Piel Ferry

Piel Island

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Sheep Island

Cavendish Dock

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Walney Island

Foulney Island: Warden in a caravan on Night Watch during Breeding season:

End of Shift: Michaelson Rd Bridge

Cavendish Tenement Flats Barrow Island

Furness Abbey

Evening at Sandscale Haws, sand dune coastline with a Lake District mountain backdrop

Mass Observation

Furness Golf Club, Walney Island

Walney Channel

Devonshire Dock Hall & Boat Club Sheds

Barrow Airships

Vickers’s Barrow Island site was an essential naval vessel builder during WW1 & WW2. ‘The Yard’ also became a prime target for enemy bombers. Numerous pillboxes, machine gun batteries, search light emplacements, air raid shelters & bombing raid decoys were erected during WW2 & remain across the Islands of Barrow, many lie within what are now Nature Reserves and SSSI’s. (detailed overleaf)

The �rst sign of German interest in Barrow came in May 1936, when the Hindenburg Zeppelin �ew over Barrow. Locals & the Government believed it was spying on the shipyard, although it was claimed she was simply carrying passengers on a luxury trip.

During the Blitz, inaccurate bombing caused many residential neighbourhoods to be destroyed. 83 civilians were killed, 330 injured, and over 10,000 houses were damaged or destroyed; 25% of the town's housing stock. (see Nella Last below)

Barnes Wallis’s design for the famous Bouncing Bomb used in the the dam busters raids was made by Vickers in Barrow in much haste & under a veil of secrecy, early in 1943.

National Trust

Barrow Island at War

Getting Around

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The Kings Collection of Curiosities, is a visitor centre like no other which sits seamlessly within the newly refurbished Ship Inn: a diverse collection of artefacts, furniture, photographs & stories which explore the diverse histories and qualities of the Islands of Barrow seen from the perspective of local people.

The centre piece of the Kings Collection is the ancient gra�ti carved oak throne of the Kings of Piel. An engraved knights table hangs on the wall behind it: taken down for use during special ceremonial occasions: the crowning of kings & the dubbing of knights.

Each table top in the bar tells a di�erent tale - under each stool are others imparting fascinating snippets of information; even the beer mats combine to make a map of the islands exploring points of interest and the hidden assets of the Islands of Barrow.

Piel Island Middle Ages

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Fisherman’s Cabin, Lowsy Point

Barrow Ironworks Est. 1859

Pill box on beach beside Walney ChannelVickers Model Making Shop:

Model of Luxury Passenger Liner Orion 1934

Prehistoric �nds inc. axe heads have been discovered around the Islands of Barrow, many on Walney Island and Sandscale Haws. The coast o�ered stone age communities, a wide range of foods and materials, often gathered during the hard winter months. It also o�ered opportunities for trade & communication via sea-borne tra�c. Indeed, for much of prehistory, the sea was a link to the wider world, rather than a barrier to it. Perhaps it is no surprise that the earliest cereal crops so far recovered from Cumbria, were found in Barrow-in-Furness, dating from around 5800 years ago.

Prehistoric Islands

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Barrow IslandDova HawFoulney IslandHeadin HawPiel IslandRamsey IslandRoa IslandSheep IslandWalney Island

www.barrowbc.gov.uk

Pictorial

The Islands of Barrow

The �at coastal terrain of Barrow’s Islands, provide a series of rewarding half day or longer cycling or walking tours with a variety of breathtaking views punctuated by largely undiscovered historic sites and natural wonders.

There is a long tradition of mass cycling on the Islands because places of work have always been close-by workers housing. With thousands moving to and from work at the same time cycling was also the most e�cient way to get around.

