Exploring

of the Area of WildflowersOutstanding Natural Beauty

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Contents

Introduction to the AONB 4 About Plants and Flowers 5 The Dune Habitat – Strandline Community 6 The Dune Habitat – Mobile Dune Community 8 The Dune Habitat – Fixed Dunes 9 The Marsh Habitat 20 The Raised Mire Habitat 23

Access and Safety 26 Places to Visit 27 Transport 28 Further Reading 31

Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 3 IMPORTANT NOTE: Many traditional uses of some of the plants have been included. We do not advise you Introduction to try any of these, they are for information only. The Solway Coast AONB Partnership and its members take no responsibility if you do.

Introduction to the AONB which can only survive where the dune traditional hedge ‘kests’( raised stone or in pollen (male cells) which they then grasses are kept short, either by grazing, earth banks on which a hedge is laid) transfer to another plant of the same type The Solway Coast Area of Outstanding cutting or erosion. Like wise, the delicate also provide a fine habitat for wildflowers when they move on for more nectar. Natural Beauty (AONB) was designated in native wildflowers of the dunes can only which may no longer be found in Thus, the pollen falls onto the female 1964 and covers around 118 square exist in similar conditions and where rank cultivated fields. reproductive parts of the flowers and kilometres of the Solway Plain. The area is coarse grasses, thatch, and invasive fertilise the ova (egg cells). Insects, under management through the Solway The buildings of the AONB are an weeds are removed by grazing, cutting particularly, bees, butterflies, and moths Coast Management Unit and is governed important part of its landscape too. or pulling. are vital in plant fertilisation. by a Joint Advisory Committee. Fortified buildings that reflect the area’s The raised mires, collectively called the turbulent past are not still part of the local Other plants use the wind to help pollinate. The Solway Coast is a unique landscape, ‘South Solway Mosses’, are rare and community life. Squat fishermen’s These flowers are often dull and drab as shaped by the sea, the wind, and the wonderful places. Across , cottages, cobbled streets, clay ‘dabbin’ they do not need to attract insects. They people who have lived here. lowland bogs have been steadily barns and red sandstone farms, are also often inconspicuous and coloured It is the air of wilderness, an all too rare declining in extent and quality for Cumberland long houses and Georgian green/yellow. terraces all give each village its own quality in today’s landscape that is most centuries, mainly due to human One of the best ways to find out more character, and are a source of local pride. important to some. The salt marshes, influence. About 94% of Britain’s raised about wildflowers is to attend a guided sand dunes and raised mires can convey bogs have been lost or damaged in the Whatever makes the AONB special, walk given by the staff or volunteers of the the illusion of being far from civilisation. last 200 years. A project, ‘Peatlands for management is needed to help Solway Coast AONB, or just get out and People’, jointly run by English Nature, The marshes have been farmed for maintain and enhance those unique about with friends or family and see what Wildlife Trust, the Royal Society centuries, probably first cultivated by the qualities. The AONB designation itself, you find on a walk. for the Protection of Birds and the monks of the Cistercian Abbey of Holme National Nature Reserves, Sites of Environment Agency is ongoing to The wild flowers included in this booklet Cultram, who raised more than 6,000 Special Scientific Interest, Conservation restore the natural wealth of Cumbria’s do not provide an exhaustive list, nor sheep on the lush grasses. Areas, a Special Area for Conservation have trees, grasses, ferns, mosses or raised peat bogs and link them to the and a Special Protection Area all bear Today the marshes are still important for lichens been included. region’s culture, economy and way of life. witness to the Local, National and local agriculture, and also support huge The mosses provide an ideal place for International recognition of this very Hopefully, it will give a brief insight into the flocks of wildfowl, which have made the viewing wildlife and specialised plant life. important landscape has already huge diversity of plants to be found in the renowned and gained it Solway Coast AONB, and provide a little Behind the coast, the agricultural land of received and deserves. status as a RAMSAR (internationally history of the use and local names given the AONB is typified by the small fields, important for wildlife) site. Numerous About plants and flowers to the plants, whilst spurring on further which are hard to find elsewhere. Many wildflowers exist on the marshes due to of these small enclosures probably date Plants produce flowers for reproduction. interest and research into this very special the grazing both by livestock and wildfowl. back to medieval times and are another They are bright and colourful and area and it’s inhabitants. The sand dunes are an important example of the way the Solway designed to attract insects, which feed off A list of further reading is included for breeding site for the rare natterjack toad, landscape is linked to its history. The the nectar. The insects become covered more detailed information.

