'A crooked finger of water reaching far inland from the fist of the Irish Sea, apparently prising Scotland away from England': Ann Lingard explores both sides of the Solway and both the natural and human evolution of the Firth. Mudshrimps on the intertidal shores, grazing animals on the saltmarshes, fishermen, peat-cutters, the red sandstone quarries, and marine life around the bases of wind turbines are all part of this naturalist's investigation of Solway, past and present.