Island 138 - Sheep Island, Cumbria

Sheep Island is not the most exciting of islands.  It is located about 400 metres to the east of Snab Point on Walney Island and is accessible from there across the sand for 2-3 hours each side of low tide.  It has an area of about 6 hectares.  A pebble beach leads up to a flat top covered in scrub.  There is the remains of a stone wall but the centre of the island is fenced off.  However it does have a geocache and you can walk all the way round the outside.

Several sources say that there was an isolation hospital on it from 1892-1922, which was a wooden building erected by Barrow Borough Council for use by ships on their way into Barrow, whose crew members were suspected of having an infectious disease.

Sheep Island

Sheep Island with Piel Island in the distance

Sheep Island with some horse riders crossing to Piel Island and the mountains of the Lake District in the distance

Island 137 - Barrow, Cumbria

Barrow Island is no longer a true island because part of the channel separating it from the town of Barrow-in-Furness to the north has been filled in, thus linking the island permanently to the Cumbrian mainland.

 

In 1846 the Furness Railway opened, primarily to transport slate from mines near Kirkby and iron ore from mines in the Dalton/Lindal area to the coast at Barrow Harbour and Piel Pier on Roa Island.  Passengers were also carried.  The line was paid for mainly by the Dukes of Devonshire and Buccleuch, who owned most of the land in Furness and some individuals such as the industrialist and politician Henry Schneider. The line was extended to Ulverston in 1854 and linked to the national railway network in 1857. 

 

The railway company bought Barrow Island and the area around the channel and in 1865, largely financed by the Dukes of Devonshire and Buccleuch, work began on the construction of the first of two docks in the channel between Barrow Island and the mainland.   Devonshire Dock opened in 1867 and Buccleuch Dock to the east of it opened in 1872. 

 

The Ramsden Dock, to the east of Barrow Island was constructed between 1872 and 1879.  This was named after Sir James Ramsden, who came to Barrow in 1846 as the Furness Railway's locomotive superintendent and went on to become managing director of the Furness Railway and to play a major role in the development of Barrow.  He was the town's mayor five times.  The Ramsden Dock is linked to the Buccleuch Dock.  Its construction incorporated the small island called Ramsey into the dock complex and reclaimed land from the sea in the south east corner of the island. 

 

A fourth dock, Cavendish, was constructed in 1879 to the north east of Ramsden Dock as a timber pond.  It was named after William Cavendish, the 7th Duke of Devonshire.  It never had direct access to the channel and is now used as a reservoir by a power station for cooling water and as a popular fishing location.

 

In 1870 the Barrow Iron Shipbuilding Company was founded on Barrow Island and the first ship was launched in 1873.  Over the years warships, merchant ships and submarines were built there.  It is now owned by BAE Systems.

 

Tenement housing was constructed on Barrow Island in the 1870s to house shipyard and steelworks employees, including Devonshire Buildings on Michaelston Road (1875), which are now listed buildings.  Tenements in Sloop and Steamer Streets are also listed.

 

In the 1980s the western end of Devonshire Dock was filled in and the Devonshire Dock Hall was constructed 1982-6 on the reclaimed land for Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering.  It is a huge indoor shipbuilding and assembly complex and has mainly been used for the construction of submarines.  At this point Barrow Island ceased to be a true island.  

 

The Port of Barrow is currently owned  and operated by Associated British Ports.  At some time after 1938 the Timber Dock at the western end of Ramsden Dock was filled in, thus increasing the land area of Barrow Island further.

 

St John's Church, Island Road
This church was built in 1934-5 on the site of an earlier church.  It is made of concrete and is a listed building.

Devonshire Pub and tenement housing, Michaelston Road



 Entrance to the Port of Barrow and Port Office, Ramsden Dock Road

Island 136 - Foulney Island, Cumbria

I thought Foulney Island was going to be a bit boring, as it is very flat and is composed entirely of pebbles from the Lake District, which were deposited by glaciers during the last Ice Age.  However on a sunny summer day it was a very pleasant walk.  

