Walney From The Channelside Haven | |
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Barrow-in-Furness Irish Sea |
Coordinates | 54°06′11″N3°15′07″W / 54.103°N 3.252°W |
Area | 5.01 sq mi (13.0 km2) |
Length | 11 mi (18 km) |
Width | 1 mi (2 km) |
Administration | |
England | |
Ceremonial county | Cumbria |
Historic county | Lancashire |
Unitary authority | Westmorland and Furness |
Demographics | |
Population | 10,519 |
Pop. density | 2,595/sq mi (1001.9/km2) |
Walney Island, [1] also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned by the Jubilee Bridge. Walney is the largest island of the Furness Islands group, both in population and size, as well as the largest English island in the Irish Sea. Its population at the 2011 UK Census was 10,651, distributed evenly across the island's two Wards of Walney North and Walney South. [2]
Walney Island formed during the last glacial period, when the River Duddon was a large glacial lake, depositing till at its mouth, which became Walney. Some evidence of neolithic inhabitants has been found in the island's sand dunes, though its name is likely of Norse origin. [3] The island remained rural until the growth of Barrow-in-Furness' industries in the nineteenth century. In particular, the development between 1867 and 1881 of docks at Barrow Island, in Walney Channel opposite Walney, encouraged the growth of Walney as a settlement.
The planned worker town of Vickerstown was built on the island in 1898, resulting in a large population increase, and the construction of Jubilee Bridge connecting Walney to the mainland in 1908. Walney's contemporary population now forms about a fifth of the overall population of Barrow-in-Furness. The island contains two nature reserves, at either end, and its sandy beaches make it a popular leisure site.
The name Walney is thought to come from Old Norse. Whilst the suffix "-ey" is a common feature of island names, the source of "waln" is less clear. [3] The island is listed in the Domesday Book as Hougenai. [4] The manor of "Hougun" – possibly modern day Millom – is listed in the book as owning the settlements of the whole of Furness, so that 'Hougenai' appears to mean "island of Hougun". The Old Norse word haugr means mound or hill. [5] However, other Norse etymologies have also been suggested for the source of the island's name. [3]
Excavations of sand dunes on Walney have revealed evidence of Late Neolithic/early Bronze Age settlements on the island, including a small amount of pottery. [6] Low Furness was most extensively inhabited by Norse settlers, [7] probably travelling from Ireland or the Isle of Man, which is reflected in many local place names, including Walney. [3] Through the Middle Ages, Walney and Furness were dominated by the monks of Furness Abbey, who constructed Biggar Dyke as flood defences on the east coast of Walney. [8] During this time, Walney was largely pastoral, and remained so into the early Industrial Revolution: in his 1810-book Guide to the Lakes , William Wordsworth describes seeing "Walney's early fields of corn" from the summit of Black Combe. [9]
However, Walney was soon caught up in the rapid expansion of industry at Barrow-in-Furness. Barrow docks were built on Barrow Island, in Walney Channel. The island acted as a natural shelter, which allowed the development of Barrow's large shipbuilding yards. In the 1870s, Biggar Bank became a popular seaside recreation site on Walney, and this was reinforced when a regular ferry, operated by the Furness Railway Company, was launched. [10] In 1897, in response to the high levels of immigration to Barrow from across the UK, Vickers proposed to build a new planned town on Walney Island. At the same time, other developers imagined developing Biggar into a larger seaside resort. [11] The first tenants moved into Vickerstown in 1900, and this saw the beginning of the integration of Walney as part of the town of Barrow. [11] Walney Bridge, a Bascule bridge was built in this decade, opening in 1908 and connecting the island to the mainland.
Vickers operated facilities constructing submarines and other shipping in Barrow in the early parts of World War I, and these or nearby installations may have been the targets of the German submarine U-21, which approached Walney Island in shallow water in the early afternoon of Friday 29 January 1915. The artillery battery at Fort Walney, manned by 7 Company, Lancashire and Cheshire Royal Garrison Artillery, opened fire on the submarine at a range of around 7,000 yards (6,400 metres) after the submarine fired its deck gun at the airship station on the island. After a few minutes' exchange of fire, with no hits on either side, the submarine withdrew. [12]
Walney continued to grow through the twentieth century, with a number of suburban housing developments on the island. [3] The majority of growth occurred between the building of the 'Links' estate in 1936, and the completion of suburban housing at North Scale in 1976. [13] The recreational facilities at Biggar Bank were scaled back, but the island's beaches remain locally popular. Walney's population in the 2001 census was 11,388, representing 15% of the overall population of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness and around 19% of the population of the town of Barrow-in-Furness.