Peggy Braithwaite MBEPeggy Braithwaite, Britain’s �rst & last woman principal lighthouse-keeper, looked after the Walney Island lighthouse. Her father, sister & brother-in-law also kept the light. She became an assistant keeper & was promoted to principal in 1975 & awarded the MBE, 10 years before she retired, at the age of 74. Born on Piel Island she moved to Walney as a teenager when her father became the lighthouse's assistant keeper. They generated their own power & water came from a rain catchment tank. Visitors were rare: holidaymakers, bird watchers & during WW2 soldiers stationed at four ack-ack batteries nearby: the remains of which are now within the South Walney Nature Reserve. The Lighthouse is now automated & the cottages are in private ownership.

One notable contributor was Barrow’s Nella Last whose diaries are now published & widely available. They provide an invaluable record of everyday family life in Barrow during WW2 & into the 1950’s. Her diaries formed the basis for Victoria Wood’s 2006 TV dramatisation. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in mass observation.

Nella Last: ’Housewife, 49’

Find Out More: Useful Links

Piel Island: Piel Castle & Ship Inn as seen when approaching by sea

Furness Railway

1127 Furness Abbey is established; The First Savignac Monastery in England1134-1342 Furness Abbey becomes 2nd most powerful Cistercian Abbey in England1487 Lambert Simnal Lands on Piel Island & Claims English Throne1839 Henry Schneider a speculator & dealer in iron arrives1843 Only 32 dwellings & two pubs in the Hamlet of Barrow1846 Furness Railway built by Schneider & James Ramsden to transport iron ore & slate 1851 Schneider discovers massive iron ore deposits near Roanhead1859 Schneider builds furnaces in the town, with John Hannay. (Pictured below)1865 World’s Largest Bessemer Process Steelworks is established. 1871 Barrow Shipbuilding Company formed on Barrow Island.1881 Barrow’s population had reached 47,000. (Current population is around 72,000)1900 HIJMS Mikasa Launched; The most Historically important Japanese Battleship 1901 First British Naval Submarine ‘HMS Holland 1’ Launched1911 Maiden �ight of the �rst seaplane to be �own in the UK: A Prototype AVRO Type D1911 First British Rigid Airship Built on Cavendish Dock1917 HMA 23 British Rigid Airship Built on Walney Island1919 First British Sea-going Concrete Ship; ‘Armistice’ is Launched1920 First British fully Streamlined Airship HMA R80 Built on Walney Island: Barnes Wallis1936 Hindenburg Zeppelin �ies over Barrow gathering intelligence prior to WW2 1943 Bouncing Bombs built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness to a Barnes Wallis design 1943 X Craft X5 Midget Submarines built to Attack Tirpitz (later subject of 1955 movie)1946 Wilbert Awdry writes Thomas the Tank Engine Stories based on Barrow’s Islands1953 HMS Hermes Launched; Aircraft Carrier; former Royal Navy Flagship 1956 1,155,076 tonnes of Iron Ore alone is Exported through the Port of Barrow1960 First British Nuclear Submarine HMS Dreadnought Launched.1960 Oriana Cruise Liner Launched. The last Orient Steam Navigation Company Ocean Liner1965 British Admiral 103,000 ton Oil Tanker Launched; then The Worlds Largest Ship 1975 First British Woman Principal Lighthouse Keeper: Peggy Braithwaite, Walney Island1977 HMS Invincible Launched; Aircraft Carrier; former Flagship of the Royal Navy1986 Devonshire Dock Hall, Tallest building in Cumbria: 2nd largest Facility of its type in Europe2001 HMS Albion Launched; Current Flagship; Royal Navy 2007 HMS Astute Launched: The most advanced British Nuclear Submarine ever built

Six Spot Burnet Moth

We know there was trade between Ireland and England at that time, and utilising the Isle of Man as a stop-o� point within the Irish Sea, Walney Island may well have been an important link for these early sea-farer’s.

The pebble beaches of the west coast of Cumbria also o�ered a valuable source of �int, washed up from the bed of the Irish Sea, in an area where it is otherwise a scarce resource.

