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.

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Ulverston Canal rolling bridge

Ulverston Canal rolling bridge is a disused railway bridge which crosses the Ulverston Canal in Cumbria, England. The railway line opened in 1882 to provide an alternative route around the coast to Barrow-in-Furness, but the line never passed Conishead Priory just south of the canal. Passenger services soon stopped on the branch, though freight trains continued to use it until the 1990s. The bridge is still extant and is now grade II listed; it is believed to be the only example of its type (19th century origin) in England, though a contemporary bridge at Keadby from the 20th century is still in daily use by the railway.

Ulverston Canal

The Ulverston Canal is a 1.25-mile (2 km) ship canal that connects the town of Ulverston, Cumbria, England with Morecambe Bay. The waterway, which is entirely straight and on a single level, is isolated from the rest of the UK canal network. It was built so that maritime trading vessels could use the town's port. Ulverston Canal was built in the late 18th century. Wharves were built in the town to handle the cargo and goods being loaded and unloaded from seagoing vessels. The canal promoted the industrial development of Ulverston. Despite its loss of economic importance with the construction of the Furness Railway in the mid 19th century, the canal remained in commercial operation until the 1940s when it was eventually abandoned. The canal's preservation is now managed by a property management company that receives funding from GlaxoSmithKline, which has a plant adjacent to the canal. The canal runs between its former sea entrance, known as Canal Foot, at Hammerside Point on Morecambe Bay and its basin and wharves at Ulverston. The 112-foot-long (34 m) sea lock was the only lock on the canal; however, the lock has been sealed with a concrete dam and footbridge. Beside the canal is a sheep and cattle auction and several waterside buildings have been renovated. At its mouth, the Bay Horse Hotel stands on the site of an 18th-century coaching inn; the Cumbria Coastal Way crosses the canal at this point.

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.

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.