Dumfries & Galloway

Dumfries & Galloway - The Solway Firth

The Solway Firth can be a wild and sometimes treacherous place, and only recently have people looked on it as a place of quiet contemplation and pleasure. Previously, the firth’s shifting sands and muds were more or less known only to those whose livelihoods depended on them such as the wildfowlers and the fishermen. The poke nets and haaf nets that you can still see catching salmon on the Solway today are unique to these shores and together with the stake nets, have been used by local fishermen for almost a thousand years.

The numerous small ports, harbours and towns that dot the intricate coastline have grown, shrunk and grown again according to the changing fortunes of farming and industry. At their peak, farm produce was traded from the Scottish shores to the busy Cumbrian ports of Whitehaven, Maryport and Workington whose trade routes went around the world. Then, as now, the Solway provided an economic lifeline to the many communities that lived along its shores.

Solway Firth Partnership

Since it was formed in 1994, the Solway Firth Partnership has successfully brought together hundreds of organisations, agencies, companies and individuals to work in partnership for the benefit of the Solway Firth. The Solway Firth Strategy was published in July 1998. This is a management plan for the sustainable use of the Solway and was produced following extensive consultation. Implementation of the Strategy’s Action Plan is now the key priority for the Partnership.Solway Firth Partnership continues to bring together hundreds of organisations, individuals, companies and agencies to work in partnership with local people to increase the sustainable use and management of the Solway Firth.

Partnership working has led to a number of successful initiatives, including an annual conference, a popular newsletter, the Salmon Advice leaflet and a series of events to celebrate World Oceans Day.

The SFP is currently working towards the establishment of a Marine Leisure Forum, which will allow all interested parties to contribute to the management and promotion of the Solway Firth.

...Beginnings

When rivers such as the Wampool, Esk, Nith and Cree finally empty their load of water and silt into the Solway Firth, they are continuing a process that began long ago. The upheavals and volcanic influences that gave birth to the granite slopes of Criffel and Cairnsmore to the north and the slates of Skiddaw to the south, also gave birth to a shallow sea between the two. The latest major event that helped to fill up this sea took place thousands of years ago as melting glaciers released their baggage of silt, sand, mud and rock from the surrounding high lands.

Over time the tides, waves and winds have continued to wash and work this material into the Solway Firth that we see today.

Glorious Mud

At the edge of the estuary, plants help to trap silt and as the mud banks grow, the glasswort, a bright and fleshy green plant well adapted to the harsh salty conditions, gives way to carpets of thrift, sea lavender and fine saltmarsh grasses. Here develop the creeks and pools so typical of classic saltmarsh, or merse as it is called in Scotland.

The shrimps, worms and shellfish that live on and under the mud may be found in enormous numbers. A single square metre of mud might be home to 5,000 small pink shellfish called Baltic tellins, while as many as 20,000 of the tiny snail Hydrobia may live on the surface.

Because the Solway offers peace and quiet, and all this abundant food, wading birds such as redshank, curlew and oystercatcher gather here in large numbers during the wintertime. Swans, ducks and geese, which may have bred thousands of miles to the north and east, also return here each winter. These vast populations of birds make the Solway internationally recognised as one of the most important refuges in Europe. They are as much a part of the Solway landscape as are the people who have used and shaped it over the years.

The Future....

Today the Solway’s highly productive and largely unchanged environment continues to play a key role in many people’s lives. With careful management, some of the more traditional means of earning a living such as those in the fishing industry may contribute to the local economy for a long time to come. At the same time the relatively unspoilt coastline with its combination of mudflat, rocky shore, sea cliff and sandy beach is attracting new commercial activities that include tourism, birdwatching and industrial development.To manage all the Solway’s rich resources wisely so that they are still there for future generations to enjoy and use, will require a careful balancing of all present and future needs. SNH together with English Nature are developing partnerships with organisations on both sides of the coastline to achieve a sustainable future for the Solway Firth and all its inhabitants.