My name is Sophie and I am an 11-year-old Springer Spaniel and this is the story of my holiday.,P>
It is the first time I have been to the beach for any length of time, and I loved it, although all the walks were a little tiring.
We stayed in a studio cottage in Allonby just across the road from the beach which, because it was winter, was deserted. We had long walks each way without seeing a soul. Sometimes the tide was in, so we walked in the sand dunes and what is known as the greens - this was great because there were lots of rabbit smells and burrows.
In the afternoons, we went out in the car and visited Keswick, Silloth, Whitehaven, and Bowness on Solway.
Allonby is quite a large village with a river running through which has bridges at intervals to allow access to the beach. There is a post office/newsagents, general shop, two pubs and two cafes. It is situated 5 miles from Maryport, 12 miles from Silloth, and is a good base for exploring the Lake District. Carlisle is about 30 minutes' drive.
The beach is very long and pebbly, but there is a good strip of sand with rock pools at low tide. There are incredible sunsets over the sea and we were lucky to see one, as it was very cloudy at this time during our visit.
I enjoyed Keswick a lot because we had a good walk round Lake Derwentwater, then I was able to sleep in the car for an hour while mum and dad went round the shops.
Silloth was also enjoyable as there is a lovely promenade, lots of grass, and a small wood.
Whitehaven is a lovely town with good views from the top of the hill at the side of the harbour, but it was very windy and the sea spray was blowing right over the seawall.
Bowness on Solway is a small village and is the end of the Hadrian's Wall trail, and you can get your Hadrian's Trail passport stamped at the pub to show you have walked the appropriate piece. The wall is hard to find, but it is signposted and up a path between two cottages.
There are other small villages along the coast and inland and this part of the Cumbrian coast is definitely worth a visit.