Silloth is an elegant Victorian seaside town which offers good facilities for visitors including hotels, guest houses, cafes and holiday parks, as well as stunning views across the Solway.
Silloth also boasts wide tree-lined streets, a fine promenade stretching some 2 miles towards Skinburness, a vast open green of approx 36 acres, an amusement arcade and some colourful annual events such as the kite, music and beer festivals.
The town gets its name from "sea-lath" which means barn on the coast. These were used by the Cistercian monks of Holme Cultram Abbey to store grain. The Silloth you see today was planned as a new town and built to provide Carlisle with a port and in 1856 a railway was built to transport coal, burnt ore, grain and other crops. The railway also brought many visitors from Scotland and it later became a popular holiday seaside resort. The coastal location and clean sea air made it a popular destination in Victorian times and it retains some of that charm today with a sea front promenade, cobbled streets and elegant buildings.
The Solway Coast Discovery Centre in offers a fascinating introduction to the area’s wildlife, heritage, and landscapes, and there are some great walks and cycling routes.
Parking in the town is plentiful and free.
A short distance outside the town at the nearby airfield, you'll find the Sunday market offering a large car boot area and traders selling everything from garden plants, vegetables to clothes and shoes to candy floss and burgers. Open from Easter to October.