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Allonby

This traditional Solway village is backed by the Lake District fells and looks out across the Solway Firth to the Scottishhills. The
village has an attractive shingle and sand beach that is popular with windsurfers. The Allerdale Way and the Cumbrian Cycle Way both pass clos by, and the village is also on the Smuggler's Route trail. Smuggling seems to have been a profitable occupation around here - a government enquiry into contraband trade reported in 1730 that "the Solway people were the first working-class folk to drink tea regularly in Britain".

In th early 1800s, Allonby was a popular sea-bathing resort and the former seawater baths, built in 1835 and now Grade II listed buildings, still stand in the old Market Square. In those days, the upper floor was in regular use as a ballroom for the local nobility. Allonby still keeps much of its Georgian and early Victorian charm with cobbled lanes, alleyways, and some interesting old houses. It was also an important centre for herring fishing and some of the old kippering houses can still be seen.