Walking out onto the flat grass covered of land at the head of the Solway Estuary our noses were filled with seaside smells.
For our big walk this week we headed to Burgh (pron Bruff) Marsh about five or so miles from Carlisle.
The wide open space is populated by hundreds of sheep who keep the grass short and the occasional tourist visiting the nearby monument to King Edward I.
Today we were to venture way out to the sea in the search for a paddle.
Burgh Marsh
Walking out on to the wide open plain we soon became aware that the land had lots of ridges, deep crevasses and grass tuffets which could cause us some damage if we ran around too much.
It was great fun to try and pick our way across the almost featureless landscape, looking for makeshift bridges spanning drainage ditches.
Some of these were simply concrete reinforced drainage pipes dropped into the gaps and backfilled with rubble and debris to keep them in place.
Campsite
It is hard to believe that where we were walking camped an army in 1307 belonging to King Edward.
We tried to imagine how windswept the camp must have been and how dangerous it must be to walk in the area after dark.
Although we did not spot any old coins or buckles left behind we did come across hundreds of unusual droppings.
Around 4cm long with a white end the poop was not the usual splat you get from a seagull.
Any birds we did spot or flew up from the ground as we approached, appeared to be very small so we did not think it came from any of them.
Mum wondered if the droppings had possibly come from geese resting on the salt marsh in recent days, but she was not sure as we found no large feathers or other signs.
Crumbling cliff
Arriving at the waters edge and eager for a paddle our hopes were dashed as we discovered that the soft sand bank edge was crumbling into the sea.
The unstable edge made it too dangerous to walk along and also very dirty to walk through.
Much of the damage appeared to have been done over the last few weeks given that the grass was still firmly attached to some debris.
Dad wondered if the recent dry weather had caused the bank to become brittle or if something else was going on which could be a lot more serious.
Haff net
Positioned at the outlet for the River Eden this area is possibly a good area for fishing and for salmon in particular.
Nearby we came across a Haff net frame weighted down with large stones to stop it moving in the tide or wind.
Haff netting used to be common in this area and involves standing in the water with the net filtering the water as it flows past and around the fisherman.
In the late afternoon sunshine we had the area to ourselves and the sheep.
This allowed us to take our time and stop to listen to the birds, to take in the lovely weather and to have regular drinks.
Our big bottle of water, that mum was carrying, was soon empty as we drank our way through a litre of water in just under 90 minutes.
Thankfully we made it back to the car soon after and could replenish from the bottles of water in the car.
Please take care if you are going for a walk in this heat. Many of us still have our winter coats and so will heat up quickly.
As the weather is set to continue warm, our mum is arranging for us to have a good clipping later this week. No doubt more on this soon.
Until next time
Big licks and a woof
Buster and Charlie