowed to the abbey, and either built by the Abbey, as was the case at Newton Arlosh, of rebuilt on earlier foundations. Many had Roman […]