Piel Island War Memorial.
There isn’t actually a war memorial on Piel Island - the island itself is the memorial.
The Barrow Archipelago
Piel Island is part of the Barrow Archipelago, consisting of six ‘islands’ and two islets.
Leaving Barrow-in-Furness in the direction of Walney Island, the first island you come to is actually the Isle of Barrow. (Population 2,600) This has not been a true island since the 1860’s when land reclamation linked to the development of Barrow Docks saw it connected to the mainland.
The next island in a counter clockwise direction is Walney Island, (Population 10,500). This is the largest of the Barrow Islands. Walney island is connected to the Isle of Barrow by a road bridge, so is no longer a true island in the traditional sense.
Sheep island is a small tidal island laying just of Snab Point, towards the southern end of Walney Island. Sheep Island was the location of a small wood built Isolation Hospital between 1892 and 1922.
Snab Point is also the starting location for those wishing to walk to Piel Island, which is prominently in view from this point. See below for a route description. Piel Island has a population of about 10. There is a pub, The Ship Inn, and the remains of 14th century castle.
Roa Island has a population of around 100. Roa Island was a tidal island until 1847, when a causeway carrying a railway connected it to the mainland. The railway served a steamer service to Fleetwood.
The final island is Foulney Island. This is connected to the Roa Island causeway by a shingle and rock causeway, built during the Victorian period as a tidal defence measure. Foulney is a low lying grass and shingle island. Nowadays it is a bird reserve, and visitors are asked, if possible, to avoided visiting during the nesting season.
The two islets are Dova Haw and Headin Haw.
Access to Piel Island.
There are two main ways to access Piel Island.
A ferry runs daily from Roa Island between Easter and the end of September. There is a Facebook page for the ferry where up to date information can be found. They will also answer any questions you may have. We had enquired about the availability of the ferry running in October, and initially they said it would be running on the day of our proposed visit. The evening before I got a message to say it would no longer be running - so keep checking.
That brings us nicely to the second way of getting to the island - walking from Snab Point on Walney Island. Parking is available here - and it's free! This is about 3km in distance and is safely achieved with a margin for safety, about two hours either side of low tide. Sheep Island is easily accessible on the walk - sensibly on the return - if time and tide allows. The map below shows the approximate route, keep north of Sheep Island, and head for a point to the north of the island, before turning almost at right angles when opposite rhe ramp. Vehicles use this crossing on a regular basis and you can often follow in their tracks.
When we were on the island a couple of locals from Walney had come over in their boats, so presumably that would also be an option, if you have access to a floaty thing.
Tide tables.
When searching for tide times the nearest tidal station is Roa Island, or Ramsden Dock in Barrow..
Full Circle
We had originally planned a circular trip. The plan was to park at Snab Point, then cycle round to Roa Island via the Isle of Barrow and the mainland. From Roa we were to catch the ferry to Piel before walking back across the sand to the waiting cars. Finally we would drive back round to Roa to collect our bikes. Unfortunately this plan faltered when we were informed the ferry wasn’t going to run after all.
Piel Island
(this section has been copied and pasted from the ‘Visit Barrow’ website.)
Piel Island has a long and interesting history and is of considerable importance in the local area both because of its links to Furness Abbey and as a major deep water harbour. There is evidence of human occupation spanning at least the last 3000 years. Piel Island was probably visited by the Celts and later by the Romans during their conquest of Britain. The first recorded name of the island, Foudray, came from the Scandinavian settlers to the area. The name Foudray or Fotheray comes from the Old Norse for fire island – meaning a fire beacon to guide boats. Foundray may have been used as a foddering place for the settlers’ grazing animals. In 1127 the island was given to the Savignac monks as part of their original land for an abbey from King Stephen to the Abbot of Savigny in Normandy. By order of the Abbot, Furness Abbey became Cistercian in 1148. Furness Abbey started to grow and Foudray fulfilled their need for a safe harbour. In 1212 King John granted the Abbey a licence to land one cargo of “wheat, flour and other provisions” in order to stave off a famine caused by the failure of the local harvest. It is likely that some form of structure existed to house cargos entering the port especially as the trade from Piel to Abbey lands in Ireland increased during the 13th Century. The “Port of Furness” was by this time well established and the trade in corn considerable. In 1327 Furness Abbey was granted the right to crenellate “fortify” its existing dwelling house.
