Saturday April 20th 2019 Part 3 - Sauntering round Silloth

About eight miles along the coast road north of Allonby was Silloth and another mile or so beyond was Skinburness, which was was the furthest I could go on that stretch of the Cumbrian coast before the road turned inland. There didn't seem to be anything much there, not even a village shop or a pub, it looked to be just a residential extension of Silloth. For many years though there had been a big hotel at Skinburness but in recent times it became derelict and was eventually demolished; the only evidence that there was ever a building there is a vacant plot of land with bricks and bits of rubble strewn here and there. 

It was just past there that I turned the van round and headed back down the coast road, pulling into a lay-by to snap a couple of quick photos. The long shingle beach, backed by a stepped sea wall, was completely devoid of any human life but the heat haze across the water was beginning to lift and I could just about see Criffel, the only proper hill on the south west border of Scotland. 

Further down the coast road and almost back in Silloth was East Cote lighthouse, and with a free parking area close by I pulled in there and set off with the dogs to explore the promenade. The lighthouse was originally built in 1864 as a mobile structure on a short rail track and was one of two which indicated the approach channel to Silloth port. In 1914 it was fixed in its current position and had a small keeper's cabin below the tower, then in 1997 it was rebuilt in its original style. 

A distance down from the lighthouse I came to the seaward side of Silloth Green; set among trees on top of a small hill was a large square shaped shelter with a pagoda-style roof, and down below it at the far side was a childrens' play area with a blue painted floor where water jets would shoot up at random. A bit further on I came to the lifeboat station and a small scrappy looking funfair on a rough surfaced corner of land; beyond that was the dock which was completely fenced off and where the promenade ended. Retracing my steps a little I went up behind the lifeboat station and took a path which would lead me onto the far side of the green.

I hadn't gone very far along the path when I found a cute little fairy door at the base of a tree, and just a few yards further on was a second one. Now I must confess that I don't really 'get' what fairy doors are supposed to signify or be used for, if indeed they have any use at all other than as some form of decoration, but they were cute enough to photograph anyway. Across the green was a large marquee which had housed a craft fair now in the process of being packed away, and over the road was Christ Church, built in the late 19th century and the largest church in Silloth.

Heading back towards the van I came across a stone monument set on a square of cobbles with a large concrete planter at each corner; there was nothing to say what it signified other than in 1911 it was presented for public use by the Silloth Ratepayers Association and Improvement Committee. A bit further on was a flower bed with a large model aeroplane on a pole sticking up from the middle of it, which I thought was rather strange until I noticed that across the road was some sort of RAF social club.

That was to be my last shot in Silloth as time was getting on; it was 5.30pm by then so with the dogs settled back in the van I headed off on the drive back to the camp site. It didn't take long to whip up an evening meal once I was back at the tent - I had some instant mash (which doesn't taste like instant the way I do it), tinned carrots and instant gravy so with the pie left over from lunch time I had a tasty plateful, then before I settled in for the evening I took my final photo of the day, the evening sun over the fields and hills.

Weather-wise it had been a glorious day and even though my original 'sort of plan' had changed a couple of times it hadn't mattered - I'd had a lovely day exploring new places and got lots of (hopefully) good photos, so I guess you could say I was a very happy bunny.