Holiday on the Solway Firth

The Solway Firth is an extremely beautiful stretch of Scottish coastline - the views across the water to the Cumbrian hills are stunning and the sunsets beautiful. Fishermen still catch salmon with poke nets, stake nets and haaf nets today as they have done for hundreds of years. The tidal mud flats at the edge of the estuary give way to carpets of wildflowers such as thrift: it is an idyllic and peaceful part of the Scottish coast and the shifting sands are home to a wealth of wildfowl. The mud is home to shrimps, worms and shellfish - great food for wading birds such as curlew, oystercatcher and redshank who spend the winter here. The Solway Firth is one of the most popular areas in Scotland for birdwatchers - particularly in the winter when the swans, ducks and geese return. Birdwatching holiday accommodation is plentiful and you can often get bargain Solway Firth self catering breaks in the winter. Mersehead RSPB bird reserve offers some amazing bird watching and it is particularly famous for the geese in the winter, along with many rare species that come here to feed.

There are many attractive Galloway villages along the Solway Firth. Kippford is a popular destination with sailors and families so has a lot of holiday cottages to rent in the village, and nearby Rockcliffe holiday cottages are plentiful too. Kippford and Rockcliffe are justifiably popular for holidays by the sea - the pretty shores have sandy beaches as well as rock pools which are wonderful for children to explore. Creetown and Dalbeatie are also popular destinations for holidays on the Solway Firth and there are lots of things to do in the area - golf courses abound and there is excellent cycling and walking too - not to forget sailing and watersports on the Solway Firth!