Barker Scar

Barker Scar is a 17.562 ha (43.40 acres) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Cumbria, England. It is located at SD335778, 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Cark and Holker Hall, and is situated on the eastern bank of the River Leven south of the Old Park Wood Holiday Park. The borders of this protected area are contiguous with the boundaries of Morecambe Bay SSSI, and so is part of a wider area of nature protection. Part of this protected area was previously known as Old Park Wood SSSI. Barker Scar is protected because of the species rich grassland on top of cliffs and also because of the Carboniferous fossils contained within its limestone cliffs.

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Leven Viaduct

Leven Viaduct is a railway bridge which carries the Furness Line over the River Leven in Cumbria, England. The viaduct was opened as a single track structure as part of the Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway in August 1857. It was widened to two tracks in 1863, and rebuilt in the 1880s, 1925 and again in 2006. Originally, the viaduct had a telescopic section at the western end which could retract to let shipping through; this was fixed in place in 1866 after an Act of Parliament allowed the Furness Railway Company to transfer shipping to the Ulverston Canal, and tranship goods further upstream using railway wagons. An accident on the viaduct in 1903 in which a train was blown over, necessitated the installation of an anenometer to measure wind speeds, and if needed, the viaduct would be closed to traffic.

Canal Foot

Canal Foot is an industrial village in Cumbria, England, on the Leven estuary. It is located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) by road to the east of the centre of Ulverston. Its name comes from its location being where the Ulverston Canal meets the Estuary. Canal Foot is best known for its massive GlaxoSmithKline Plant, located in the former North Lonsdale Ironworks which ceased production in 1938. Glaxo Smith bought the plant in 1947 and manufactures penicillin and streptomycin and other medicines. Also of note is the Bay Horse Hotel and Restaurant, which was a staging post for coaches crossing Morecambe Bay during the 18th century. It serves traditional Cumbrian cuisine. It has won several awards, including being named "Cumbrian Inn of the Year" by The Good Hotel Guide in 2008 and "Lake District Hotel of the Year" by Lake District and Lancashire Life in 2000. The point here is called Hammerside Point. Canal Foot is used by anglers, as the water nearby contains a good amount of flounders and some sea bass.

Chapel Island

Chapel Island is a limestone outcrop that lies in the Leven estuary of Morecambe Bay in England, less than one mile (1.6 km) from the shoreline at Bardsea in the area known as Ulverston Sands. It is located at 54.1741°N 3.0416°W / 54.1741; -3.0416 (OS grid ref. SD 321759). It is one of the Islands of Furness in the county of Cumbria, in the area of the historic county of Lancashire ("Lancashire north of the sands"). The island is approximately 450 yards (410 m) long and just over 100 yards (91 m) at its widest. Its area is about 7.5 acres (3.0 hectares). Chapel Island, known as Harlesyde Isle in 1593, got its present name in 1795. The name was coined by Mrs. Radcliffe in her book ‘Tour of the Lakes’. In the 14th century Augustinian canons from nearby Conishead Priory built a small chapel on the island to serve the needs of travellers and fishermen working in the Leven fisheries. The Island lies on the path of the ancient crossing from Cartmel to Conishead and would have been a place of haven to travellers caught out by the tide. Tradition describes its purpose to be the meeting for prayers with the travellers who cross the bay. In 1843 Jopling notes that the crossing passed to the south of the island, implying that the route past the island varied over time. Nothing remains of the original chapel, although Thomas West noted that these ruins were still extant in 1774. In 1821 Colonel Thomas Richard Gale Braddyll commenced building the modern-day Conishead Priory and to enhance the view from the priory he had a mock pseudo-classical ruin built on the island. This chapel ruin is now sometimes mistaken for the remains of the original. There was also a cottage on the island, probably also built in the early 19th century, which was ostensibly occupied by fishermen. It is mentioned that fishermen occupy the cottage ‘at the instance of the owner of the Priory who has erected a cottage close to the ruins. In 1851 the cottage was occupied by Thomas Benson, a mariner, his wife and stepson. By 1861 Edward Barker, his wife and three sons, all the men being fishermen, were the occupiers. The 1871 Census shows that only the sons were resident and they were no longer fishermen, now occupied as quarrymen. It is probable that they were employed at the quarry on the Conishead estate. The 1881 had no entry for Chapel island so it is possible that they were the last occupants of the cottage, which is now a ruin. In 1837 Chapel Island was proposed as a railway station by George Stephenson who was considering alternatives to the hilly route over Shap Fell, which the main West Coast line to Glasgow now takes. His idea was to take the railway from Lancaster to Morecambe (then known as Poulton), before proceeding across the sands to Humphrey Head on the Cartmel Peninsula and then cross the Leven Estuary to Furness. Embankments would have been built on the sands, with the area inside of these reclaimed. On 6 October 1858 the sloop Delight of Ulverston grounded on the rocks of Chapel Island. She was carrying a cargo of iron ore and empties. Her master was lost in the accident. Chapel Island is referred to by William Wordsworth in The Prelude, Book Tenth. The penultimate paragraph of the books reads: Excellent beaches can be found at Chapel Island. Apart from a small area at the north of the island the land is completely overgrown with an impenetrable mat of brambles. The island can be accessed on foot at low tide. However, Morecambe Bay is notorious for quicksands, and the Ulverston Channel usually flows between the shore and the island. Those wishing to visit Chapel Island should not attempt the crossing at any time other than low tide and should seek local advice.

Holker Hall

Holker Hall (pronounced Hooker by some) is a privately owned country house located about 2 km to the southwest of the village of Cartmel in the ceremonial county of Cumbria and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is "the grandest [building] of its date in Lancashire ...by the best architects then living in the county." The building dates from the 16th century, with alterations, additions, and rebuilding in the 18th and 19th centuries. The 19th century rebuilding was by George Webster in Jacobean Revival style and subsequent renovations were by E. G. Paley. Hubert Austin had a joint practice with Paley by the 1870s and they both rebuilt the west wing after it was destroyed by a major fire in 1871, only a decade after Paley's previous work on the structure. The fire also destroyed a number of notable artworks. Holker Hall is Paley and Austin's "most important country house commission." The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner expressed the opinion that the west wing is the "outstanding domestic work" of Paley and Austin. In 1970 the hall itself, together with its terrace wall, were designated Grade II* Listed buildings. The house stands in an estate of about 80 hectares, and is surrounded by formal gardens, parkland and woodland. Within the grounds are six structures listed at Grade II. Since becoming a private house following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the estate has never been sold, having passed by inheritance from the Preston family to the Lowther family, and then to the Cavendish family. The house and grounds are open to the public at advertised times on payment of an admission fee. In chronostratigraphy, the British sub-stage of the Carboniferous period, the "Holkerian" derives its name from Holker Hall.