4 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 5 Scentless Mayweed Matricaria maritima

Flowers from July - September and Sea Campion Sea Spurge is a native perennial It is common Silene vulgaris ssp. Maritima Euphorbia paralias throughout Britain on verges and by the sea shingle. Flowers May - July, a native perennial, locally Flowers from July - October, it is a native common on shingle and sea cliffs throughout perennial of sand dunes and fairly common Britain. In Northumberland this plant was in Britain. called ‘Witches Thimbles’.

Sea Sandwort Sea Bindweed Sea Holly Honkenya peploides Calystigia soldanella Eryngium maritinum

Flowers May - August, a native perennial Flowers June - August, and is a native perennial Flowers July - September, and found on the found on all British coasts, sand dunes and of sand dunes and sea- shores. The funnel mobile dunes. It is adapted to life on the coast vegetated shingle. shaped flowers open during the day and close with a thick waxy cuticle (outer skin) on the at night. Ordinary bindweed used to be called leaves and stalks, preventing water loss and ‘Devil’s Guts’ (referring to the long white roots), protecting from the effects of saltwater. The as hoeing or digging out always results in roots were candied with sugar and orange flower breaking the root and a new plant forms. water and sold from the 1600s to the 1800s.

6 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 7 Spear- leaved Orache Burnet Rose Eyebright Atriplex hastata Rosa pimpinellifolia Euphrasia officinalis

Flowers June – August. It is common near Flowers May - July, it is a native shrub and Flowers June - September, it is a native the sea and waste places. A related plant, common on coastal areas except the South annual common throughout Britain in Common Orache, is grown as a garden plant East. It is rare inland, and generally found on grasslands. The flowers are mainly white but and eaten as a vegetable similar to spinach, dunes and sandy heaths. The flowers are tinged with purple. In the Middle Ages Eyebright it is also known as ‘Fat Hen’ and was used creamy white, and the stems have dense was used for brightening the eyes. as a pot herb. prickles

Ox-eye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare

Flowers May - August, it is a common native perennial found in road verges, meadows and scrub land. It is also known as Dog Daisy or Moon Daisy and in Cumbria it has been called Bull Daisy, Dog Flower, White Gull and White Golds. In the Sand Leek past it has been used for chest complaints Allium scorodoprasum and also to cure ulcers and wounds. The plant has been associated with St John in other European countries and also the Flowers June – August, it is a bulbous daisies were hung around house doors perennial, a member of the chive family, and roofs to ward away thunder and growing to a height of about 80cms. lightning, hence it has other local names It grows on sand dunes, wasteland, roadsides, such as Dunder or Thunder Daisy. grasslands and open deciduous woodland.

8 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 9 Common Mouse-ear Autumn Hawkbit Perennial Sow-thistle Goat’s-beard Cerastium fontanum Leontondon autumnalis Sonchus arvensis Tragopogon pratensis

Flowers April – September and is a very Flowers from June - October, it is a very Flowers from July – October, it is a common Flowers June – July, and is a native annual or common perennial found in grasslands, waste common British perennial growing on grasslands, British perennial which grows on marshes, perennial found in dunes, waste places, verges areas and hedge verges. verges and screes. dunes, verges and grasslands. and grasslands. The flowers open early and close at noon and this gives rise to its common name of ‘Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon’.