The Ship Inn, The King and Knights. One of the most enduring aspects of the Ship Inn is the tradition of the king and knights of Piel. The tradition holds that each new landlord is crowned “King of Piel” in a ceremony of uncertain origin, in which they sit in an ancient chair, wearing a helmet and holding a sword while alcohol is poured over their head. In early versions of the ceremony they also wore oilskins. The early written references to Knights of Piel are in the first visitors’ book which started in 1856. The early evidence for the ceremony is the graffiti carved into the chair. The ceremony is said to be due to the landing of Lambert Simnel in 1487 and is most likely to have begun as a slightly mocking homage to this event. By the 19th Century it had become an important aspect of the islands history to such an extent that responsibility for looking after the helmet and chair fell within the tenancy agreement.
The Inn is open daily through the summer; and also when the landlord is about during the winter. We struck lucky here, as the landlord was busy with some maintenance tasks, so was more than happy to serve us.
The Castle.The current motte and bailey “castle” with its defence ditches was built in the early part of the 14th century. It was probably intended to be used as a fortified warehouse to keep cargoes safe from pirates and other raiders. The Abbey soon discovered that it did not just keep the pirates out, the “Pile of Fotheray” (as it became known from medieval times) it also kept the King’s customs men at a distance. It is widely known at the time that the Abbey was active in the smuggling business when in 1423 a petition from the merchants in Calais was issued complaining that Furness Abbey had been smuggling wool from Piel without paying the necessary dues. Six years later, due to the threat of invasion, the castle was partially rebuilt and new arrangements were made for its defence with each tenant of the Abbey required to supply men and arms. Piel’s notoriety during the 15th Century continued when Colonel Martin Swartz and his German mercenaries landed on the island on June 4th 1487 as part of an attempt by Lambert Simnel to seize the English Crown. Simnel claimed that he was the Earl of Warwick and therefore was the rightful King of England. Simnel set off across Furness for London. He was defeated by the King’s forces as the Battle of Stoke on June 16th and when he did finally arrive in London it was as a prisoner of Henry VII.
Shipping and Industry. Following the restoration of Charles II, the Lordship of Furness was given to the newly ennobled Duke of Albemarle in 1662 and this included the castle and part of the remaining land on the island. After this date activity on Piel seems to have revolved around shipping and industry. A salt works is recorded as existing on the island from as early as 1662 and in 1667 a proposal was made to use Piel as a ship yard with the intention of constructing three third rate frigates by 1st August 1671. There is also a suggestion that a ship’s chandlery existed on the island in the 17th Century. During the late 17th and 18th century Piel became important due to its collection of customs. A customs officer worked from Piel from 1669 and during the early 18th century several seizures of illegally imported alcohol were made. Officers working at Piel still had no permanent base and were required to travel from Lancaster. In the early 19th century Piel remained important for shipping entering the harbour and was occupied by a number of pilots appointed by the Port Commissioners of Lancaster. They were granted an old barn to be converted into cottages and land by the Duke of Buccleuch. There were several disputes over access to land and water with the landlord of the Ship Inn. In 1875 a row of cottages was constructed for pilots to the north west of the inn. Until 1874 the ownership of the island was divided between the Duke of Buccleuch who owned the castle and the Ship Inn and a Mr C W Archibald who owned the rest.
The War Memorial. The Duke purchased the remainder of the land in 1874 and spent a considerable sum on maintenance to the crumbling castle. In 1919 the Duke decided to sell the entire island and a prospectus was drawn up. The intervention of the mayor of Barrow, Alfred Barrow in August 1919 with a request that the island be given to the town halted the sale. The entire island was given over to the town of Barrow-in-Furness in 1920 as a memorial to those who lost their lives during the First World War. The guardianship of the castle was transferred to the Secretary of State for the Environment in 1973 from whom it passed to English Heritage.
The Cache
In order to claim the cache you need to visit two locations, and send me the answers to two questions, preferably via the Message Centre.
- N54° 03.921’ W03° 10.476’ This should place you in front of the row of cottages. What is the three letter word beneath the date and Coat of Arms.
- N54° 03.794' W03° 10.390' As you approach the castle from The Ship Inn you should see an English Heritage information board. How many minutes walk is it to the castle?
- Photo’s are encouraged but not necessary. Do try to avoid giving the answers to the questions in your photos.
- An interesting log. Non of this TFTC nonsense. You will have spent at least an hour or two on this cache, spend a few more minutes telling us about your visit.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.