Solwayconnections Guided Tours
Solwayconnections Guided Tours
Solwayconnections Guided Tours
5
Historical & Heritage ToursWalking ToursPrivate ToursDay Trips
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Full view
About
Heritage walking and driving tours with a local guide, discovering lesser known built and natural sites of the stunning Solway coast in north Cumbria, England, Dumfries & Galloway in south west Scotland and the beautiful Borderlands. Offering immersive experiences and authentic encounters with local history and culture through the people and places.
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Carlisle, Cumbria, England
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Solwayconnections Guided Tours
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5.0
9 reviews
Excellent
9
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Higham Hall College
1 contribution
Sept 2021
Fiona's research into the Solway and Borders area really helps an excellent experience. You feel like you are really learning new things about the history and culture of the places she takes us to.
The interesting stop-offs, and equally interesting people she exposes us to who shed light on the activities of the past really help. Very often this is away from the crowds and all the more welcome for it.
Fiona has managed to unlock a whole new world of interest with what she does, without dwelling on the cliches of the neighbouring well-known Lake District, she allows less-known regional history to shine through, which, in a way, is even more fascinating. It's alsop good to explore bits of the borderlands, experiencing little glimpses of the past for both England and Scotland.
Fiona's tours have opened up interest for us all around the Solway and Borders areas, allowing us to venture to bits we simply would have missed.
Thank you very much Fiona.
The interesting stop-offs, and equally interesting people she exposes us to who shed light on the activities of the past really help. Very often this is away from the crowds and all the more welcome for it.
Fiona has managed to unlock a whole new world of interest with what she does, without dwelling on the cliches of the neighbouring well-known Lake District, she allows less-known regional history to shine through, which, in a way, is even more fascinating. It's alsop good to explore bits of the borderlands, experiencing little glimpses of the past for both England and Scotland.
Fiona's tours have opened up interest for us all around the Solway and Borders areas, allowing us to venture to bits we simply would have missed.
Thank you very much Fiona.
Written 19 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Geoff A
Yateley, UK14 contributions
Aug 2022
Hi Fiona
It was such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for conducting a simply wonderful 1 1/2 days of such a thoroughly entertaining and interesting tour. I know my clients were very impressed with your presentation and professionalism which has certainly enhanced the enjoyment of our 5 day tour of your amazing region.
A very sincere thank you from our guests and I hope to meet you again one day.
With every best wish
Geoff Allen
Travallen Travel & Events
It was such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for conducting a simply wonderful 1 1/2 days of such a thoroughly entertaining and interesting tour. I know my clients were very impressed with your presentation and professionalism which has certainly enhanced the enjoyment of our 5 day tour of your amazing region.
A very sincere thank you from our guests and I hope to meet you again one day.
With every best wish
Geoff Allen
Travallen Travel & Events
Written 16 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shane S
3 contributions
Aug 2022
A true highlight of our two week UK trip was the day spent with Fiona and her driver Sally out of Carlisle and around the Solway region. From Hadrian's Wall to the Solway inlet we saw so much of what the region has in terms of history and natural beauty. We simply could not have experienced so much without Fiona as our guide. And a great lunch thrown in too! Fiona is why you hire a guide: friendly, knowledgable, and a pleasure to spend time with. My family and I really enjoyed our time in and around Carlisle.
Written 22 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter G
Pittsburgh, PA4 contributions
Jul 2022 • Solo
In a real sense, there were two tours over two days: First, a tour of Cumbria's Solway plains and coast combining sites of scenic beauty and historical significance with locations of specific, personal genealogical interest. The second bespoke tour took us to similar locations in Scotland, along the Solway coast and north into the Galloway hills and glens. Absolutely beautiful. The key to the success of both tours was the careful planning, research, and knowledge of Fiona Stoddart of SolwayConnections.
Written 3 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charles W
1 contribution
Sept 2021
Fascinating insights into the history and landscapes of the Solway Coast and Borderlands. Fiona is very knowledgeable about her subject. We all know about the Lake District, Wordsworth and Potter. Now its time to explore the Cumbrian Coast and the bloody goings on in the Debateable Lands. If you have Reiver ancestry this is a must!
Written 18 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Clare B
5 contributions
Aug 2023 • Friends
Fiona, the guide, was superb. Fantastically knowledgeable, displayed a real love for her subject, humble ( despite all her knowledge) with a great speaking voice. Everyone should go on one these when in the area. Inspiring and fascinating
Written 10 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hazel S
1 contribution
Sept 2023 • Couples
I must have picked up a leaflet on Secret Solway Tours before the pandemic, and been intrigued by its promise back then.
Solwayconnections tour guide Fiona Stoddart will research and create a bespoke tour to encompass your interests in the area.
I was characteristically vague about what I wanted her to include, but in spite of my imprecise focus, we spent a magical afternoon with her, starting in St Michael’s church at Burgh-by-Sands (whose incredible pedigree I was unaware of until Fiona’s tour) and finishing up at Port Carlisle several hours later.
Fiona enlivens the history and heritage of the area with enormous enthusiasm and incredibly detailed, wide-ranging knowledge; she brought the richness and complexity of long and layered cultural and historical themes into the sunlit churchyard with us.