Black Medick Mouse-ear Hawkweed Creeping Cinquefoil Smooth Hawk’s-beard Medicago lupulina Hieracium pilosella Potentila reptens Crepis capillaris

Flowers from April - August, it is a native Flowers from May - September, It is a native Flowers June – September, it is a common British Flowers May – September and is a native per- annual common in grassland and verges in plant varying a lot in leaf shape and hairiness. native perennial found in grasslands, verges and ennial found in grasslands, verges & waste places. Britain except northern Ireland and north-west The single yellow flowers have a reddish colour waste places. The leaves have five leaflets, hence Scotland. It is called black because it has black below the petals. It was used as a herbal the name ‘cinquefoil’. The Egyptians used it to treat that the roots were cooked and eaten in the North of pods when ripe. The word Medick comes from remedy for jaundice. Common Hawkweed, malaria. Silverweed, Potentilla anserina, flowers from Britain during times of famine and tea was made ‘herba Medica’, the Persian or Median herb, Hieracium vulgatum, a close relative, flowers May - August and is also a member of the Rose from the leaves to help diarrhoea. People who carried and the name was derived from the country from June - September, and it is also a family. It is a common native perennial found on goods from town to town were also thought to put of the Medes. common native perennial found in heaths, dunes, roadsides, waste places and fields. It is said the leaves in their shoes to keep their feet cool. open woods and roadsides. 10 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 11 Yellow Rattle Lady’s Bedstraw Crosswort Rhinanthus minor Galium verum Cruciata laevipes

Flowers May - August and easily recognised Flowers from June - August, it is a common Flowers from May – June, it is a common when in seed as the pods ’rattle’ in the seed native perennial in Britain. It is found on sandy native perennial in England. It’s name comes heads. It’s scientific name Rhinanthus came places, hedge banks, and grassland. There was from the way the four leaves form crosses up from, two Greek words for ‘nose’ and ‘flower’. a legend that Mary gave birth to Jesus on a bed the stem. In Cumberland it was also known as ‘Cow made from this plant, hence the name Lady’s Wheat’ and when the pods rattled it was time Bedstraw. to cut the hay.

Wild Pansy Viola tricolor

Flowers April - September. Common names include ‘heartsease’ ,’love-in-idleness’, and ‘kiss me quick’. As can be seen it symbolises remembrance and love. Tricolor refers to the fact that the flowers can be violet, pink or yellow and often the flowers are all three Common Restharrow colours together. In the late middle- ages in Ononis repens France it was known a ‘pensee’ (thought) and Common Bird’s Foot Trefoil Meadow Vetchling so derived Pansy in England by the 1500s. Lotus corniculatus Lathyrus pratensis Common Dog Violet Viola riviana is related Flowers June - September. This plant was to the Wild Pansy and flowers March - May thought to slow down horse drawn ploughs or and August - October. The flowers are harrows before the tractor was invented, hence Flowers from June - September. It’s black Flowers from May - August and is a native scentless and the heart shaped leaves form a the name ’rest harrow’, or in Cumbrian it was seed head looks like the toes of a birds foot, or perennial common in Britain in grasslands and rosette at the base of the plant. Before ‘Violet’ called ‘stayplough’. The roots are long and very a claw, and the leaves have 3 lobes, hence’ verges. trefoil’. One of it’s common names is ’Buttered became the popular name probably from the tough and difficult to plough through. English Eggs’, due to the yellow and orange flowers. French, it is thought that perhaps Violets were farmers also disliked Restharrow as it tainted known by cuckoo names, in Celtic countries. butter, milk and cheese if eaten by cows. In the In Irish they are called ‘cuckoo heel’ from the north children dug up the root and chewed it, spur of the flower. hence also the name of ‘Wild Liquorice’ .

