Welcome to The Shore Walk
The Solway Firth has been a natural barrier against invaders during war and a hindrance to commerce in peaceful times. Bowness Wath, the ford, linking Annan and Bowness, was an important Solway crossing point for cattle drovers until 1863.
[click on image to enlarge]
The Solway can be treacherous with hidden channels and a tidal rise of 7 metres. In some conditions the tidal bore reaches a height of about 1 metre and travels at about 6 / 7 knots.
"He that dreams on the bed of The Solway may wake in the next world ..."
[From "Red Gauntlet" by Sir Walter Scott, 1824]
Annan and the Solway Shore ...
The town of Annan sits on the estuary of the River Annan at the eastern end of the Solway Firth. It has a population of some
10,000 and is the principal town in the Annandale and Eskdale area of the Dumfries and Galloway region.
Annan's location on the first fordable part of the Solway Firth has always been of great importance:
- Because of its position, Annan suffered from many attacks during the Wars of Independence and 'border reiving'. In recognition of the towns resistance and loyalty a Charter was granted to Annan by King James V in 1538. The town's Royal Burgh status was reaffirmed in 1612 by King James VI. Each year the Royal Burgh of Annan celebrates the granting of the Charter by Riding the Marches to check that the boundaries are secure.
- In the years of peace agriculture developed and Annan became a prosperous market town with coastal shipping links with Liverpool and other industrial cities.
- Annan's 19th Century industries of fishing, shipbuilding and sandstone quarrying were augmented by watermills and windmills which powered cotton manufacturing and cereal milling. In 1899 engineering was established with Cochran & Co., who built small ships and a wide range of boilers. The building of the nuclear power station at Chapelcross in 1957 resulted in a further influx of people bringing new skills and outlooks.
- Today the town still has many people employed in the engineering industry, in both manufacturing and maintenance, and also within the two large food processing companies.
- And now The Solway Firth is the site of the new Shore Walk.
