The rocks on Maryport's North Beach are from the Sherwood Sandstone group. The Sherwood Sandstone Group, formerly known as the Bunter Sandstone, predominantly comprises of sandstone and pebbly sandstone with lesser amounts of conglomerate and minor amounts of mudstone and siltstone and was deposited between 230 and 260 million years ago in the late Permian and Triassic periods. They are found in northwest England as far north as Carlisle (and extending just into Scotland around Annan and Gretna) and in the Vale of Eden and then extending down the Cumbrian coast into Lancashire and Cheshire. There is also a band running from Nottinghamshire up to Durham and the North East Coast.
Erosion by the sea has made the rocks form into lots of weird and wonderful shapes with many channels cutting through them, plus it's many pools have become a haven from small crabs and other shellfish. You can always people on the beach collecting shellfish when the tide is out.
I followed my photography shoot with a bracing walk along the promenade which, at one time, formed part of the Cumbria Coastal Way but it now seems to have become part of the England Coast Path. Apparently it will be the longest managed and waymarked coastal path in the world. All in all it made a refreshing change to photograph something different and the walk along the coast certainly blew the cobwebs off. The Solway Coast is often overlooked by travel writers but, if you like your air fresh, its the place to go and it is usually quiet. On a clear day you can see right across to the Galloway Hills in the west and up as far as the Central Lowlands in the north.
It had been a most enjoyable and peaceful afternoon. The only things that could have possibly disturbed that peace were the blasted gulls which can be an absolute nightmare if you are trying to have a bit of lunch but I suppose that's the same in any coastal town. Maryport has many faults and is run down but it also has its good points.
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| Rock Formation |
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| Rock Formation |
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| Rock Formation |
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| Rock Formation |
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| Rock Formation |
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| Rock Formation |
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| Across The Solway |
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| Across The Solway |
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| Seaweed on the rocks |
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| Seaweed on the rocks |
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| Rock Formation |
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| Rock Formation |
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