There are lots of wildflowers on the island, including meadow saxifrage, yellow horned poppy, sea campion, birds foot trefoil, sea kale, viper's bugloss, sea lavender and thrift.  Some of these were still in flower when I visited in late August 2011.  The island is important as a breeding place for Arctic and little terns in the spring.  Ringed plovers, oystercatchers, eider ducks, skylarks and meadow pipits also breed on the island.   Slitch Ridge is closed during the birds' breeding season. The mudflats are crowded with wading birds in the autumn and winter, e.g. dunlin, knot and curlews.  The island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The island has been leased and managed as a nature reserve by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust since 1974.  It is tidal, although the causeway is only covered for a couple of hours around high tide.

Foulney Island has been connected to the Roa Island Causeway by a stone causeway since the 19th century.  The causeway was built to prevent the Walney Channel from silting up.   It isn't very clear anymore where the real island starts. The island has an area of 17.5 hectares.  There is a small car park a third of the way along the causeway from Rampside to Roa Island.

Rampside Salt Marsh 

- this has developed over the last 100 years as a result of the building of the causeway.

The tower says AGA on it but I'm not sure what sort of cooking you can do with it!  According to a warden I spoke to it is a navigation light.  The shed beyond it is derelict.

Looking towards Rampside

Roa Island from Foulney



The Causeway
The causeway isn't in the best state of repair in places.

Island 135 - Piel Island, Cumbria

Piel Island is a small low lying island, which can be reached on foot over the sands from Walney Island at low tide or by boat at all stages of the tide from Roa Island.   I went by boat and spent a couple of hours wandering round the island.  I found the only geocache, had a look at the castle ruins, a wander along the beach and a drink in the pub.  You can camp on the island and there is a public toilet.  A notice in the toilet said that paper towels and other rubbish should not be flushed down the toilet, as it would upset the SCEPTIC tank - obviously a toilet for unbelievers!

The earliest inhabitants lived on Piel about 3,000 years ago.  The island was originally called Foudray or Fotheray from the Old Norse for 'fire island' - meaning a fire beacon to guide ships.  

The island was sold to the town of Barrow in 1919 by the Duke of Buccleuch.

Looking north towards Rampside

The Ship Inn

The menu looked appetising but I didn't have time to stop for a meal, as I had another 4 islands to visit that day!  The Inn is thought to be over 300 years old and may have developed out of a ships' chandlery, which was established on the island in the 17th century.

  The houses

 One was up for sale when I visited and the notice stated that it doesn't have concrete cancer. I think it is a terrace of 8 houses.  The houses were built in 1875 to house pilots.  They were previously housed in a converted barn.

 Back of the Ship Inn

 Castle looking towards Walney

The castle was built by the monks of Furness Abbey on the SE corner of Piel Island in the early 14th Century to protect Barrow from raids by pirates and Scotsmen.  The Abbey was itself involved in the smuggling business.  The castle was already falling into disrepair by the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537.  The keep, inner and outer baileys and curtain wall are still standing.  It is now in the care of English Heritage.  A salt works was recorded on the island from 1662.  In the late 17th and early 18th Century Piel was important as a place where customs were collected.

 Castle at low tide

 

 King of Piel's seat in the pub

There is a tradition that says that each new pub landlord is crowned King of Piel. That involves sitting in this seat wearing a helmet and holding a sword while alcohol is poured over their head! The ceremony is said to be due to Lambert Simnel (pretender to the throne of England) landing on the island in 1487.
 

Leaving Piel

 Piel Ferry at Roa Island

Island 134 - Eilean Donan, Scotland

I visited Eilean Donan Castle, which is probably one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, in 1976 but I am not sure how I forgot that it is on an island, the name alone should have reminded me!  The name means Donnan's Island.  Donnan was possibly an Irish Pict born c550 AD who travelled to Scotland to introduce Christianity to the people there.  He was martyred on the island of Eigg in 617.  After his death he was canonised.  He is said to have built a church or monastic cell on Eilean Donan but no traces of it remain.