Lambert Simnal Lands on Piel Island in 1487 & Claims English Throne

Lambert Simnel was born c.1477. His real name is not known & there are di�erent claims as to his parentage. Most de�nitely, he was of humble origin. At the age of ten, he was taken as a pupil by an Oxford-trained priest named Roger Simon who apparently decided to become a king-maker & tutored the boy in courtly manners.

Simon noticed a striking resemblance between Lambert & the supposedly murdered sons of Edward IV, so he initially intended to present Simnel as Richard, Duke of York, son of King Edward IV, the younger of the vanished Princes in the Tower. However, when he heard rumours that the Earl of Warwick had died during his imprisonment in the Tower of London, he altered his plans & spread a rumour that Warwick had actually escaped from the Tower and was under his guardianship.

He gained some support from Yorkists, took Simnel to Ireland where there was still support for the Yorkist cause, & presented him to the Earl of Kildare; head of the Irish government. Kildare was willing to support the story & invade England to overthrow King Henry.

Simnel's army (mainly Flemish & Irish troops with some English supporters) landed on Piel Island on 5 June 1487 whereupon Simnal immediately laid claim to the English Throne. His army clashed with the King Henry’s on 16 June at the Battle of Stoke Field & Simnal was defeated. Simon avoided execution due to his priestly status, but was imprisoned for life.

King Henry pardoned young Simnel, probably because he had mostly been a puppet in the hands of adults, & gave him a job in the royal kitchen as a spit-turner. When he grew older, he became a falconer. He died around 1525 but his memory lives on in the tradition of the Kings of Piel.

Industry & Nature

The Islands of Barrow feature many little-known & exciting locations where, Industry & Nature collide.

Industry and Nature The arti�cially warm waters of Cavendish Dock (heated by the power station) encourage migrating birds to overwinter. Ponds in former mine workings have become thriving wildlife habitats. Barrow’s dune systems rely on sheep grazing to keep them ‘open’ and able to support rare species inc. Coralroot Orchid.

Nature and IndustryNature has given Industry Barrow’s natural harbours for ship building, sand, gravel & rich deposits of iron ore. Even the wind is now a major resource o� Walney Island; driving the biggest o�-shore Wind Farm in the World.

The relationships between the activities of man & the processes of nature continue to evolve as they have done for millenia. But man-made global warming is changing local bird migration patterns & countless other ecosystems which may have unforeseen e�ects. Maybe it‘s time to start giving something more back to nature?

Almost all of Britain’s environment has been radically altered by man. This has created particular opportunities for people, certain species of �ora & fauna & disadvantages for others.: Walney Island’s ‘Earnse’ Bay from the Norse meaning ‘Sea Eagle’ is telling.

Barrow has many highly evolved niche ecosystems supporting a wide variety of rare species. Around 50% of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness is designated as Nature Reserves, RAMSAR sites and Areas of Special Scienti�c Interest (SSSI’s).

A Beautiful Coastal Reserve covering 700 acres (282 ha). Mainly rare sand dune habitat supporting a wealth of wildlife with a magni�cent panoramic backdrop of the Lakeland mountains best seen from its expansive sandy beaches.

Don't Miss the distinctive chorus of the rare Natterjack toad. Over six hundred recorded plant species, many of which are rare. Explore the wonderful world of coastal fungi. Sandscale is a great site for invertebrate wildlife & home to six of Britain's native amphibians.

Boardwalks allow easy access to viewing platforms & the beach.

Events: The National Trust run a wide range of wildlife themed events throughout the year for adults and families.

Natterjack Toads, Europe's noisiest amphibians, breed in the natural & man-made pools throughout the Reserve, where you can hear them croaking their distinctive chorus between April and June.

A Beautiful Sandy beach with views across the Duddon Estuary, where thousands of wading birds & wildfowl over-winter. Visitors should avoid the dangerous intertidal area of the estuary due to deep channels and swift currents.