Walney lies off the southwest coast of Cumbria in the Irish Sea. It is 11 miles (18 kilometres) long from north to south, but never more than 1 mi (2 km) wide from east to west, [14] with spits at either end. The channel separating it from the Great Britain mainland is also narrow, and named Walney Channel. The northern portion of the channel opens into the Duddon Estuary and is both narrower and shallower; at low tide, it is passable on foot, with stepping stones known locally as 'Widow's Crossing' assisting pedestrians. [15] The southern half of the channel is wider and is regularly dredged to allow shipping to access the Port of Barrow. This half opens into Morecambe Bay and includes a number of small islands, of which Barrow Island, Roa and Piel are inhabited. North of Earnsie Point are secluded beaches, backed by dunes, which tend to be used by naturists.
Jubilee Bridge, a bascule bridge, has connected Walney to the mainland since 1908. [16] The bridge forms part of the A590, which runs between Walney's western coast and the M6 Motorway. A second bridge over Walney Channel is sometimes mooted, in order to improve access and relieve traffic, [17] though there has never been any significant attempt to provide one. The nearest railway station to Walney is Barrow-in-Furness. No long distance bus services are provided, and all services from the island are provided by Stagecoach and terminate in Barrow.
Walney Island has a small airport (Barrow/Walney Island Airport), privately owned by BAE Systems. It opened in 1935 and was initially used for military purposes during World War II, before Barrow council purchased the airfield. It was purchased by Vickers in 1968 and has remained with the company's successors ever since. A few attempts at scheduled passenger services have occurred – Air Ecosse, Air Furness and Telair have all operated flights from the island – but none has lasted longer than two years. [18]
The main settlement on Walney, Vickerstown, is effectively a continuation of Barrow-in-Furness, lying on the Barrow-facing east coast at the island's centre, clustered around the Jubilee Bridge. The first parts of Vickerstown were constructed in the 1890s as a workers' community for Vickers Shipyard, [11] but this area has since been expanded by suburban development. The only residential areas on the west coast are at Earnse Bay and Biggar Bank, both of which are extensions to the central Vickerstown settlement. Beyond Vickerstown, the island retains two older villages. [19] North Scale, lies near to and to the north of Vickerstown on Walney's east coast, and consists mainly of suburban homes. [20]
Biggar is the more isolated of the two villages, located around 2 mi (3 km) to the south of Vickerstown. Biggar is situated on the east coast of the island and is a more agricultural community, with farms extending south of the village as far as the South Walney Nature Reserve. It is possibly the oldest settlement on Walney, with Furness Abbey records from 1292 mentioning a grange at Biggar, [21] and today is still a farming village.
Walney is low-lying, narrow and windswept – it is said by the North-West Evening Mail to be the windiest lowland site in England. [22] The island's northern and southern ends, South Walney and North Walney, are both nature reserves, consisting of salt-marsh, shingle, sand dunes and brackish ponds. [23]
South Walney is home to a wide number of birds, many of which use the island as a stop whilst migrating. Breeding bird species at South Walney include common eider, common ringed plover, Eurasian oystercatcher, lesser black-backed gull and herring gull. [24] South Walney is also the home of the Walney Bird Observatory. North Walney provides a habitat for natterjack toads, as well as Geranium sanguineum var. striatum, the Walney geranium, found only on the island. [25] The island's west coast is characterised by wide sandy beaches, whilst its east coast is more built up, facing the narrow and muddy Walney Channel.
Since 2005, the coast off Walney has become a centre for the construction of offshore wind farms. Four wind farms have been built and a fifth is planned.
