The Firth

The Solway Firth doesn’t just include the Solway Coast National Landscape – it stretches from St Bees Head in West Cumbria to the Mull of Galloway, the most southern tip of Scotland. The two coastlines are very different. In England, it’s based on soft sandstone, while the Scottish side is made of harder granite rocks […]

Lowland raised mires

The lowland raised mires – or peatbogs to give them a more familar name – are the living, breathing heart of the Solway Coast National Landscape. They have evolved over thousands of years into a dome of peat covered in pools and plant life. They are rare and important habitats, which is why all of […]

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 […]

Salt Marsh

The salt marshes of the Solway Coast Area National Landscape are a dominant landscape of north Cumbria. They have been created through the deposition of sand, silt and mud through the ebb and flow of the tides of the Solway Firth. Tides vary in height and frequency and for periods of time. While tides are […]