Sand dunesExplore the vast beautiful dune habitat, which supports highly diverse rare plants and animals. inc. Coralroot orchid, Curlew & Great Crested Newt.

Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve

A wild coastal site featuring many Nationally rare & important habitats inc. sand dunes, dune heath, hay meadows, vegetated shingle, inter-tidal mud �ats & salt marsh. Some of the most beautiful and remote beaches in the UK with mountain views across the sea can be discovered to the North of the Island. The reserve’s most famous resident is the noisy natterjack toad; one of the UK's rarest amphibians. Nocturnal Natterjack’s are rarely seen, but during the spring, hundreds of males can be heard calling for a mate at dusk across the dunes.

Over 450 species of �owering plants have been recorded within the reserve; many are specialist species that cannot survive elsewhere. Look out for the rare dune helleborine, seaside centaury, coralroot orchid & the unique Walney geranium, which grows nowhere else in the world. The reserve is a haven for bird life. From waders: Oystercatcher, Lapwing & Redshank to wildfowl such as the Tufted Duck . The reserve supports Skylark & Barn Owl, & over-wintering birds including the Short-eared Owl & Red-breasted Merganser. Rare invertebrates are attracted by the sun-soaked micro-climate of the dunes. These inc. Digger Wasps, Solitary Bees & predatory Robber-�ies, which hunt on the wing. Some 400 di�erent species of butter�ies & moths have been recorded, inc. the Shore Wainscot, Portland & Grass Eggar Moths, & Grayling Butter�y.

There are also a series of rare WW1 and WW2 features within the reserve inc. WW1 Practice Trenches, a WW2 Gun Range & Aircraft Dispersal Pads associated with the nearby air�eld; remnants of the former ‘Fort Walney’ Training Camp.

Natural England

North Walney National Nature Reserve

North Walney National Nature Reserve

Below Right:

Diverse stone types were deposited forming Barrow’s Islands after the last ice age 24,000 years ago

In the Middle Ages, Barrow was a small hamlet within the Parish of Dalton-in-Furness.

Furness Abbey was the second most rich & powerful Cistercian Abbey in the country (after Fountains), & it controlled the local economy.

In the Middle Ages Piel was known as Fowdray (or Fouldrey) Island. (from the Old Norse words ‘fouder’ meaning fodder, and ‘ay’ or ‘oy’ meaning island.)

1127 Piel’s known history begins; King Stephen gives Piel Island to the Savignac monks. Later 12th c. Savignacs become part of the Cistercian order & the Island came under the control of Furness Abbey.

Early 13th c. The Cistercians use Piel as a safe harbour & build a warehouse for the storage of grain, wine and wool. Some was shipped over from Ireland.

1212 Monks granted a licence by King John to land one cargo of "wheat, �our & other provisions" to stave o� famine caused by the local harvest failing. Later in the century an unlimited cargo licence was granted & 1258 ships owned by Furness Abbey were placed under royal protection. The monks forti�ed the island, �rstly with a wooden tower surrounded by a ditch with palisades.

1327 Monks begin to build a Motte & Bailey fort. The largest of its kind in North West England. Built as a forti�ed warehouse to repel pirates and raiders, it would appear to have had a measure of success in keeping the customs men at bay as well:

1423 An accusation was made against the Abbott of Furness for smuggling wool out of the country from "la Peele de Foddray". The red sandstone ruins of the fort came to be known as the "Pile of Fouldrey", and are known today as Piel Castle.

1537 Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in Piel Island & its Castle originally built by the Cistercian Monks at nearby Furness Abbey became the property of the King Henry VIII.

1642- 1651 Furness was a Parliamentarian stronghold during the English Civil War. For this reason the Parliamentarian �eet retreated to Piel Harbour when the Royalists captured Liverpool.