12 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 13 Bloody Cranesbill Common Wild Thyme Common Vetch Self – Heal Geranium sanguineum Thymus praecox Vicia sativa Prunella vulgaris

Flowers from May - August. A native Flowers May - August, and is common on Flowers from May - June, it is a native annual of Flowers from June - September, and is very perennial, but rare, mainly found on the coasts dry grassland, calcareous soils, and plentiful grassland, wood edges and hedges. Although common on grassland, waste places, roadsides of on dry, rocky places, on in the north and west. The straggling stems common in the south east, it is quite rare in the and a garden weed. Early botanists believed the limestone, sand dunes, grasslands and woods. are up to 7mms long, and the flavour is north west. It is in fact not the most common of plant cured wounds and sore throats. The flower is a beautiful magenta colour. much milder then the garden variety. Thyme the vetches despite its name. It was known as has natural antibacterial and anti fungal ‘Gypsy Peas’ or ‘Crow Peas’ in Cumberland, the properties, and as well as a cooking herb it seeds used for pigeon food, or the plant for fodder. can be taken as a tea or infusion. In Cumbria it was also known as ‘Mother of Thyme’.

Dove’s – Foot Cranesbill Tufted Vetch Spear Thistle Geranium molle Vicia cracca Cirsium vulgare

Flowers April – September, it is a native Flowers June - August and is a common Flowers July – October, it is a common native annual common in grassland, dunes and waste perennial of grasslands and hedgerows. It can biennial found in fields, verges, waste places places. It was once powdered and drunk in grow up to 1-2 metres and readily climbs up and gardens. claret for ‘ruptures’. grasses or shrubs using tendrils on the ends of its leaves. Know as ‘Mouse’s Peas’ or ‘Hugaback’ in Cumberland.

14 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 15 Germander Speedwell Perennial Cornflower Field Scabious Veronica chamaedrys Centaurea montana Knautia arvensis

Flowers from March - July, it is a native Flowers May - August, it is an introduced Flowers June - September, it is a native perennial common all over the British Isles. Found perennial and probably a garden escapee. Found perennial growing in wasteland, roadsides, in grassland and woodland. It is most noticeable on waste lands, roadsides and grassland. A close dunes and hedgerows. It is common in Britain by the two long white stamens in the centre of relative Centaurea cyanus , which is now quite but rarer in north Scotland. the flower. It has been known in Cumberland as rare, used to grow in corn fields giving a blue ‘Bonny Bird-ee’ or ‘Poor man’s Tea. It was haze over the fields which was much admired. believed that destroying the flower could cause a storm or someone was taking revenge.

Thyme – leaved Speedwell Harebell Pyramidal Orchid Bee Orchid Veronica serpyllifolia Campanula rotundifolia Anacamptis pyramidalis Ophrys apifera

Flowers March - October, it is found in the Sometimes called the ‘Scottish Bluebell’, the Flowers June - August and found throughout Flowers June - July and is found on the dunes dunes, waste areas, roadsides and in lawns. It Harebell flowers from July – September. most of Europe. This delicate orchid is easily although it is also a native perennial of filed is a native perennial and common throughout It is a native perennial of dry, grassy places, identified by its pyramidal flowers head. edges, pastures and calcareous grasslands. The Britain. fixed dunes, poor soils, hedge banks and flower mimics the body of a bee and so bees roadsides. In the past it has been associated are attracted to it to feed. with witches and fairies.

16 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 17 Dames Violet Ragged Robin Common Storksbill Yarrow Hesperis matronalis Lychnis flos-cuculi Erodium circutarium Achillea millefolium

Flowers from May - July, it may be a garden Flowers from May – June, it is a common Flowers April – October, it is a common Flowers June - October and is a native escape but it has naturalised in the dunes near native perennial found in wet marshy areas, damp annual or biennial in Britain. It can be found on perennial. It is common in Britain and found on Yard. It is found throughout Britain grasslands and woods. waste places, dunes, roadside verges and meadows, verges, waste ground. The flower mainly in hedgerows and grasslands. agricultural land. colour varies from white or pink through to purple. It was said to be used by Achilles to heal wounds from iron weapons.

