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" Maryport Town walk in the Sunshine "

Date & start time:       Saturday 19th February 2022.   1.45 pam start.

Location of Start :     On street parking, King Street, Maryport, Cumbria, Uk. ( NY 035 368 ).

Places visited :           Marina and docks, the Promenade, Roman Fort and Flemming Square.

Walk details :              4.5 miles, 200 ft of ascent, 2 hours 15 mins.

Highest point :           Camp Road near the museum and the School, 165 ft - 50 m.

Walked with :              Loes and my dogs, Dylan and Dougal.

Weather :                      Sunshine and blue skies.

                     

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Storm Eunice blew through well to the south of Cumbria and the snow that followed also fell a fair way away from Loweswater.

This morning however was wet and windy, with the clouds down on the fells and hiding the weather they were experiencing.

The forecast however was for a brighter afternoon so Loes and I decided to leave little to chance

and head to the coast to enjoy a low level walk with loads of interest.

As we drove out of the valley we could see snow under the still-present clouds.

From the Hundeth Hill turn I could see the snow covered slopes of Skiddaw, beyond Ling Fell and Lord's Seat.

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We headed for the coast, not to St. Bees or Workington,

but further north to the home of this boat,

moored up in the local docks of Maryport.

 

We found an on-street parking area and walked

the short distance back to the harbour.

The dogs paused on the sea wall

close to Christ Church, Maryport.

 

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It's High Tide just before two o'clock this afternoon . . . and the river is looking delightful.

The tide is just on the turn and the river is starting to flow out past the harbour light.

At the exit of the harbour the sea is more disturbed and slightly more brown with Solway Estuary mud.

Beyond the northern breakwater are the mountains of Scotland.

The weather has come up trumps and loads of folk are out enjoying a warm stroll.

A sculpture alongside Senhouse Bridge is called "A Fishy Tale"

sculptured in resin and red sandstone dust, by the late Maryport artist Colin Telfor

The river further up was once a hive of shipbuilding, and was renown for sideways launching of new ships into the river.

This naturally caused a slight tidal wave across the opposite bank on launch days

and the new leisure centre in the background, built on part of the old shipyard, goes by the name of "The Wave"

The sculpture sits on the old base of the Senhouse Street swing bridge, close to their Maritime Museum.

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Across the bridge

and past a modern pub with old connections.

 

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Harbours always look their best at high tides on sunny days.

The lifting bridge by the fish dock is open . . .
. . . though there is little activity this Saturday afternoon.

I imagine the weather of the last few days has put pay to any serious offshore fishing.

There are a number of active boats here, some classic fishing boats but also some that look like scallop or shrimp boats.

Calm waters of the Fish Dock.

Not all boats are in top condition . . . this one seems to be facing its destiny !

Name that flag ?   [Answers after the next photo.]

We walk over to the outer harbour which is home to a busy yachting marina.

The flag in the last photo was that of the County of Cumbria, based on an old design for the now superceded Cumberland County Council.

The waves represent the sea, the green the fields and farming, and the three Parnassus flowers which are wild flower of the marshy uplands.

The pontoons are also home to dinghies and canoes

to save storage space on land and to aid security presumably.

Looking out past the Harbour Light . . . across a raft of sea birds.

Turning back towards town we see the Maryport Coast Aquarium . . . always worth a visit if you've not been before.

We almost went full circle in the docklands. 

Had the bridge been down we would have done.  Instead we had to go full square !

On the wharf by the Aquarium is a fine metal sculpture in the shape of a flattened sphere.

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It encapsulated as many of the historic references

of the town as it could.

 

In there are ship building, trains, the Mutiny on the Bounty,

Roman helmets, coal and iron mining and so much more.

Do check out the sign board if you have a moment.

Click here or on the photo above for a larger, more readable version

   

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There was also a further signboard by the bridge

which tells the story of a wartime raid on Maryport.

 

The rogue plane failed to make it's planned target further north

so dropped its deadly load of bombs on the town and harbour area.

Sadly seven people lost their lives in the raid.  The gap between

the Lifeboat Inn and the Maritime Museum

was apparently where one of the bombs landed.

