Having spent some time researching new walks in Cumbria I found what looked to be a hidden gem in a booklet called Solway Coast Rambles. I was unable to get the information I required from the internet so contacted Solway Coast ( area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) office in Silloth and they very kindly sent me the booklet containing 5 walks. The walk planned today was no 5 starting in Burgh by Sands and called the Solway Villages Trail. A lot of the walk was along the Sunken Lanes with high hedges or "Kests". These old lanes are a snap shot in time and are living examples of what highways looked like in Medieval times. We made the fatal mistake of doing this walk in the early part of winter when we should have done it during a dry summer. It was horrendous but it was a mile before we really hit the bad bits and by then it was too late to turn back. It took us almost 2 hours to do 3 miles and at times we thought it was impassable but Peter lead us with great bravery and we managed to make it to the village of Thurstonfield and then made the decision to return to Burgh by Sands along the B roads.
The Statue of Edward 1st in Burgh by Sands (Longshanks).
John and Peter smiling at the start but they were not smiling for long and my name was mud for most of the walk just like the conditions under foot.
This was the driest part of the Sunken Lane but it was very difficult walking. We were sheltered from any wind but we saw very little of the surrounding countryside due to the very high hedges.
It's getting wetter and muddier.
This was the worst part with the lane flooded to a depth of about 2 feet and the only way past it was to creep along the newly cut hedgerow with Peter bravely leading the way.
John is not a lover of water especially when it is as muddy as this.
This is Thurstonfield Lough which once upon a time provided water to several corn mills.
From here we decided to return to Burgh by Sands along the easy B road and miss out the final Sunken Lane. This was a good decision and enabled us to have a nice bar lunch in the Drovers Inn. If we had continued along the Sunken Lanes it would probably have taken another 2 hours to do the last 2 miles.
I should add that Tom had decided not to accompany us today as he was unwell but maybe this was an excuse as he knew what we were heading into. Looking back on it after completion it was an adventure but this booklet will remain in a drawer until next summer when we may attempt the other 4 walks in dry conditions, although I doubt if it will ever be that easy.
These photographs were taken on my I phone and uploaded to the blog from my I Pad so the quality is probably not as good as if they had been taken on my camera but I hope they give people the feeling of how hard the walk was.
1 comment:
It looks quite soggy.
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