Solway Shore Features on Radio 4 Open Country

News for May 2015

Solway Shore Features on Radio 4 Open Country

Presenter Caz Graham visits the shores of Solway Firth to discover the folk and wildlife that live around the stunning coastline.

Caz pulls on her wellies and heads to the shoreline at low tide with the help of Ann Lingard. Ann is a 'low-tide' guide and leads Caz on a tromp through a rarely explored landscape: one of rock pools and rare reefs. Ann shows Caz the home of the honeycomb worm, Sabellaria. The creature creates a reef close to the low water mark and it is exposed at low tide. They also visit a submerged forest that the sea reveals when the tide rolls back.

Caz meets former miner Tom Norman to find out more about the Solway coast's industrial heritage. At the site of the former Haig Colliery in Whitehaven Tom recounts tales of mining under the sea dating back to the 1700s.

Further up the Solway Firth, where England and Scotland are a stone's throw away, Caz is given a lesson in Haaf Net fishing by Mark Messenger and Mark Graham. They are two of a dying breed fishing using a method that dates back to Viking times that involves standing chest-deep in the Solway Firth with a wide net to catch salmon and trout.

To listen to the whole programme click here

News Update & Events

3 May 2015
Coastal Foraging and Wild Cook-In - Why not learn about coastal and maritime plants (including seaweeds) in a 2.5 hour walk covering about 1 mile along the Carrick shore? Visit the Galloway Wild Foods website or book via email

16 May 2015
Guided Solway Shore Walk - Join Ann Lingard for an informal ramble down to the low-tide mark on the southern shore of the Solway at Beckfoot. Look at the submerged forest and whatever the tide has brought in. For more information and booking (essential) contact 016973 21967 or enquiries@annlingard.com

Spring/Summer Tidelines 2015 - this issue is now out so get your copy at the usual outlets or download from the SFP website here

Scotland's National Marine Plan Published

Scotland's National Marine Plan (NMP) which was adopted on 25 March 2015 and laid before Parliament on 27 March 2015 has now been published.

Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment, in a statement to Parliament, thanked marine stakeholders and the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee and MSPs more generally for their considered input to the consultation and scrutiny processes for the National Marine Plan.

The adopted Plan has now been published alongside a final modifications report setting out the changes made from the consultation draft. Other documents to follow the publication of the Plan include an updated BRIA, a Habitats Regulations Appraisal Record and a Post Adoption Statement. For more information on the plan click here

Loch Ryan Booklet Now Out

Loch Ryan is Scotland's most southerly sea loch and one of the most important wildlife sites in the UK. It is a significant location for wild birds throughout the year and holds nationally important populations of several species.

There are also many historic and archaeological sites around Loch Ryan from the remains of the World War II
flying boat base at the Wig to the medieval motte at Innermessan and Iron Age Standing Stones, Long Tom
and the Taxing Stone, on the Laight Moor.

A new booklet showcasing this special site is now available from visitor outlets and libraries in the region. An electronic copy can be downloaded here

The booklet was produced by Solway Firth Partnership with support from RSPB and funding from Dumfries and Galloway Council.

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