Silloth is a Victorian seaside town that never quite got the crowds it was built for, and it is all the better for that. Laid out in the 1850s as a port and resort at the end of a railway from Carlisle, it has wide cobbled streets, terraces of sandstone houses and a huge open green between the town and the sea, where people stroll, play and watch the sunsets over the Solway. On the dunes south of the town, near the famous golf course, the Romans built a chain of towers along the coast, and tower 12a was one of them, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
The golf course itself is a classic links, laid out among the dunes and considered one of the best in England. The towers along the coast were part of a defensive system that extended Hadrian's Wall down the Cumbrian coast, watching for raiders from across the firth. Nothing remains to see of tower 12a, but the dunes and the views over the sea give a sense of what the soldiers would have seen.
Silloth is also known for Carr's flour mill, which has been grinding flour on the docks since the late nineteenth century, and the port still handles cargo ships. The sunsets here are famous, with the sun dropping behind the hills of Dumfries and Galloway across the water, painting the sky in reds and golds. Criffel, the hill opposite, is a landmark visible from much of the coast.
The riding around here is flat and coastal, with quiet roads along the shore and through farmland. The B5300 coast road from Silloth to Maryport runs along the Solway with views over the sea, and the minor roads inland to Wigton and Abbeytown are pleasant. Abbeytown has the remains of Holm Cultram Abbey, a Cistercian monastery founded in the twelfth century. Winds can be strong, and the weather changeable, but the light here is often beautiful.
Silloth, under two kilometres away, has fuel, shops, cafés and fish and chip shops. Wigton, about sixteen kilometres away, is the nearest larger town. Grab an ice cream and sit on the green, watching the ships come in and the sun go down over Scotland.