Name | Number of Turbines | Capacity (MW) | Construction Began | Operation Began |
---|---|---|---|---|
Barrow Offshore Wind Farm [26] | 30 | 90 | 2004 | 2006 |
Ormonde Wind Farm [27] | 30 | 150 | 2010 | 2011 |
Walney Wind Farm 1 [28] | 51 | 184 | 2010 | 2011 |
Walney Wind Farm 2 [28] | 51 | 183.6 | 2011 | 2011 [29] |
West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm [30] | 108 | 389 | 2013 | 2014 |
Walney Extension Wind Farm [31] [32] | 108 | 660 | 2017 | 2018 [33] |
Since 2023 Walney has been part of Westmorland and Furness. It was previously part of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, within the larger county of Cumbria, for which Walney is again divided into two wards. In the May 2013 Cumbria County Council elections Walney North and Walney South wards both elected Labour Party councillors. [34] At the 2011 elections at the Borough level, six Labour Party councillors were elected from the island, three from each ward. At a national level, Walney forms part of the Barrow and Furness parliamentary constituency. The Member of Parliament is currently Michelle Scrogham who won the seat at the 2024 General Election.
At the 2001 UK census, Walney North had an unemployment rate of 7.7%, [35] whilst it was 6.3% in Walney South [36] Walney was historically agricultural, [9] and a number of farms remain on the island, particularly on its southern half. Following the construction of Vickerstown, the defence manufacturer Vickers became the major employer on the island, reflecting wider trends in Barrow-in-Furness. [11] Vickers' successor, BAE Systems, remains a major employer in Barrow and on Walney today: the island has particularly high levels of workers in skilled trades. [35] [36]
Walney has one secondary school, Walney School. It opened in 1952 [37] and currently teaches 681 pupils. [38] It has several primary schools but, students entering sixth form college or further education must go to schools on the mainland in Barrow.
Football and rugby league are the most popular amateur sports in the Furness area. Walney Central amateur rugby league club currently play in the Cumbria Men’s Amateur Rugby League. The club was formed in 1936, [39] and have played on the island ever since. They reached the second round of the Challenge Cup in 1960, losing to Oldham [39] and they competed in the National Conference League between 1991 and 2007. In football, Vickerstown Football Club play in the West Lancashire Football League (WFL) Premier Division (level 11 of the English football league system), [40] while Walney Island Football Club, formed as Nautical FC in 1970, [41] compete in the WFL Division Two.
Walney has become an important location for kitesurfing and wind-surfing. It annually hosts one of the rounds of the British Kitesurfing Championship. [42] [43] In particular the flat, wide beach at Earnse Bay is popular for this sport. [44] Windsurfing takes place around the island, particularly to its west coast and around the mouth of Walney Channel. [45]
In literature, Walney most notably appears, or rather disappears, in The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry, which was adapted into the television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends . The books and television series are all set on the fictional Island of Sodor, which is located in the position of Walney, though significantly larger. Its east coast resembles that of Walney, and the main town to the east of the island is 'Vicarstown', located at the same place as Vickerstown. [46]
In music, Walney appears in the song "Wa'ney Island Cockfight", which describes a cockfight between the lads of North Scale and Biggar on the island. [47] [48] The song has been recorded by Fiddler's Dram and Martin Wyndham-Reed.
Public houses located on Walney are The Castle (Biggar Bank), The Queens Arms (Biggar village), The King Alfred (Ocean Rd), The Ferry (Promenade) and The Crown (North Scale). Former public houses closed or demolished are the Walney Tavern formally the Periscope, the George and the Vickerstown institute.
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. The borough was merged into the new Westmorland and Furness district in 2023. At the tip of the Furness peninsula, close to the Lake District, it is bordered by Morecambe Bay, the Duddon Estuary and the Irish Sea. In 2021, Barrow's population was 55,489, making it the second largest urban area in Cumbria after Carlisle, and the largest in the Westmorland and Furness unitary authority.
Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 120 sq mi (310 km2). In 1974, the second largest gas field in the UK was discovered 25 mi (40 km) west of Blackpool, with original reserves of over 7 trillion cubic feet (tcf). At its peak, 15% of Britain's gas supply came from the bay but production is now in decline. Morecambe Bay is also an important wildlife site, with abundant birdlife and varied marine habitats.
Furness is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness.
The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island. The road is a mixture of dual carriageway and single carriageway, with the section east of Low Newton, Cumbria to the M6 being mainly dual. Further dual sections are south of Newby Bridge, south of Greenodd and south of Ulverston. The road is the main route for tourists entering the southern Lake District. It has often humorously been described as "the longest cul-de-sac in the world".