We embarked on a journey through aeons, from the remnants of the last ice age, carving the channel that became the Solway and sculpting the surrounding landscape, to equine celebrity Red Rum coming out of retirement to race at the fund-raising Burgh marsh race on 3rd September 1978.
It’s impossible to do our afternoon justice; Fiona’s stories danced through ancient to modern times with a lightness belying the weight of the years, from Roman times – North African troops at the northerly outpost of Aballava, bringing African culture to the area – to early Christianity coming over from Ireland to Whithorn and this side of the Solway. Time unspooled through the first church being built on the Roman site, with early recycling (tombstones in the church tower), to Medieval times and the tithe of a fishing catch to Holme Cultram, which also managed the salt pans.
We zigzagged across time and geography, passing a couple of Clay Dabbins on our route to our next stop – one currently in the process of being thatched. The construction techniques of the Clay Dabbins are thought by some to have originated in the Viking era, though the skills needed are, like those for traditional thatching, a dying art. The stone used for building changes from one end of Hadrian’s Wall to the other; Fiona noted for us how the red sandstone at the Cumbrian end becomes white or yellow stone as you traverse across to the other coast.
On into the Industrial Revolution – factories – canals – merchant commutes on a horse-drawn barge – railways – reivers – Solway salmon fishing (tons shipped to London) – the bench at St Michaels commemorating the Silver Jubilee on 6th May 1935 – nine small airfields during World War Two – local family dynasties – renting grazing rights on the Solway Marsh ‘stints’ (grazing for one cow, or one and a half (!) sheep) – Drumburgh Castle.
Port Carlisle was once a bustling port where people emigrated on ships via Liverpool to the ‘New World’. We parted company here, with the waters of the Solway working their slow inevitable reclamation, little egrets foraging on the ebbing tide.
Whatever your interest, Solwayconnections can design a tour to suit you or your party.
I’m looking forward to exploring more of the Solway with Fiona in the future – maybe more than once! – as I’m keen to learn about both the Sacred Sites of North Cumbria and famous Solway artists and writers…
Solwayconnections tour guide Fiona Stoddart will research and create a bespoke tour to encompass your interests in the area.
I was characteristically vague about what I wanted her to include, but in spite of my imprecise focus, we spent a magical afternoon with her, starting in St Michael’s church at Burgh-by-Sands (whose incredible pedigree I was unaware of until Fiona’s tour) and finishing up at Port Carlisle several hours later.
Fiona enlivens the history and heritage of the area with enormous enthusiasm and incredibly detailed, wide-ranging knowledge; she brought the richness and complexity of long and layered cultural and historical themes into the sunlit churchyard with us.
We embarked on a journey through aeons, from the remnants of the last ice age, carving the channel that became the Solway and sculpting the surrounding landscape, to equine celebrity Red Rum coming out of retirement to race at the fund-raising Burgh marsh race on 3rd September 1978.
It’s impossible to do our afternoon justice; Fiona’s stories danced through ancient to modern times with a lightness belying the weight of the years, from Roman times – North African troops at the northerly outpost of Aballava, bringing African culture to the area – to early Christianity coming over from Ireland to Whithorn and this side of the Solway. Time unspooled through the first church being built on the Roman site, with early recycling (tombstones in the church tower), to Medieval times and the tithe of a fishing catch to Holme Cultram, which also managed the salt pans.
We zigzagged across time and geography, passing a couple of Clay Dabbins on our route to our next stop – one currently in the process of being thatched. The construction techniques of the Clay Dabbins are thought by some to have originated in the Viking era, though the skills needed are, like those for traditional thatching, a dying art. The stone used for building changes from one end of Hadrian’s Wall to the other; Fiona noted for us how the red sandstone at the Cumbrian end becomes white or yellow stone as you traverse across to the other coast.
On into the Industrial Revolution – factories – canals – merchant commutes on a horse-drawn barge – railways – reivers – Solway salmon fishing (tons shipped to London) – the bench at St Michaels commemorating the Silver Jubilee on 6th May 1935 – nine small airfields during World War Two – local family dynasties – renting grazing rights on the Solway Marsh ‘stints’ (grazing for one cow, or one and a half (!) sheep) – Drumburgh Castle.
Port Carlisle was once a bustling port where people emigrated on ships via Liverpool to the ‘New World’. We parted company here, with the waters of the Solway working their slow inevitable reclamation, little egrets foraging on the ebbing tide.
Whatever your interest, Solwayconnections can design a tour to suit you or your party.
I’m looking forward to exploring more of the Solway with Fiona in the future – maybe more than once! – as I’m keen to learn about both the Sacred Sites of North Cumbria and famous Solway artists and writers…
Written 1 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John M
1 contribution
Oct 2021
Really knowledgeable and interesting. I'm from this area originally, but I still learned a huge number of new things. Highly recommended
Written 24 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah G
1 contribution
Oct 2021 • Business
Highly recommend! Fiona was very knowledgable about the Solway area, bringing its people, history and places alive in a relaxed, easy manner. As a local, I was amazed and just how much there is to learn about our coastal region and its importance throughout history.
Written 19 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience