Sandside, Beetham

Sandside is a hamlet near Storth in Beetham parish, Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, it lies on the south shore of the estuary of the River Kent, between Arnside and Milnthorpe. There is one pub, The Ship Inn, (closed December 2020) which is believed to date from 1671, one restaurant, The Kingfisher, which closed in September 2021 and several commercial businesses. Sandside lies within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A "Geotrail" leaflet has been published to guide visitors around the geology of the area. Sandside quarry has operated since at least 1901, and is now operated by Lafarge Tarmac, producing aggregate and asphalt. Sandside railway station, on the Hincaster Branch of the Furness Railway, was built in 1876 by Lancaster architects Paley and Austin. The line closed to passengers in 1942 and the station has been demolished. Until the building of the Arnside viaduct in 1857, Milnthorpe (upstream of Sandside) was a substantial port, handling cargoes including coal and guano. Its customs house was at Sandside, still existing as Crown Cottage with a datestone of 1728. Builders' merchants and other commercial operations occupy sites along the riverside which were previously used by the merchants of the port.

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91 m

Sandside railway station

Sandside was a railway station situated on the Hincaster Branch of the Furness Railway serving the hamlet and quarries of Sandside. The following station was Heversham, which was the last on the branch before the line joined what is now known as the West Coast Main Line at Hincaster Junction, south of Oxenholme. A Furness Railway local passenger train service (known locally as the Kendal Tommy for much of its life) operated through Sandside from Grange-over-Sands to Kendal between 1876 and its withdrawal in May 1942, when the station also closed to passengers. In July 1922, this FR service ran five times per day in each direction on weekdays. Through goods traffic ended in 1963 and the track was lifted north of here three years later, although the remaining stub down to Arnside was retained until final closure in 1972 to serve local quarries.

Dog Hole Cave

Dog Hole Cave is an archaeologically significant cave near Storth, Cumbria, England.

River Bela

The River Bela is a short (approximately 4 miles (6.5 km)) river in the county of Cumbria, England. It is in the ancient county of Westmorland. The river is formed by the confluence of Peasey Beck and Stainton Beck at Overthwaite. It runs through Beetham where it powers the Heron Corn Mill, and then flows through the deer park of Dallam Tower before skirting around the south of the village of Milnthorpe and joining the River Kent estuary between Sandside and Milnthorpe. At its mouth it was formerly crossed by the Bela Viaduct on the Hincaster Branch Line railway from Arnside to Hincaster, demolished after the line was closed to passengers in 1942 and the track lifted in 1966. During World War II a prisoner of war camp was built beside the river near Whasset. After the war the camp became an open prison, and there is now a residential school on the site.

Bela Viaduct

Bela Viaduct was a railway bridge straddling the mouth of the River Bela where it flows into the River Kent, in Cumbria, England. The viaduct was part of the Arnside to Hincaster branch. It was opened in 1876, closed to all traffic in 1963, and demolished in 1966.