We thought we might go to the coast as the weather was fine on the Tuesday of our holiday.  We by-passed Keswick and took the road to Maryport, a town on the coast.  Our road followed the western shore of Bassenthwaite Lake and then through the town of Cockermouth.  We drove to Maryport and then up the coast road to Silloth.  This map will show you the Lake District area, its main towns and will also show how close to Scotland it is.

Silloth church from the Green

We wandered round Silloth; it was very quiet and there wasn’t too much to see though it has some attractive buildings and the roads are wide and straight.  The area between the main road and the coast line had been made into a park some while ago and I read that it has recently had lottery funding to add to its amenities and refurbish existing ones.

You can tell how quiet it is by the grass growing in-between the cobbles

Looking north-west across the Solway Firth

We walked across the green towards the sea and climbed up to the Pagoda which is a shelter with a wonderful view.  It looked like the sun was shining in Scotland.

Looking north-east across the Solway Firth

Standing there, I was reminded of the lovely pictures I had seen taken from the opposite side of the Firth.  I was looking towards the land of the  ‘Tootlepedals’.  This is one of my favourite blogs; a daily insight into what it’s like to live in the Scottish Borders.  Interesting, funny and full of fabulous photos;  Mr T likes alliteration!

I found some Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) on the slope up to the Pagoda

They are delicate, azure-blue bells.

I even managed to photograph inside the flower bell

We decided to return to Cockermouth and have some lunch.

The River Derwent

Three famous men were born in or near Cockermouth and all were born within a few years of each other.  The first was Fletcher Christian (Mutiny on the Bounty) who was born a mile from Cockermouth in Eaglesfield in 1764.  The second was John Dalton, a brilliant scientist and the originator of the Atomic Theory.  He also was born in Eaglesfield in 1766.  The third was William Wordsworth, born in Cockermouth in 1770.

The River Derwent looking upstream.  The River Cocker joins the Derwent here and in the photo is coming in from the right.

In November 2009 both rivers broke their banks and the town was severely flooded.  The army was called in and assisted the townsfolk for three days until the water began to recede.  Most of the shops, pubs and restaurants in the town centre were wrecked and there was much destruction elsewhere.

Whinlatter Forest with views of the fells

On our way home we drove a different route over the pass at Whinlatter.  We called in at the forest visitor-centre and took a short walk in the forest.  As it is Forestry Commission land and the trees are non-native, there was not much wildlife to be seen.

A hoverfly on Crested Dog’s-tail (Cynosurus cristatus)

A good crop of cones

Perennial Rye-grass (Lolium perenne)

Thank’s for visiting!