Blitterlees
| Blitterlees | |
| Cumberland | |
|---|---|
 Moordale Caravan park in Blitterlees | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY109523 |
| Location: | 54°51’29"N, 3°23’13"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Silloth |
| Postcode: | CA7 |
| Dialling code: | 016973 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cumberland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Workington |
Blitterlees is a small hamlet on the coast of Cumberland, in the parish of Holme Low, a mile south of Silloth. The hamlet of Wolsty is located approximately one mile to the south as the crow flies, or two-and-a-quarter miles by road, and Cumberland's county town, Carlisle, is twenty-three miles to the east. The B5300 coast road runs through the village on its way to Beckfoot, Mawbray, Allonby, and ultimately Maryport.
The name "Blitterlees" comes from the Old English blaecфorn-læs, meaning a blackthorn pasture. Previous variant spellings include Bletterliese, Bletherleese, and Bladderlies.[1] In the 19th century, the name is recorded as Blitter Lees, with a space between the two words.
History
During the Roman period, the coast around present-day Blitterlees was fortified, as a series of milefortlets were built along the Solway Plain, extending beyond the western end of Hadrian's Wall. The closest milefortlet to the settlement was milefortlet 12, which was originally constructed of earth and timber.[2]
In the 19th century Blitter Lees was described as containing several farmhouses and being located three-quarters of a mile away from Silloth railway station.[3] The station was the terminus of the Carlisle and Silloth Bay railway, a single-track line which opened in 1856 and closed with the Beeching Axe in 1965.[4] Within Holme Low, the parish which contains Blitterlees, there was a single station on the line, Blackdyke Halt, in the hamlet of Blackdyke, a mile-and-a-half to the east.
The hamlet today
Blitterlees is home to two caravan parks, as Silloth-on-Solway and the Solway coast in general are popular with tourists. It is also close to the declared 'Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty'.[5]
There is a golf course in the hamlet, and the B5300 coast road runs through the village.
The nearest shops are a mile away in Silloth-on-Solway, and the nearest railway station is at Aspatria, eight-and-a-quarter miles to the south-east.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Blitterlees) |
References
- ↑ Holme St. Cuthbert History Group (2004). Plain People: Bygone Times on the Solway Plain. ISBN 0954882318.
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 9673 – Milefortlet 12
- ↑ "Forebears - Blitter Lees Genealogy & History". http://forebears.io/england/cumberland/silloth/blitter-lees. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ↑ "Cumbria Railways - Carlisle & Silloth Bay Railway". http://www.cumbria-railways.co.uk/carlisle_silloth_bay_railway.html. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ↑ "Solway Coast AONB - Location". Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150105022640/http://solwaycoastaonb.org.uk/gethere.php. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
