ANNAN. THE SOLWAY. 77 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE ANNAN; LOCHMABEN ; CASTLE OF EGBERT DE BEUS ; 

 THE YENGIS. 



THE town of Annan is some three or four hours' walk from 

 Dumfries. The angler may travel it as he thinks fit. But 

 when arrived at Annan he is not on angling ground, properly 

 speaking ; and I bring him here merely to have a gossip with 

 him about the Solway and its stake-net fishings. It is near 

 Annan Foot that the dangerous Solway is crossed at the ebb of 

 tide. Should you purpose doing so on foot, or on horseback, be 

 sure to have a guide with you, lest the terrible " bore" of the 

 Solway overtake you in your course. Whilst examining the 

 stake-nets at the mouth of the Solway, I became aware how 

 dangerous it is for a stranger to wander heedlessly upon the 

 banks when abandoned by the tide. The flood returns, rushing" 

 up the deep excavations, which you do not observe when the 

 bed of the Frith is dry, but which become impassable as the 

 tide flows. We escaped climbing along a stake-net, and had a 

 sharp run for it. 



There is no angling that I know of about here. Large 

 salmon and enormous bull trout are said to ascend the Annan in 

 autumn and early in winter. They are fished by poachers, and 

 salted down for winter food. I should not like to partake of 

 such food. By the condiments of salt and vinegar, they are 

 probably rendered safe, to a certain extent. I do not like to eat 

 anything found dead in the fields, nor would I touch a salmon 

 or sea trout found dead by the river side. The fish of which I 

 speak are not found dead, it is true, but in a condition wholly 

 unfit as food for man. 



We had examined the stake-nets extending from Annan Foot, 

 westward towards the Frith, and had gone eastward from 

 Annan Foot towards the Eden, to prosecute an inquiry into the 

 history of net-fishing for salmon. It was autumn, but a cold 

 north-easterly wind swept the valley of the Solway. As we 