Centaury Thrift or Sea Pink Common Spotted Orchid Sheeps Sorrel Centaurium minus Armeria maritima Dactylorhiza fuchsii Rumex acetosella

Flowers June - July and is found in dry grassy Flowers from April - August and is a native Flowers from June - August and fairly common Flowers May - August and is a common native places, dunes, waste places and road verges. It perennial. It is common on cliffs, salt marshes throughout Britain, but rare in Scotland. Also annual. Found on heaths, grassland, roadsides, is common in England, Wales, and Ireland but and sandy places, also inland mountains known as the ‘Dog Orchid’. It is a native perennial cultivated land and as a garden weed. The leaves rarer in Scotland. It has been used for liver throughout Britain. Its old Cumbrian name was of marshes, wet meadows, grassy slopes, woods have two lobes at the base, which is different disorders and for fevers and bleeding. In Ireland ‘Marsh Daisy’. Thrift is known as the plant of and fens. Also known as ‘Snakes Flower’ in old from common sorrel. Common Sorrel was used it was brought into the house for good luck. sympathy, and was featured on George V1 Cumberland dialect. much as we use lemons now and often an twelve sided brass threepenny bits. ingredient of tangy sauces for meat dishes.

18 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 19 The

habitat

From Sillotharsh via Skinburness Marsh to Newton Marsh to Scurvy – Grass Marsh Samphire MBowness-on-Solway Cochlearia officinalis or Glasswort Flowers from May - August, it is a native Salicornia europaea perennial common on sea cliffs, salt marshes Flowers June - August, a native perennial, found on bare mud in salt marshes. Ashes of Glasswort and shore roadsides. It was used by sailors to were once used to make glass. The flowers are tiny and unnoticeable. Common Samphire was once a prevent scurvy. favourite vegetable, the leaves and stalks cooked and eaten like asparagus. Usually found on the seaward edge of the marshes.

Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria

Flowers from June - August, and is a common native perennial growing in wet places, meadows, marshes, swamps and riversides. The flowers can be dried and used to make a tea having the same Marsh Pennywort Yellow Iris properties as aspirin. It was also used as a Hydrocotyle vulgaris Iris pseudacorus strewing herb with apparent properties against malaria. The old apothecary’s name for it was ‘Goatsbeard’, representing the Flowers June - Aug and is a native perennial of Flowers May - July, also known as Yellow Flag foamy cream flowers. It has also been used bogs and marshes mainly found on acid soils. It is Iris. A common native perennial of marshes, wet to flavour the drink mead. Meadowsweet is common throughout Britain and may also be woods, riversides, ponds and ditches. Iris is the to be found towards the landward edge of called White-rot. In Cumbria it was also known as Greek word for Rainbow, and symbolises life and the marshes where there is more fresh ‘Sheep Rot’, perhaps the boggy ground on which resurrection. It is associated with Osiris, the first water than salt water. the plant grows leading to this condition in sheep. pharaoh to become immortal. The iris is also The flower is tiny and needs searching for. thought to be the origin of the fleur-de-lys symbol of French royalty. This plant is to be found in similar locations to Meadowsweet.

20 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 21 The aisedM Sea Thrift ire Cottongrass Rhabitat Eriophorum vaginatum As outlined in the dune section, but in the Flowers May - June, it is a common native From Glasson Moss to perennial of bogs and wet heath. The white marshes it will be found in grassy saltmarsh Bowness Moss area in from the seaward edge. fluffy fruiting heads are easily identifiable, often and Drumburgh Moss forming large blankets of white in boggy areas. Generally found on hummocks in the moss.