1662 Following the restoration of King Charles II, the Lordship of Furness was given to the Duke of Albemarle including Piel Castle & other parts of Piel Island. After this date activity on Piel Island revolved around shipping and industry. A salt works is recorded as existing on the island from as early as 1662, which was still apparently present in the 1690’s.

18th c. Piel Island becomes an important trading post & Customs men were permanently stationed on the Island; smuggling was still rife at the time. In the second half of the 18th century the iron ore trade began to develop on the Furness Peninsula and Piel Harbour continued to be important to the economy. As the volume of shipping increased "His Majesty's Boatmen" were stationed on Piel Island as harbour pilots and customs inspectors. Their cottages still stand; but are now in private ownership. In formal terms, Piel Island was a creek (outstation) of the port of Lancaster, known as Piel Foudray.

19th c. Piel island was the subject of a poem by romanticist William Wordsworth. Piel Island eventually fell under the ownership of the Duke of Buccleuch.

1920 The Duke of Buccleuch donated Piel Island to the people of Barrow-in-Furness as a War Memorial following the ravages of WW1.

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Recent Past & Future Focus

About this Guide

Iron and steel making in Barrow ceased in 1963, leaving Vickers as Barrow's main employer. From the 1960’s the construction of nuclear-powered submarines increasingly became a specialism.

With the end of the Cold War and the associated decrease in military spending, there was high unemployment. Despite this, the shipyard, now owned by BAE Systems, remains the UK’s only operational submarine production facility.

The recent shifts in opportunities for work in Barrow have caused the town to look afresh at the relationship between its centre; industry and the islands on which it developed. Many hidden assets around the islands are now being rediscovered & there is a renewed interest in opportunities for ecological lifestyles & outdoor recreational activity.

A new initiative ‘Barrow by Design’ spearheaded by Art Gene, Barrow seeks to fuse the Barrovian understanding of cutting edge design & technologies & re-purpose them in the design of future focussed housing, business premises and lifestyles which foster the growth of sustainable, motivated communities.

This pictorial guide explores some of the modern day and historic points of interest around the Islands of Barrow. Used in conjunction with the map overleaf, that details a series of suggested routes, you can plan a tailored walking, cycling or motoring tour.

This guide is a simple introduction: further information and lea�ets detailing speci�c destinations are available from Barrow Town Hall or by following the links (below).

Julian Huxley, who had studied the courtship rituals of The Great Crested Grebe (a regular visitor to the Islands of Barrow) realised that the mass of the birdwatching population was, if mobilised e�ectively, an invaluable research tool in making observations & in the collection of useful data not only about wildlife but human populations too.

His methods were adapted by the Mass Observation movement which aimed to create an 'anthropology of ourselves'. They recruited a team of observers and a panel of volunteer writers to study the views & everyday lives of ordinary people in Britain. This original yet controversial work continued until the early 1950s.

Prehistoric people inhabited Walney Island, evidenced by �int �nds and other artefacts.

The earliest recorded hamlets on the island are at North Scale, North End & South End, which were listed in an inventory dated 1247.

Biggar was recorded some 45 years later as a ‘Grange’ (a farm) belonging to Furness Abbey. For the next 600 years the population of the island was around 300. Nearly half of whom perished from plague in the 17th c. Agriculture provided the principle way of life.

1872 The Island became part of the fast growing Barrow Borough: Workers used the Island as a weekend retreat. Its popularity increased when a regular ferry service was provided (late 19th c.) followed by the construction of the Jubilee Bridge in early 20th c.

South Walney Nature Reserve

Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Foulney Island Nature ReserveFoulney Island, the largest of a group of 3 small islands, was formed from pebbles carried by glaciers from the Lake District to the coast during the last ice age. In the 19th century industrialists built a causeway designed to prevent Walney Channel from silting up. It connected Foulney, Little Foulney & Michael islands to the mainland. The current saltmarsh to the east developed as a direct result & features rare Sea Purslane, Sea Lavender & Glasswort. The vegetated shingle of the reserve is nationally important. Species inc. Sea Kale, Sea Campion & Yellow Horned Poppy; all having special adaptations enabling them to survive where fresh water is scarce. During the summer, the reserve’s main conservation feature is its breeding Terns which travel vast distances to nest on the island's shingle banks. Other breeding birds include Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Eider, Skylark & Meadow Pipit. The island has a resident warden (accommodated in a temporarily sited caravan sited caravan) during the breeding season to monitor & protect the birds.

