Solway Firth Partnership

General information

Solway Coastwise

The physical heritage of the Solway coast provides the foundations for today’s seascape but it is the local people who, given the opportunity to communicate their passion, will bring the cultural heritage of this fantastic landscape alive.

The Solway Coastwise Project, run by Solway Firth Partnership, will enable and support local people to become ambassadors and promote our coast as an asset to the region.

The three year project, which officially starts on 1 August, will encourage the discovery of traditional place-names, providing an insight into history/identity, and encouraging people to share the inspiring Dumfries and Galloway coastline with others through activities, events, electronic and printed media.

The Dumfries and Galloway shoreline has an extraordinary range of named features to be researched and recorded. For example, place names not shown on today’s maps include those in the oral tradition like Butcher’s Cave which geology has streaked blood red and Johnny Logie’s which celebrates one of Scotland’s last cave dwellers in the 1960s. More recent place-names include Plastic Beach (Barlocco Bay) which is named after the enormous amount of debris washed up on the shore.

A Coordinator and Assistant will help individuals, communities and businesses to use place-names from written and oral traditions to discover the diversity of cultural heritage along our region’s coastlines.

This innovative project will create opportunities for all sectors of society to become involved with learning provided through oral heritage and coastal ambassador workshops, talks and visits.

It is recognised that there is a lack of engagement of young people with the environment and so this project will target young people to help them experience their local coastal environment. Participating with others for a common purpose will help participants gain communication and other transferable skills, improving their employability and fostering a more positive attitude to their outlook on life in a rural environment.

The project will also target older people, who often suffer from loneliness and rural isolation, who are often keen to pass their local knowledge onto younger people and so strengthen cross generational connections.

Funding for this project is been provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Dumfries and Galloway LEADER and Dumfries & Galloway Council.

For more information about the project contact Solway Firth Partnership at morag@solwayfirthpartnership.co.uk