Hidden Harbours of the Northwest

Dag Pike

Strictly speaking Dag Pike’s latest tour of historic and often
long unused harbours should be titled ‘Hidden Harbours of
Northwest England and Southwest Scotland’. Starting from
the Dee Estuary and finishing in the remote Rhins of Galloway,
over 40 harbours are described. In many instances all that
remains is a stone quayside here, a silted dock there and a few
old warehouse buildings, but in their heyday the harbours
were all flourishing. During the Industrial Revolution boats
and waterways were essential to ferry grain, coal and raw
materials and also for the export of manufactured goods.
In those days these harbours were bustling centres of
commerce.

This roundup describes so many little known places:
Freckleton, an unlikely shipbuilding centre, Georgian
Sunderland Point at the mouth of the Lune, the old Roman
port of Ravenglass on the Cumbrian coast and, not to be
missed as the seaside resort for Millom, Haverigg. The
Galloway coast offers more, and few would want to miss
lovely Kirkcudbright, Creetown (which exported granite for
the building of the Embankment in London) or even
Garlieston, from where ferries once ran to the Isle of Man.
It’s a fascinating tour. Dag Pike’s guide is an indispensible
reference for all explorers by land and sea and an attractive
companion to the others in the series: Hidden Harbours of
Wales and Hidden Harbours of Southwest Britain.

Edition 1st