In autumn & winter, Curlew, Dunlin, Knot & Oystercatcher may be seen in their thousands & Great-crested Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Cormorant & Common Scoter are frequently present.

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Barrow’s workplaces have often featured massive ‘sheds’, mostly in close proximity to workers housing: from the Airship Hangars of Cavendish Dock & Walney Island to more recent shipyard buildings inc. Devonshire Dock Hall (DDH) known locally as ‘The Shed’.

DDH is the second largest structure of its kind in Europe & the tallest building in Cumbria, just 1 metre taller than Barrow’s Town Hall. Before the �rst workers terrace houses & tenements were built by Industrialists for boom-town Barrow’s workforce, many lived in ad-hoc cabins around the coastline close to their places of work. Little wonder then that sheds have remained in the blood, not only as places of work but as places to seek respite from work. Allotment, boating & �shing sheds punctuate the coastline amidst pill boxes & in some cases are still used as housing today.

Particularly interesting examples can be seen within the Sandscale Haws Nature Reserve at Lowsy Point, & along Walney Channel beside the Dock Museum in the shadow of the Devonshire Dock Hall.

Many of these vernacular o�-grid structures were originally built on squatted land after WW1. They typically exhibit their history: phased additions in di�erent styles, much like many of our most revered historic buildings. Each has a di�erent unsanctioned aesthetic.

They are structures ‘lived’ and living structures: recorded inventiveness in action. If we look closely they o�er us a di�erent perspective & inspire us to be creatively free when considering future ecological buildings, homes & sustainable communities.

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South Walney Nature Reserve

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The expansion of Barrow-in-Furness was due to three men: Lord Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (the �nancier), Henry Schneider (local iron ore magnate) & James Ramsden (managing director of the Furness Railway Company).

Ramsden built a �ne house (now demolished) in Abbots wood above Furness Abbey. Some of Ramsden’s possessions & furniture were given to the Town Hall. Ramsden’s statue can be seen in Ramsden Square.

Schneider lived at Bels�eld House beside Lake Windermere. He left home each morning on his personal steam launch SL Esperance, (on which he’d have breakfast), & cross the lake to Lakeside. Then a train with a private carriage on the railway he helped to build to his o�ce in Barrow.

Schneider’s steam launch is preserved in Windermere Steamboat Museum. It became the model for Captain Flint's houseboat in Swallows and Amazons. He had other homes in the area; at Roa Island, next to the lifeboat station (now a hotel) and at Oak Lea, near Sowerby Woods, Barrow which burnt down in mysterious circumstances in 1903.

A statue of Schneider stands in Schneider Square near the Town Hall.

An Industrial Revolution1911 Britains �rst rigid airship HMA 1 ‘May�y’, built in Barrow’s Cavendish Dock.

HMA 1 May�y (named as such because “she may �y” famously broke in two during a test �ight over Cavendish Dock but important lessons were learnt. Later designs for rigid & non rigid airships were built by H.B. Pratt & Barnes Wallis for the Vickers Airship Dept. in a new hangar on Walney Island. (now demolished)

Barnes Wallis’s Walney airships culminated in the HMA R80 which began �ight trials in 1920. R80 was the �rst fully streamlined British airship. (more overleaf )

1911 Maiden �ight of the �rst seaplane to be �own in the UK takes place from Cavendish Dock. It is also the �rst seaplane to be �tted with twin �oats.