Sea Aster Purple Loosestrife Round – leaved Sundew Aster tripolium Lythrum salicaria Drosera rotundifolia

Flowers July - October and is a native Flowers June – September, and is a native Flowers from July - August, and is a native greeny/yellow colour in bud. Its uses have perennial found on salt marshes or sea cliffs. perennial found in marshes, damp meadows, dune perennial of bogs, wet moors and heaths. been many and varied, but at one time it was It is generally common in Britain, and was once – slacks and ditches. One of the old names for this Common in Britain, the leaves are covered in added along with many herbs to produce a used in folk medicine to heal wounds, dropsy plant was ‘Long Purples’. Shakespeare used this red sticky hairs which are used to catch ‘Youth Drink’ called Ros Solis, a French and poisons. In Elizabethan times it was used name when describing the plants growing by the insects as they land. The insects are digested liqueur. Sundew can be found around shallow as a garden plant but now cultivated asters banks of the river that Ophelia drowned in. In fact and absorbed through the leaves, and so the hollows and low hummocks and near small have taken over. the plant he actually had described was the Early Sundew obtains the nutrients it needs for pools in the moss or mire. The intermediate Purple Orchid, but in Millais painting is an accurate growth which are not available from the form can also be found on Glasson Moss. drawing of Purple Loosestrife. This name was first waterlogged soils. The flowers grow on thin given in 1548 by William Turner. stems and rarely open, and are a

22 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 23 Bog Myrtle Leaf

Bog Asphodel Tormentil Heather Narthecium ossifragum Potentilla erecta Calluna vulgaris

Flowers July - September, it is a native Flowers from May - October and is very common Flowers July - September, it is a common native rhizome of bogs, wet heath, moorland and acid in Britain on grassland, heaths, bogs and shrub of heaths, moors, bogs and open woods on mountains. The roots are woody and astringent and acid soil. Throughout history it has had many uses places on mountains. It has been used in place have been used to keep the mouth clear of including, fuel, bedding, thatching, basketry and of saffron for both medicine and wool dyeing. complaints. The name is derived from the Latin providing an orange dye. It is also used to flavour The flower heads turn a deep saffron colour ‘Tormina’ which means colic, which is a torture. some beers and is an excellent food plant for bees. after flowering. The plant is found in areas of Thus, the two meanings in the name Tormentil White flowered forms also can be found. Both high water table. means that it is a torture or torment of colic. forms tend to grow on the hummocks in the drier Generally found towards the edges of the moss. areas of the moss.

Marsh Marigold Bog Myrtle Bog Rosemary Cross - leaved Heath Caltha palustris Myrica gale Andromeda polifolia Erica tetralix

Flowers from March - July, and is a common Flowers April - May, and is a native shrub Flowers May - August, not a true Rosemary Also named Bell Heather or Ling, it flowers native perennial found throughout Britain It can be found in bogs and wet heaths and although but an ericaceous ( acid loving) plant. It is a from July-September, and is a common native found by pool sides and on water logged areas of common within the Cumbria Coast, Scotland and native shrub but rare, and found mainly in shrub of heaths, moors and mosses. It is the moss, or in ditches and shady places. It has West Ireland, it is not common in other parts of Cumbria and Central Ireland. Bog Rosemary can generally found in the drier areas. been used to ward off witches, hung over doors England. The leaves have a distinctive eucal- be found in the wetter areas of the moss. on ‘May Day’, and also as protection against yptus- like smell, and in Scotland it is used to lightning. Locally it was called ‘Water Gowan’ deter midges. Usually found on the deeper peat.

24 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 25 Access and Safety Places to Visit