The Islands of Furness are situated to the south-west and east of the Furness Peninsula. Within England, they are the third biggest collection of islands. They are generally quite small, though at 12.99 km2 Walney Island is the eighth biggest in England. Of these, only Walney Island, Barrow Island, Roa Island and Piel Island are inhabited. The majority of the islands lay within the boundary of the former Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, with some 15,000 residents constituting 20% of the district's population. They are the largest group of islands between Anglesey in Wales and the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.
Barrow Island is an area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Originally separate from the British mainland, land reclamation in the 1860s saw the northern fringes of the island connected to Central Barrow. Barrow Island is also bound to the south and east by the town's dock system and to the west by Walney Channel. The Ward population taken at the 2011 census was 2,616.
Vickerstown is an area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, covered by the wards of Walney North and Walney South. It is an example of a model village built for workers by a company needing to expand, having been constructed in the early 20th century by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. Vickerstown contains two Conservation Areas and is home to the majority of the population of Walney Island.
Biggar is a village towards the south of Walney Island in Cumbria, England. Along with the village of North Scale, it is the oldest settlement on the island. It now forms part of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness.
North Scale is a village and one of only four settlements on the Isle of Walney, Cumbria, England. It is the northernmost settlement, lying a mile north of Vickerstown.
Hawcoat is an area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it is one of Barrow's most northerly wards and is bordered by Roose, Newbarns, Parkside, Ormsgill and the town of Dalton-in-Furness to the north.
Walney School is a secondary school on Walney Island in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. As a result of the Education Act 1944, Walney Island needed to have its own secondary school. Today (2020) it is an 11 – 16 Academy with approximately 585 students currently on roll.
The Barrow Offshore Wind Farm is a 30 turbine 90MW capacity offshore wind farm in the East Irish Sea approximately seven kilometres southwest of Walney Island, near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.
The Port of Barrow refers to the enclosed dock system within the town of Barrow-in-Furness, England. Morecambe Bay is to the east of the port and the Irish Sea surrounds it to the south and west. The port is currently owned and operated by Associated British Ports Holdings, but some land is shared with BAE Systems Submarine Solutions. Currently consisting of four large docks, the Port of Barrow is one of North West England's most important ports. The docks are as follows: Buccleuch Dock, Cavendish Dock, Devonshire Dock and Ramsden Dock. The port of Barrow is the only deep water port between the Mersey and the Clyde.
Walney South was one of two wards on Walney Island in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, North West England. The 2001 UK census showed 5,784 people were living in the area, reducing to 5,307 at the 2011 Census. There are two main settlements within the ward: Biggar and Vickerstown. Walney Bridge connects Walney South and, in fact, the whole island to mainland Barrow.
West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm (WoDS), occasionally also known as West Duddon Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south west of Walney Island off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, in the Irish Sea, England. It was developed by Scottish Power and Ørsted A/S.
Walney Wind Farms are a group of offshore wind farms 9 miles (14 km) west of Walney Island off the coast of Cumbria, England, in the Irish Sea. The group, operated by Ørsted, consists of Walney Phase 1, Phase 2 and the Walney Extension. The extension has a capacity of 659 MW and it was the world's second largest offshore wind farm in 2018.
Earnse Bay is a sand and shingle beach located along the western side of Walney Island in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Along with Sandy Gap and Biggar Bank, Earnse Bay forms a more or less continuous stretch of eight miles of coastline. The beach offers panoramic views of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man and the Lake District mountains which have only recently been interrupted by the construction of three large wind farms. Earnse Bay was once planned to be developed into a reputable seaside resort to rival other nearby towns such as Morecambe and Blackpool, however these plans never fully materialised. Despite this, Earnse Bay remains Barrow's most popular beach and is busy with walkers, sunbathers and kitesurfers during the summer months.
The following is a timeline of the history of Barrow-in-Furness, England, United Kingdom.
The Walney Channel separates Walney Island from the British mainland. The northern portion of the channel opens into the Duddon Estuary and is both narrower and shallower. The southern half of the channel is wider and is regularly dredged to allow shipping to access the Port of Barrow. This half opens into Morecambe Bay.
West of Walney is a Marine Conservation Zone in the Irish Sea west of Walney Island, England. It was designated in 2016 to protect subtidal mud and sand habitats: at that time the MCZ was one of three off the coast of Cumbria, the others being Allonby Bay and Cumbria Coast. The area is 388km2, a similar size to the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. The depth range of the site is 15–33 metres.