Allonby Bay facts for kids
Allonby Bay is a beautiful, crescent-shaped bay located in Cumbria, England. It's part of the Solway Firth, which then connects to the Irish Sea. The bay stretches about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) across.
To the north, you'll find Dubmill, near the villages of Mawbray and Salta. To the south, the bay ends close to Maryport, near Crosscanonby. A road called the B5300 coast road runs right along the shoreline, connecting Silloth in the north to Maryport in the south. The bay gets its name from the village of Allonby, which is located right in the middle of its coast.
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Nature and Protection
Allonby Bay has a lovely 5-mile (8 km) long beach. In 2005, this beach was given a special award called the Blue Flag. This award means the beach is very clean and safe for swimming. Keeping the water clean is super important for the village of Allonby, as many visitors come to enjoy the beach.
Near the northern part of the bay is a place called Salta Moss. This area is a special nature spot, known as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It's part of the Solway Coast AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). Here, you can find rare plants like the bog bean and even Britain's only native venomous snake, the adder.
Many small streams flow into Allonby Bay, including one called the Black Dub near Dubmill. If you want to learn more about the sea creatures living in Allonby Bay, you can visit the Lake District Coast Aquarium in nearby Maryport. It's been a popular place for visitors since 1997.
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Allonby Bay is a big part of the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This special area stretches from just north of Beckfoot down to the southern end of Allonby Bay near Crosscanonby. It's a place where the natural beauty of the landscape is protected.
Marine Conservation Zone
In 2016, Allonby Bay became a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). This means a 5-mile (8 km) stretch of the coast and about 40 square kilometers (15 sq mi) of the Irish Sea are now protected.
The main goals of this protection are to keep the sandy seabeds healthy. These sandy areas are important places where fish like plaice, skate, and thornback rays lay their eggs and where young fish grow up. The MCZ also protects special reefs built by tiny creatures called honeycomb worms.
Being an MCZ helps protect many sea creatures that live in the bay, especially in areas like Dubmill Scar and the southern part of the bay near Maryport.
Honeycomb Worms
Honeycomb worms are amazing little creatures that build tube-like homes out of sand. When many of them build their homes close together, they create large, bumpy reefs. These reefs provide shelter and food for many other kinds of marine life. Allonby Bay has some great examples of these honeycomb worm reefs.
History of Allonby Bay
People have lived around Allonby Bay for a very long time. Archaeologists have found signs of human activity dating back to the Stone Age. For example, a Bronze Age sword was found on Salta Moss in the 1980s. This ancient sword is now kept at the Tullie House museum in Carlisle.
During Roman times, the Romans built small forts called milefortlets along the coast of Allonby Bay. These forts were an extension of Hadrian's Wall and helped protect against attacks from across the Solway Firth. Milefortlets 17 to 22 were located along the bay's shoreline, and milefortlet 21 is still very well-preserved today.
Even after the Romans left, raids from Scotland continued to be a problem. To protect themselves, people living along the coast created a system called the "seawake." This was a night watch where people would keep an eye out for any incoming ships or raiders.
