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The Solway Shore

Caz Graham visits the shores of Solway Firth to discover the folk and wildlife that live around the stunning coastline.

Caz Graham visits the shores of Solway Firth to discover the folk and wildlife that live around the stunning coastline.

Caz pulls on her wellies and heads to the shoreline at low tide with the help of Ann Lingard.

Ann is a 'low-tide' guide and leads Caz on a tromp through a rarely explored landscape: one of rock pools and rare reefs. Ann shows Caz the home of the honeycomb worm, Sabellaria. The creature creates a reef close to the low water mark and it is exposed at low tide. They also visit a submerged forest that the sea reveals when the tide rolls back.

Caz meets former miner Tom Norman to find out more about the Solway coast's industrial heritage. At the site of the former Haig Colliery in Whitehaven Tom recounts tales of mining under the sea dating back to the 1700s. Mining was enormously important in shaping the industrial past of Whitehaven and the towns along the coast. It, along with fishing, was the main employer in the area.

Further up the Solway Firth, where England and Scotland are a stone's throw away, Caz is given a lesson in Haaf Net fishing by Mark Messenger and Mark Graham. They are two of a dying breed fishing using a method that dates back to Viking times that involves standing chest-deep in the Solway Firth with a wide net to catch salmon and trout.

Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

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25 minutes

Last on

Sat 25 Apr 2015 06:07

Broadcasts

  • Thu 23 Apr 2015 15:00
  • Sat 25 Apr 2015 06:07

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