The island is small and tidal.  It is located close to the village of Dornie and near to the point where three lochs meet: Alsh, Duich and Long.  The island is now linked to the mainland by a bridge. 

The original castle was built c1230 during the reign of King Alexander II to protect Kintail against the Vikings. It later became a stronghold of the Clans Mackenzie, Macrae and Maclennan.

The castle was destroyed in 1719 after some Spanish allies of the James Stuart, the Old Pretender (son of the deposed King James II), who had occupied it, surrendered to the British Navy.

The castle was rebuilt 1912-32 by Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap, who bought the island in 1911.   The castle is open to the public from February to December.

Eilean Donan

 

Eilean Donan Castle

 

Low tide at Eilean Donan

Island 133 - Foulness, Essex

Foulness is the largest island in the Thames Estuary.  The perimeter of the island is over 14 miles and it covers 2,430 hectares, half of which is farmed.  The rest is used by the Ministry of Defence.  It is currently managed by the private company Qinetiq.   The island is located to the north east of Great Wakering and Shoeburyness. It is surrounded by the Rivers Crouch and Roach and the North Sea.   It is accessed via a hydraulic lifting bridge over the Havengore Creek.  You cross first on to Havengore Island and then New England Island before reaching Foulness.  The first bridge across to Foulness was built in 1922.  Before that the only access other than by boat was across an ancient raised track called the Broomway, which was only accessible at low tide.

Foulness Island is extremely flat.  It is also extremely difficult to visit if you don’t know someone who lives there.  The Heritage Centre at Churchend is open on the first Sunday of the month between April and October from 12pm-4pm.  That is only 6 afternoons a year.  I think it is also probably open at other times by prior arrangement to organised groups.  You have to stop at the barrier just beyond Samuel’s Corner and give your name, address and car registration number.  You are then given a pass and told to drive directly to Churchend.  You are not allowed to stop anywhere else or take photos of any military installations.  You are not allowed access to the hamlet of Courtsend. 

The earliest known occupants of Foulness and its neighbouring islands were the Romano-British.  A civilian settlement dated to the late 1^st- late 3^rd centuries AD has been discovered at Little Shelford in the South West of the island.  Finds included cremation urns and domestic pottery.  The people who lived there were farmers and fishermen, including the cultivation of oysters but the production of salt seems to have been the main occupation.  The settlement was then abandoned due to rising sea levels. 

The first recorded reference to sea walls was in the Charter Rolls of 1271.  From the late 14^th century there were 7 phases of land reclamation, the last of which was on the southern side of the island in 1833.  In Medieval times the island was inhabited by shepherds and fishermen.  There was also some arable farming and the island became well known for its dairy produce.    There were 3 main phases of building – mid 16^th century, late 17^th/early 18^th century and late 19^th/early 20^th century. 

The population increased from the 16^th century due to the development of arable farming and by the late 19^th century almost 800 people lived there.  The current population is around 200.  The decline was due to mechanisation of agriculture, demolition of some houses to make way for firing ranges, the 1953 floods left some houses unfit for human habitation, the MOD has increased rents in recent years, some people no longer wanted to live with the military restrictions that exist and moved elsewhere, families are now generally much smaller in size and the MOD no longer employs as many people as it once did. 

The George and Dragon public house has closed in the last few years, as there was no passing trade and the number of people working on the island has been reduced.  The Village Hall has also recently closed in recent years, so community social gatherings now have nowhere, except the Heritage Centre to meet.  There is still a small shop and post office but without any passing trade it isn’t very profitable. 

In 1283 a chapel was built on the island.  This was replaced in the Tudor period by a wooden church, which was replaced by the present church built of Kentish ragstone – St Mary the Virgin, St Thomas and All Angels, which was opened in 1853.  However the church is now closed, as it is in a dangerous condition.