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After enjoying the docks area we took a stroll out towards the Promenade.

These 18th Century houses in King's Street show signs of an earlier existence as a warehouses or commercial buildings.

The right hand one has an old, upper doorway still sporting some old iron door hinges at the first floor level.

We leave the houses behind and stroll, or should we say promenade, along the foreshore.

The tide is ebbing and the waves are small today.

This must have been a damp place to stand during the recent gales.

Real efforts have been made to improve the foreshore area.
The shoreline changes from sand to red sandstone rock.

The lose stones on the rock in this and the previous picture, are testament to the power of the waves.

The sea wall gradually curves away north and our view ahead is of distant Allonby Bay.

At a brightly painted shelter where we turn and take a rising path behind it.

This will take us up onto the high ground above the shoreline and to the site of the Roman Fort.

No, not the fort, but a rather nice house built by Henry Senhouse

or one of the other rich shipping / coal mining magnates of the town.

Our path brings us up to this wooden structure.

It looks like a conning tower for a Roman airport . . . but then Roman's didn't have planes !

It is a modern representation of a Roman viewing tower that has been constructed on the site of the Maryport Roman Fort, Alauna.

The famous Hadrian's Wall has its western end near Carlisle, but there were castles and Roman harbours all the way down the Cumbrian Coast.

The museum was open today, but deserves more time than we have to spare.

The buildings of the Senhouse Roman Museum . . . worth a visit sometime soon.

Every good fort must have a few earthworks around it, and Maryport is no exception.

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The site marks the northern boundary

of the Roman Empire.

The Romans occupied the area from about the years 70 to 410 AD.

 

The signpost by the entrance is more a modern design

but just check out the wording on the fingers !

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The prosperous town that benefited from the Victorian industry of the day

also sported many fine homes such as these on Camp Road.

The classic, cobbled Flemming Square, named after Mary Flemming, Humphrey Senhouse's wife.

It features some lovely old Georgian listed buildings, a central obelisk and four engraved plaques, two of which are below.

On the path north to the Roman Camp.
On the path south to the harbour.

We took the latter and were soon overlooking the harbour area once again.

The car is somewhere down there on King Street, 150 feet below.

A steep stairway led us carefully down to the car at the end of the walk.
What would be great now is a nice cup of tea.

On a previous visit to the town Loes had discovered an eclectic, boutique, back street cafe called Her Citi

There wasn't a matching teacup in the place, the serviette didn't represent the day, but what lovely atmosphere, tea and scones . . . most recommended !

On your visit could have lunch or teas, buy cards or pictures, brows the clothing or household accessories

and enjoy the unusual surroundings of this lovely cafe

- - - o o o - - -

Back home to Palace How and Grasmoor in the Lorton Valley.  The weather hasn't been too bad during the afternoon

but the sky here probably was never as blue as that sky at Maryport this afternoon.

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Hi Roger

I enjoyed reading your Maryport account and the pictures. I like Maryport, very interesting place and have been inside the Roman Museum up on the hill.

We have a very interesting coastline here in Cumbria with many exploring possibilities, never be short of a good day out and quite often when the mountains are socked in with cloud, the coast has nice sunny days, such is the case this morning, blue sky here but Skiddaw is under cloud.

I recently found this drawing/painting of the steps in Maryport by Lowry, didn't realise he had been up here, always thought he just painted Lancashire mill town scenes. When he painted this, must have been more open than now with all the trees in view now

Dave Whalley

 

Thanks Dave.  The sign in the harbour alluded to Lowry's visits and, despite the stylised drawing, the steps here are still very recognisable. Shame I didn't take a matching photo from below.  RmH.

 

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Technical note: Pictures taken with my Panasonic Lumix Gx8 Camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . a surprise cuppa in unexpected place.

Go to Home Page . . . © RmH . . . Email me here

Previous walk - 17th February - Hen Comb between the Storms

A previous time up here - 22nd April 2012 Maryport and the Titanic Exhibition

Next walk - 23rd February - Stormy Buttermere