During the development of HMA 1: ‘May�y’, under construction in its �oating hangar in Cavendish Dock a group of naval o�cers purchase & modify an Avro Type D biplane, which is used to evaluate a number of di�erent �oat designs �tted to the aircraft's standard undercarriage.

Sea Kale (Sea Cabbage)

Overview: South Walney forms the southern tip of a shingle island lying at the end of the Furness Peninsula. During the medieval period it was farmed by the monks of Furness Abbey, whilst during the 19th and 20th centuries, salt, sand and gravel were extracted leaving large lagoons and some industrial remains.

Nobel Prize Winning Research: Between 1963 & 1975 Niko Tinbergen carried out ground breaking research on South Walney into gull behaviour which led to him being awarded the Nobel Prize.

What to see: Every spring, large numbers of lesser black backed and herring gulls return & begin to set up nest territories. Other breeding birds inc. eider duck, greater black backed gull, shelduck, oystercatcher, mallard, moorhen and coot. Of the 250 bird species recorded, most are passage migrants on their way to or from breeding grounds. These include common species such as wheatear, redstart, willow warbler and gold crest, as well as more unusual species, which may have been blown o� their normal migration route. In winter large numbers of waders and wildfowl feed & roost around the nature reserve on ponds & intertidal areas. The vegetated shingle beaches are a rare habitat supporting many scarce plants inc. yellow horned poppy, sea campion & biting stonecrop. The dune grasslands support Pyramidal Orchid, Portland Spurge, Restharrow & Wild Pansy. In the old gravel workings striking plants such as Viper's Bugloss, Henbane & Alkanet bring a �ush of colour.

Saltmarsh occurs in Lighthouse Bay featuring species such as Thrift, Glasswort (Samphire) & Sea Purslane.

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The white lime rendered inn looks like a typical south Lakeland farmhouse with barns & outbuildings. Possibly initially a chandlers, an inn is thought to have been on the site since the 17th century. The current building is 18th & 19th century.

Since 1746 there have been 23 recorded landlords. Each was crowned as the King of Piel in a ceremony that re�ects Simnel’s court on the island.

The King is crowned in an ancient, carved chair, wearing regalia of helmet & sword, while alcohol is poured over him through clay pipes. Beware: those who sit in the throne must stand a round of drinks for all present.

The Inn served pilots competing for boats to guide into Piel Harbour. Visitor books from 1850’s (now in the County Archives) record the names of knights with humorous notes and sketches. The entries show the developing pleasure trade to the island in the 19th century.

The architectural and historic signi�cance of the building is re�ected in its grade 2 listing.

Ship Inn

Viper’s Bugloss South Walney Viper’s Bugloss South Walney Nature Reserve

Dock Museum & Vickers Photographic Archivehttp://www.dockmuseum.org.uk/http://www.dockmuseum.org.uk/archive/categories.asp?subject=Shipbuilding

Barrow’s Airshipsttp://www.forgottenfutures.org/forgottenfutures.co.uk/vickers/vickers.htmhttp://www.sirbarneswallis.com/Airships.htmhttp://www.dockmuseum.org.uk/archive/categories.asp?subject=Shipbuilding

Barrow Borough Councilhttp://www.barrowbc.gov.uk/

Islands of Barrow http://www.qwiki.com/q/#!/Furnesshttp://www.walneyisle.co.uk

Historic Photographshttp://www.southlakes-uk.co.uk/

Furness Abbeyhttp://www.southlakes-uk.co.uk/

Piel Castlehttp://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/piel-castle/http://www.visitcumbria.com/sl/piel-castle.htm

Ship Inn Piel Islandhttp://www.pielisland.co.uk/index.php?page=castle

Nature Reserveshttp://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/south-walney.htmlhttp://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/foulney-island.htmlhttp://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/nnr/1006114.aspxhttp://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-daysout/w-daysout-coast/w-daysout-coast-northwest.htm

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Islands of Barrow Key Tour Routes