In 1846 the Church of England primary school was built to take 120 children.  It was extended in 1872 to take an additional 52 children but was closed in 1988 by which time the number of pupils had fallen to 11.  It remained empty for 13 years until it was renovated and turned into the Heritage Centre by the Foulness Conservation and Archaeological Society.  The Heritage Centre was very busy on the afternoon I visited in August 2011, so it was difficult to see all the exhibits.  It is certainly crammed full of artefacts and articles about life on Foulness in times gone by.  They were also selling a cup of tea and an excellent cupcake for 50p each.

 

The island was owned by a succession of Lords of the Manor until 1915 when it was sold to the War Department.  The housing is all owned by the MOD and the land is rented by 6 farmers.   Most of the island is good quality arable land and wheat, barley, oil seed rape, linseed peas and beans are grown.  The low lying land is drained by a complex system of drains and ditches.   Cows and sheep are grazed on the areas unsuitable for arable crops.

The island was badly flooded in January 1953 when the whole of the east coast from Lincolnshire to Kent suffered a storm surge.  2 people drowned and many animals were lost but the farmland recovered within a few years. 

The presence of the MOD on the island means that crime is virtually non-existent.  Their ownership has also benefited the wildlife, as the island has not been developed and the areas that aren’t farmed are relatively undisturbed – apart from when the firing range is operating!  It is home at various times of year to wading birds such as oystercatchers, avocets, little egrets and brent geese.  I’m told that there is a beach made of cockleshells on the island but it isn’t in the area that you can visit. 

In 1973 the government planned to build London’s 3^rd airport on the Maplin Sands to the south east of the island.  However the plans were cancelled in 1974 much to the relief of the residents of the island and of Southend, as the plans also included a motorway along the seafront at Southend and a high speed rail link.  

 War Memorial
 

 Old School - now the Heritage Centre

 

View from the churchyard

 Church

 Church

George and Dragon Pub - currently closed

In the 19th century the garden was apparently used for bare knuckle fighting.  There used to be another pub at Courtsend - the King's Head

Island 132 - New England Island, Essex

New England Island is situated between Havengore and Foulness Islands.  It has been owned by the Ministry of Defence since 1915 and is very low lying and uninhabited.  It is used for grazing animals.  You can drive across it on the first Sunday of the month between April and October from 12pm-4pm but you cannot stop on the island or take any photos of the military installations. 

Island 131 - Havengore, Essex

Havengore Island is a low lying marshy island in south east Essex separated from Great Wakering by Havengore Creek and linked to New England Island.  There has been a bridge across Havengore Creek since the 1920s and the current lifting bridge was installed in the 1980s.  The island is owned by the Ministry of Defence and access is restricted.  You can drive across it on the first Sunday of the month between April and October from 12pm-4pm in order to visit the Foulness Heritage Centre but you are not allowed to stop on the island or take photographs.  Some of the island is farmed and there is one farmhouse. 

Island 130 - Havergate, Suffolk

Havergate Island was bought by the RSPB in 1948 after avocets bred on the island for the first time in Britain in 100 years.  It is located towards the mouth of the River Ore on the western side of the Orford Ness spit.   

Boat trips are organised periodically by the RSPB and the dates are advertised on their website.  I booked several months in advance and the cost was £15.  The boat only takes about 15 passengers.  The boat departs from the end of the short quay close to where the National Trust ferry to Orford next departs from.  However I wasn't sure where the boat went from and there was no notice about it anywhere, so I asked in the National Trust Office at the quay and a less than welcoming lady staffing it said it was nothing to do with the National Trust, which I knew already!  Although the island is in a tidal zone, you are unlikely to get seasick on the 15 minute journey, as it is sheltered by Orford Ness on its southeast side and the mainland on the north west.  It is separated from Orford Ness by the Narrows and from the mainland by a channel called the Gull.  There were lots of small sailing boats sailing round the island on the day I visited in August 2011. 

