Across the water from here lies Eastriggs, a quiet Scottish village with a loud past. During the First World War a huge munitions factory stretched for miles along the Solway coast from Gretna to Annan, and the cordite paste that women workers mixed by hand earned the nickname devil's porridge. Thousands lived in purpose-built townships, and the whole operation was kept secret. A museum in Eastriggs now tells the story. The reason the label brings us to the English shore, though, is the Roman frontier, because Hadrian's Wall did not simply stop at Bowness-on-Solway. Beyond it a chain of milefortlets and towers carried on down the Cumbrian coast, watching the sea rather than the hills.
The Wall at this end is faint, and the label speaks of a stretch of Wall and vallum between field accesses, so do not expect dramatic stones. What you find is a flat, wide, windy country of grazing land, saltmarsh and views over the firth to the Scottish hills. The lanes are straight and quiet, with a decent surface, and traffic is light apart from the odd tractor. In winter geese fill the sky, and in summer the air smells of salt and cut grass. The wind is the main thing to reckon with, and on the exposed stretches it will shove a bike sideways.
Fuel needs planning. Annan, nearly nine thousand people, and Eastriggs are close as the crow flies, but the firth lies between, and by road you have to go round by Carlisle. Carlisle itself, the dependable stop with stations, cafes and a castle, is the better bet from this side. Annan is known for its salmon fishing and for a history of border raiding, and it lies near Ecclefechan, birthplace of the historian Thomas Carlyle.
On this coast the border between England and Scotland feels slight, and a Roman sentry would have known that. The Solway was a barrier at high tide and an easy walk at low tide, and the soldiers had to watch for both. Stand on the shore as the tide comes in, and you will see why they never relaxed.