The terrain of the Solway Coast is quite varied and it is When visiting Solway advised that hiking boots or strong shoes are used when Coast please follow the out and about. Some routes you may walk must inevitably use the highway and in certain places blind bends and COUNTRYSIDE CODE fast sections will be encountered so always be aware of Be safe the dangers associated with the road conditions. The  Plan ahead and nature of the Solway area (low lying) can create very wet follow any signs areas that are prone to mudding and flooding. This Leave gates and situation can be exacerbated where the route takes you  property as you down tracks used by farm machinery and along routes find them used by farm stock.  Protect plants The Solway Firth has a very fast tidal surge and can and animals, & inundate large areas of saltmarsh and roads very quickly, take your litter so please check tide times and heights. This information home can be accessed from tide books, the Coastguard, and  Keep dogs under Bowness Banks there are two tide boards at Bowness on Solway and close control The end / beginning of the Hadrian’s Wall Path Trail in Bowness-on-Solway. Dykesfield which display tide tables. These tables only  Consider other give you an estimate of the time and height of the tide and people The Solway Coast Discovery Centre can change dramatically due to winds, barometric Check tide times  Found in Liddell Street, next to the AONB Unit. It is open from pressure and the condition of rivers flowing into the and the weather Solway. A combination of these conditions can produce forecast 10.00-4.00pm all year and hosts the Tourist Information Centre, Exhibition tides up to 3m above their estimated height and up to an of the Solway Coast AONB, Shop, Art Gallery, Mini-cinema and more. hour earlier than their anticipated height. I hope this short do’s As with mountain walking or sailing always tell someone RSPB Campfield Marsh Reserve and don’ts section has when you plan to finish a walk, especially if you are Found about one mile from Bowness-on-Solway (Grid Ref: NY 197616). factoring in a tide during the walk. not dampened your enthusiasm Enjoy an hour or so bird watching as well as plant hunting on the raised Waterproofs, extra clothes and warm drinks are essential mire and marshes. Open all year with excellent bird hide facility. if the weather is changeable. As the mixture of tides, weather conditions and The peatland areas can be treacherous if you do not stick Solway landscape will Cumbria Coastal Way to obvious routes into the mosses, and obviously make your day out Some of the areas you may find wildflowers will be either very close to or even wellingtons are a must in wet conditions. Please be aware more than worthwhile. of deep watery holes in the sphagnum moss covered on the Cumbria Coastal Way. This pathway stretches from Silverdale in the peat, which can be many feet deep. South to Gretna in the North, a distance of 240 kilometres or 150 miles.

26 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 27 Transport

Skinburness to : Reays Coaches No. 60 Generally 20 minutes past the hour from Silloth, or 15 minutes past the hour from Skinburness Silloth / Anthorn to : Stagecoach in Cumbria & Carrs Coaches No.71 Variable times, so timetables can be picked up in Silloth TIC in the Discovery Centre, Liddell Street, County Council Offices, Carlisle TIC in the Market Place. Carlisle - Bowness on Solway - Anthorn: Stagecoach in Cumbria No.93 Variable times, so please see timetables as above. Carlisle to Bowness on Solway: The AD 122 Hadrian’s Wall Bus Service Operates between the end of May and the end of September, and connects the Hadrian’s Wall Path Trail to main towns and villages. Times may be found in the above locations.

FOR FULL TIMETABLES CALL TRAVELINE, PUBLIC TRAVEL INFORMATION LINE: 0870 6082608 OR GO TO WWW.TRAVELCUMBRIA.ORG.UK

28 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 29 Further Reading

The Wildflower Key British Isles-N.W. Photographic copyright: Rose Wolfe Europe, Francis Rose, Warne. Brian Irving (HELM Images) Graeme Proud Judith and Peter Cox Collins Pocket Guide, Wildflowers of Britain and Northern Europe – Fitter, Principal author: Rose Wolfe

Fitter and Blamey This guidebook is one of a range of books, information leaflets and newsletters covering a wealth of subjects that Collins (The Wildlife Trusts) Wildflowers all explore and describe the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The publications are of Britain and Europe – Peter Heukes available through the Solway Coast Discovery Centre, Liddell Street, Silloth on Solway, Cumbria CA7 4DD.

Wild Flowers of Britain, Roger Philips, All profits from this booklet will provide funding for further Macmillan London. book production.

ISBN: RRP: £5.00 The Englishman’s Flora, Geoffrey Grigson, Paladin. Published by the Solway Coast AONB Unit Web site: www.solwaycoastaonb.org.uk

30 Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB Exploring Wildflowers of the Solway Coast AONB 31