Monday, 31 January 2005

Coastwalk

Kirkbride → Beckfoot

[Fleece caught on barbed wire]

Distance: 19.5 miles
Ascent: 362 metres
Duration: 6 hours 41 minutes

Until the sun sets
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For the first time, someone guessed right. "Are you walking round Britain or summat?" he asked.

That was just north of Silloth. The elderly man was a local, out for an afternoon stroll with a friend. He was keen to point out the sights: Criffel across the Solway Firth, and in the distance the flat-topped hill outside Lockerbie. ("You know Lockerbie, lad?")

Silloth itself is a lovely small town. Its perfect grid of wide cobbled streets grid are enchanting but somehow out of place. It's as if the present buildings are the heart of a once larger, bustling place. I can imagine film location scouts being thrilled on seeing this place.

[Sunset sky over the Solway Firth]

I had planned to end my walk in Silloth but with the sun casting a golden colour on the sand dunes and an orange tint to the sky stopping wasn't an option. I walked until the sun touched the horizon.

By the time I caught the bus back to the car the sky was ablaze, burning away my memories of the morning's six mile squelch across Calvo Marsh.

Posted by pab at 21:04 | Comments will be back one day. Please email me instead!