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Solway Photographs --- the beach just down from the John Paul Jones birthplace museum.

There is a natural arch with a little beach behind it. There is a path leading through the bushes to a small cave which may have been used by smugglers.

John Paul Jones is regarded as the founder of the American navy.

He was born in a cottage just up from the Solway shore. His father was the gardner on the Arbigland estate which is about ten miles south west of Dumfries. He was originally known as John Paul. He added the Jones to his name later. The cottage where he was born is now a museum.

A short distance from the cottage is this natural arch and beach. There are no references to the young John Paul ever having played there, but given the short distance from the cottage, and after having seen the arch myself, and having seen children climbing over the rocks, people fishing and picknickers making fires I am sure that John Paul and his friends went there often.

I can image them fishing from rocks, making fires to cook their fish and keeping a lookout. The young John Paul would be -- a pirate captain, a smuggler trying to outwit the excisemen,an explorer, Drake at Darien?

This is guesswork but the beach is so near John Paul's home and it is such a perfect place for small boys to play at making a camp that I am sure that something like this happened. Anyway look at the photographs and judge for yourself.

Just up from the little beach is a cave. It is called after John Paul Jones but there is no concrete evidence that he ever went there.

The Natural Arch

It is actually a cleft or tunnel through the middle of a large rock. Gorse bushes grow on top of it.

There is a beach of sand and crushed shells behind the rocks. There is a small hollow behind the cave itself. The following photos show the beach behind the arch. The photos are taken both from the land and the sea side.

Taken from the sea side

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Taken from the land side

Here is the small hollow behind the arch.

There is a path leading up through the bushes to the cave.

This is a view through the arch taken from the sea side.

Finally here is a view through the cave taken from the land side.

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