Meet the King . . .

A glorious day with sunshine and blue skies. We set out with friends for the coast at Bardsea, not far from Ulverston. We walked by the sea, revisited the stone circle at Birkrigg, had a lovely lunch and then drove towards Barrow and stopped off at Roa Island to see Piel Island. We didn’t quite get to see the King though.

Piel Island is a fifty acre island off the coast of the Furness Peninsula (see the location map). It has a long and fascinating history; there is evidence of human occupation spanning at least 3000 years. I can’t go into the history here, but there is ample detail here for those who are interested.

Piel Island has a pub, a castle and a King.
The ruined castle dates from the 14th century. The Ship Inn serves drinks and food and traditionally the landlord of the Inn is made the King of the island. The ownership of the island has changed many times, but in 1919 the then owner, the Duke of Buccleuch, was persuaded to give it to the people of Barrow as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the First World War.

A ferry from Roa Island (accessed by causeway) carries people across to Piel Island and here you can see the Piel Ferry just coming in to pick up the couple walking down the jetty. Look large to see the Ferry properly. We had thought of going across, but decided against it and had an ice cream instead.