Solway Plain

The Solway Plain[1] or Solway Basin is a coastal plain in the northwest of Cumbria, England and stretching over the Scottish border to the low-lying area around Gretna and Annan [2] It is an area generally lying north and west of Carlisle along the Solway Firth and drained by the rivers Esk and Lyne. This geographic unit is associated with the westernmost part of Hadrian's Wall.[3] In medieval times clay houses known as dabbins were commonly built on the Solway Plain.[4] The Solway Coast is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[5]

Solway Basin
A view of the Solway Plain from Longlands Fell
Location in accordance to other NCAs in Cumbria
Ceremonial county	Cumbria
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom

The area has a recognised archaeological heritage. Sites mentioned in Hodgson and Brennand[6] include a possible domestic settlement at Plasketlands, urned cremation cemeteries at Ewanrigg, and a potential pre-Roman phase of occupation at several sites, including Ewanrigg, Wolsty Hall and Boustead Hill. Salta Moss has been a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1982. It has unusual flora for a mire on the Solway Plain, and was also the site where a Bronze Age rapier was discovered.[7] The region is also known for its reputation as a borderland, caught between several nations through its history, going back to the Romans and Hadrian's Wall, to the Border Reivers and Anglo-Scottish conflicts in the Middle Ages.[1]

Geography

The Solway Coast Area is both an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Special Area of Conservation for its unique biodiversity due to its salt marshes, sand dunes, and coastal wetlands. Inland from this is the vast and flat Solway plain. The region agriculturally, like much of Northern England, is dominated by pastoral agriculture with the beef and dairy markets being popular. The region is also known for its largely protected bogland and peat stores. The major rivers in the region are the Ellen in the West and in the East are the Sark, Esk, and Eden. In the more hilly regions, nearer to the southeast of the region as the land becomes further inland, woodlands are more common and river valleys are more pronounced. The region is also home to the cathedral city of Carlisle which has been a strategic city for centuries.[1][8]

Proposed nuclear waste facility

In June 2012, it became clear that the Solway Plain between Silloth, Abbeytown and Westnewton has been identified as a potential site for a Geological Disposal Facility for the UK's high-level nuclear waste. Two other sites have also been identified - Eskdale and the Ennerdale. The Solway Plain wasn't named by the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) Partnership, rather they referred to the 'Low permeability sedimentary rocks associated with the Mercia Mudstone Group (MMG)'.[9] This was in (publicly available) document 285 of the West Cumbria MRWS in a report written by Dr Dearlove, the consultant geologist recruited by MRWS.

See also

• Stanegate

References

1. "Solway Plain National Character Area". Retrieved 17 June 2017.
2. A. J. Scott (2015) "Solway Country: Land, Life and Livelihood in the Western Border Region of England and Scotland," Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
3. "- English Heritage". www.english-heritage.org.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
4. Nina Jennings, The Building of the Clay Dabbins of the Solway Plain: Materials and Man-Hours, Vernacular Architecture 33 (2002), 19-27 Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
5. DiscoverySquare. "Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". solwaycoastaonb.org.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
6. "North West Region Archaeological Research Framework Prehistoric Resource Assessment" (PDF). Retrieved 17 June 2017.
7. "Natural England - Solway Moss SSSI" (PDF). Retrieved 21 December 2014.
8. "Magic Map Application". magic.defra.gov.uk.
9. http://www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk/