Silloth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Silloth | |
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  Silloth shown within Cumbria |
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| Population | 3,305 |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Allerdale |
| Shire county | Cumbria |
| Region | North West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Wigton |
| Postcode district | CA7 |
| Dialling code | 016973 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| European Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Workington |
| List of places: UK • England • Cumbria | |
Silloth (sometimes known as Silloth-on-Solway) is a port town in Cumbria, in the historic county of Cumberland. It is on the Solway Firth, 22 miles (36 km) west of Carlisle. The town is a small holiday resort, developed in the 1860s around the terminus of a railway from Carlisle which had begun construction in 1855. For the first time, workers from the factories of Carlisle were presented with affordable access to seaside and the town flourished as a destination for day trippers. Since its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Silloth has followed in the footsteps of Morecambe and Blackpool and gradually slipped into unfashionable disrepair. Now, in common with its Lancastrian counterparts, the town boasts a disproportionately large elderly population with amenities including a golf course, hotels, public houses and tea rooms geared towards maintaining its image as a "retirement town". Silloth's church is Christ Church, which is situated on Criffel Street and was completed in 1870.[1]
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[edit] Industry
Silloth has a small port run by Associated British Ports. According to their website it handles dry bulks, bagged agribulks, timber, and liquid bulks.[2] Silloth is also the location of Carr's flour mill which supplies flour to United Biscuits.[3]
[edit] Tourism
Tourism is the other major industry in Silloth, with several large static and touring caravan parks which greatly swell the population on most summer weekends. Regrettably, these parks tend to be totally self contained so the town does not benefit from the financial influx of the caravanners as perhaps it might if the tourists made better use of the town's facilities instead of tending to remain in the parks.
Silloth also proudly plays host to Solfest, The Solway Music Festival, Cumbria's biggest live music festival. Situated just outside the town, Solfest has been running since 2004 and now regularly attracts crowds of 10,000+ every August Bank Holiday Weekend, with its eclectic mix of music, visually stunning site art and cabaret performers and the friendly atmosphere which resulted in it rocketing the town firmly back into national awareness by winning the "Best Family Friendly Festival" award in the 2007 UK Festival Awards (the only Cumbrian festival ever to win an award). Solfest has also been credited with introducing Silloth to a younger generation of tourists and in doing so has greatly boosted the future of tourism in the town.
[edit] Communications
[edit] Railway
The railway came to Silloth in 1856, passing through the villages of Kirkbride and Abbeytown to Carlisle railway station. The railway provided quick access to the town for tourists, but was closed as part of the Beeching cuts in 1964.[4]
[edit] Road
Silloth is on the B5302 road, which leads to the A596 and the town of Wigton, 12 miles (19 km) away. The B5300 connects the town to Maryport, 13 miles (21 km) away.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.
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