The island is very flat and was previously farmed.  The first sea walls around the island were built about 500 years ago to prevent flooding and allow the island to be farmed.  The soil is rich and silty.  Crops were grown and when the soil become poorer the island was used for grazing livestock.  In the early 20th century it was owned by Mr Fisk and farmed by the Brinkley Family.   In the 1923 gravel was extracted but by the end of the 1920s the island had been abandoned.   It isn't the world's most exciting island unless you are interested in bird watching.

I visited in August 2011 and the wildlife highlight at that time of year is the spoonbills.  They don't currently breed on the island but visit in July/August for a few weeks on their way from the Netherlands  to fatten up on shrimps in preparation for their long journey to Senegal where they overwinter.  I'm not a great birdwatcher but the spoonbills were interesting and there were plenty of avocets, curlews, godwits and other wading birds to see.  

There is also a population of brown hares on the island and because they have no natural predators on the island, it is possible to get quite close to them.  They are mainly to be found towards the south of the island by the wardens' huts. 

 North Hide

 

View from one of the hides

 Visitors' Centre and Main Hide

 

 South East Coast

 

 View from one of the hides

 Landing Jetty 

 

 Wardens' Huts

 Wardens' Huts on shingle bank

 

South East Coast - looking towards the landing jetty

Island 129 - Scolt Head, Norfolk

Scolt Head is a barrier island situated off the North Norfolk coast to the north of Burnham Overy Staithe.  It is a national nature reserve and is managed by Natural England, although it is owned by the National Trust and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.   It is a very young island, as it is thought that it only started to form 1,000 years ago and it is still growing in a westerly direction.  It is composed of glacial shingle on top of which sand and silt have been deposited.  The island can be divided into 4 zones - shingle, intertidal mud and sand flats, sand dunes and salt marsh.  Terns nest at the west end of the island in large numbers, in particular sandwich terns but also little, common and a few arctic terns.  I visited in August and although the main breeding season was over, there were a few terns flying around.   I also saw sea lavender and sea holly in flower, oystercatchers and small heath and wall butterflies.

The hardest part about visiting Scolt Head is trying to find details of the ferry service in advance.  According to English Nature ferry times are advertised at Burnham Over Staithe but I could find no contact details for the boatman anywhere online.  Eventually after several fruitless phone calls I spoke to a lady from the Harbour Trust, who said it wasn't run by them but that the ferry operates about 2 hours either side of high tide.  I booked accommodation in Wells-next-the-Sea Youth Hostel in the hope that I would be able to visit and drove to Burnham Overy Staithe 3 hours before high tide but despite walking up and down the quayside and car park I could see nothing about the ferry, although I could see the ferry boat moored in the harbour.  Eventually at 9.30 the Boathouse opened and they had a notice displayed denying all knowledge about the ferry but with the boatman's telephone number, so I rang him and he confirmed that he would be running the ferry that morning.  Perhaps English Nature don't want to encourage too many visitors but I would have thought the boatman would like as many visitors as possible in order to make more money, so wonder why the ferry isn't advertised anywhere?  The ferry goes from the main quay in Burnham Overy Staithe.  In August it was a very popular spot for holidaymakers to launch their dinghies and kayaks or to go crabbing.

There are no facilities on the island at all and the paths are pretty indistinct in places, although you can also walk along the sandy beach that runs along the north of the island.   On a calm sunny day it was a lovely place to spend a couple of hours.  Lots of people had sailed out there in their own boats or kayaks and there were dozens of them hauled up on the beach at the eastern end of the island but once I walked a couple of hundred metres west 95% of them disappeared and I had the rest of the island to myself.

 Sea Lavender

 North side of the island, eastern end

 South side of the island - marram grass and marsh

 Ferry from Burnham Overy Staithe - landing on the eastern end of Scolt Head

 Sea Holly in flower

North Coast

High tide on the south coast