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| Some of the places shown in Eagle's Eye: The Cumbrian Coast |
| Morecambe Bay |
| Grange-over-Sands |
| Cartmel Priory |
| Holker Hall |
| Leven Viaduct |
| Barrow Monument |
| Ulverston |
| Barrow-in-Furness |
| Walney Island |
| Piel Island |
| Duddon Estuary |
| Millom |
| Black Coombe |
| Ravenglass |
| Muncaster Castle |
| Sellafield |
| Egremont |
| Florence Mine |
| Whitehaven |
| Workington |
| Moss Bay |
| Maryport |
| Fort of Alauna |
| Silloth |
| Solway Estuary Bridge |
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The Cumbrian Coast Travel the Cumbrian Coast, from Grange-over-Sands to the Solway, as Fiona Armstrong guides us along a route which takes in beautiful sandy shoreline, stately homes and castles, a near-deserted island, the heart of Britain's nuclear programme, and communities which made their wealth from mining, before ending up in the Solway Estuary, a vast area of shifting sands where the Roman Wall meets the sea. |
| The starting point for this programme is Morecambe Bay, where Cumbria's south coast meets the northern edge of Lancashire. Within a few miles, the open, flat edge of the bay gives way to the spectacular beauty of the Lake District mountains. But as we skirt the edge of the National Park, there's a rich seam of history to explore. | 
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Holker Hall, the home of Lord and Lady Cavendish, has never been sold during its 400 year history. The present house is a Victorian reconstruction, following a fire in 1871. Built in Elizabethan style from red sandstone, its design is attributed to Paley & Austin, members of a Lancaster partnership responsible for 370 major works and 148 restorations, including many of the original station buildings on the nearby Furness Railway. |
Walney Island helps form a natural harbour south of Barrow in Furness. At its centre is Piel Island, a 20 acre plot of land with an incredible history. Piel Castle dominates, built in the 14th Century when Edward III granted the monks of Furness Abbey a licence to put battlements on the tower. At its height, more than 250 ships at a time would anchor here to unload their wares. Today, the island has just one resident, the landlord of the pub who carries the title The King of Piel. |
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The mining tradition is one shared by many West Cumbrian towns. In Whitehaven, the product was coal, but extracting it took a heavy toll on the local population. It’s estimated more than 1200 men, women and boys lost their lives in the workings underground. But Whitehaven has also been a seafaring town as its harbour attests. Over the years more than a thousand vessels were built here and it was once one of the busiest harbours in the country. |
Workington has long enjoyed an intense rivalry with its neighbour to the south. But it suffered a severe setback in the 2001 census when Whitehaven overtook it as the third largest town in Cumbria. But while Whitehaven’s harbour area has been redeveloped for leisure activities, the Port of Workington is still an active doc. Its expansion as a port has roots in the 18th Century, coinciding with the exploitation of the local coal and iron ore mines. |
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The Solway is our destination, having travelled between two of the west coast estuaries, witnessing the birth and death of great industries, and the remains of an infrastructure built for international trade. What remains is evidence of Man’s ability to change the landscape, whether by extracting its minerals or crossing its divides. Yet the effects of those actions on the larger scale do little to diminish the inherent splendour of a coastline which is both rugged and beautiful - one which comes to life thanks to the spectacular photography of Eagle's Eye. |
