Wigton, Cumbria.
Hubby and I loved visiting this beautiful Victorian seaside resort – and how lucky we were to have blue skies, white clouds and a strange yellow thing in the sky that we haven’t seen much of as of late!
This stereotypical, unspoilt English town with its wide elegant tree lined streets and cobbled roads was alive and vibrant with families. Happy children running, laughing whilst playing football along with lots of bouncy four-legged friends. With so much to see and do to keep young ones occupied, from a wonderfully spacious seafront green, children’s waterplay area (not open at the time of our visit), swings and woodland play area. A traditional amusement arcade with fun activities such as merry-go-round and go karting for your little tykes, complete with a Thomas the Train Engine running around the green, and as this was Easter weekend, there was even a travelling fairground. Free toilet blocks are provided with many picnic benches dotted along the way.
The three-mile-long promenade, with its RNLI station, runs from Silloth to Skinburness taking in the stunning Solway Firth, with its incredible views across the water towards the hills of Southern Scotland. The West Silloth Beach is a delightful expanse of clean sand, backed by dunes and is dog friendly. Its ideal cycling territory and there are a number of quiet roads for trouble free pedalling, including the National route 72 – Hadrian’s Cycleway which passes through the town.
Silloth gained its name thanks to the Cistercian monks from Holm Cultram Abbey who stored their grain in silos, known as ‘sea-lathes’ and didn’t start to develop until 1855 when it was decided to build a dock and railway. Now there are many independent shops, eateries and pubs with a number of historic sites nearby and various events held throughout the year – including festivals and a vintage rally.
The impressive Christ Church, a typical Victorian Gothic style late 19th century edifice, stands proudly in the centre of the town, and nearby finds the Silloth on Solway Golf Club. Whilst mooching around the town take time to pop into the Motorcycle Museum and Soldiers in Silloth, with its unique collection of more than 5,000 toy soldiers.
We had a lovely lunch at Mrs Wilsons – sitting outside people watching. The name is a tribute to local legend, Kathleen Ferrier CBE (Mrs Wilson being her married name) an internationally renowned English contralto singer – whose memorabilia and photographs feature in a unique wall mural as a fitting tribute to the late iconic singer. Just a couple of shops along finds The Ice Cream Factory, although we didn’t partake this time, a queue formed outside the entire time we were having our lunch.
Even if the amusements are not your ‘bag’, then a brisk walk along the promenade is definitely worth the trip, and the surrounding countryside is impressive. Enjoy your visit and we hope to see you during our next visitation.