Solway Firth

There are over of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in the area of the firth (one of which is Salta Moss), as well as national nature reserves — at Caerlaverock and in Cumbria. On the Cumbrian side, much of the coastline has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Solway Coast’s AONB has two separate sections: the first runs westward from just north of Carlisle to Skinburness; the second runs south from the hamlet of Beckfoot, past Mawbray and Allonby, to Crosscanonby. In 2013, the honeycomb worm and blue mussel were designated as targets of conservation efforts, and Allonby Bay (an inlet of the Solway Firth) was put forward as a candidate for a Marine Conservation Zone. ==Long-distance walking route==

A long-distance walking route, the Annandale Way, runs through Annandale, from the source of the River Annan, in the Moffat Hills, to the Solway Firth; it was opened in September 2009. ==Islands in the Solway==

Unlike other parts of the west coast of Scotland, the Solway Firth has only a few islands. They are: • Hestan Island • Rough Island • Little Ross • The so-called Isle of Whithorn (which is actually a peninsula) • The Islands of Fleet == Rivers ==

The Solway Firth is the estuary of the River Eden and the River Esk. Below are links to lists of the other rivers that flow into the firth: • in England • in Scotland ==History==

in the Solway Firth '' by John Everett Millais, 1871 The name "Solway" (recorded as Sulewad in 1218) is of Scandinavian origin, and was originally the name of a ford across the mud flats at Eskmouth. The first element of the name is probably from the Old Norse word 'pillar', referring to the Lochmaben Stane, though it may instead be from , meaning 'solan goose'. On 9 March 1876, a 79-ton French lugger St. Pierre, was stranded - and finally declared lost - on Blackshaw Bank, an ill-defined feature which extends for a considerable distance on both sides of the channel of the River Nith. Between 1869 and 1921, the estuary was crossed by the Solway Junction Railway on a 1780 m (5850 ft) iron viaduct. The line was built to carry iron ore from the Whitehaven area to Lanarkshire and was financed and operated by the Caledonian Railway of Scotland. After the railway, which was not a financial success, ceased operating in 1921, the railway bridge became a popular footpath, enabling residents of Scotland to easily cross into England, where alcoholic drink was legally available seven days a week. (Scotland was dry on Sundays at the time.) The viaduct was demolished between 1931 and 1933. Margaret Wilson was a Scottish Covenanter who was executed by drowning in the Solway Firth in 1685. She was tied to a stake in the water and left to drown with the incoming tide. Margaret Wilson lived during a time of great turmoil in Scotland, with the Covenanter movement opposing the episcopalian governance of the Church of Scotland. The Covenanters sought to maintain their Presbyterian faith and resist the authority of the monarch. John Everett Millais created an illustration, a wood engraving, depicting the Scottish martyr Margaret Wilson, tied to a stake in the surf at Solway, because, as a Covenanter, refusing to acknowledge James II as head of the church. It was engraved by the workshop of Joseph Swain and published in Once a Week in 1862. Of further interest is John Everett Millais' painting, ;The Knight Errant (1870) original section was later sewn into another canvas and exhibited in 1872 as The Martyr of The Solway (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; plate), which is similar to the woodcut noted here. File:Margaret_Wilson_-_JE_Millais.png|thumb|The martyrdom of Margaret Wilson in the Solway Firth. ==In popular culture==

• The Solway Firth has been used as the location for films. For example, the 1973 film The Wicker Man was filmed around Kirkcudbright and Burrow Head on the Wigtownshire coast. • In July 2019, the American metal band Slipknot released a song called “Solway Firth” that is named after the firth. ==See also==