Skinburness is a scatter of houses at the tip of a shingle spit on the Solway coast of Cumbria, just north of Silloth, looking across the wide, shimmering estuary to the hills of Scotland. When the tide goes out, the Solway empties into vast expanses of sand and mud, with channels winding through them, and the light changes constantly as clouds race overhead. On clear evenings, the sunsets over the Scottish hills, with the dark bulk of Criffel opposite, are spectacular.
The Romans did not stop their frontier at the western end of Hadrian's Wall near Bowness-on-Solway. They continued a chain of forts, small fortlets and towers down the Cumbrian coast to guard against raiders crossing the firth by boat, and these coastal defences are part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage site. Near Skinburness and Silloth, the remains of towers and fortlets have been found, though little is visible on the ground.
Silloth was built in the nineteenth century as a port and seaside resort, with wide cobbled streets, a large green and a promenade along the shore. It still has a quiet, old-fashioned charm. The Solway coast is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with saltmarshes, dunes and mudflats that attract huge numbers of birds, especially in winter, when tens of thousands of barnacle geese arrive from the Arctic. Rare natterjack toads breed in pools in the dunes, and their croaking can be heard on spring evenings.
The riding is gentle: flat roads along the coast and through farmland, with long straight stretches and few cars. The open landscape means wind can be strong, especially when it blows in from the sea. Inland, roads run towards Wigton and the northern fells of the Lake District, which offer more hills and curves.
A word on the map: Annan appears as the nearest larger town, but it lies across the firth in Scotland, and reaching it by road means a long detour around the estuary through Carlisle and Gretna. For fuel and supplies, look to Silloth, about three kilometres away, or Aspatria and Wigton inland. Silloth has cafés and fish and chip shops, and a walk along the promenade at sunset is the perfect way to end the day.