Arnside is a village and civil parish in Cumbria,

historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, near the border with Lancashire, England. The

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

is located a few miles North. Travelling by road, Arnside is to the south of

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

, to the east of Ulverston, to the east of Barrow-in-Furness, to the west of Lancaster and to the east of Grange-over-Sands. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,301, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,334. It faces the estuary of the

River Kent The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. It originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles (32 km) into the north of Morecambe Bay. The upper reaches and the western bank of the estuary ...

on the north-eastern corner of Morecambe Bay, within the

Arnside and Silverdale Arnside and Silverdale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England, on the border between Lancashire and Cumbria, adjoining Morecambe Bay. One of the smallest AONBs, it covers 29 square miles (75 km2) between the Kent Estuary, the Ri ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is overlooked by

Arnside Knott Arnside Knott is a hill with a summit elevation of , near Arnside, Cumbria, England. Although it is in South Lakeland district it is not in the Lake District National Park, lying south of the River Kent which forms the south eastern boundary of ...

, a hill that rises out of the estuary. Up to the 19th century, the village was a port, but building the viaduct caused the estuary to silt up. A detailed account of the wildlife of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB is provided by John Wilson and Peter Lennon. Mammals include red squirrel and otter, breeding birds at the time of publication included the bittern which is still found in the area.

Buildings

The oldest building in the parish is

Arnside Tower Arnside Tower is a late-medieval tower house (or Pele tower) between Arnside and Silverdale immediately to the south of Arnside Knott in Cumbria, England. History Arnside Tower was built in the second half of the 15th century. Tower houses we ...

, a

Peel tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standin ...

built in the 14th/15th century as a refuge against raids from Scots and the

Border Reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

. The now defunct Arnside Golf Club was founded in 1906, the club closed around World War II.

Arnside viaduct

The railway line is carried over the

on a viaduct long, it was built in 1857 and rebuilt in 1915.

Governance

Arnside is part of the

Westmorland and Lonsdale Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

parliamentary constituency, of which Tim Farron is the current MP representing the Liberal Democrats. Before Brexit, it was in the

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

European Parliamentary Constituency. For Local Government purposes, it is in the ''Arnside + Milnthorpe Ward'' of

South Lakeland District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

and the ''Kent Estuary Division'' of Cumbria County Council. The village has its own Parish Council; ''Arnside Parish Council''.

Transport

Arnside has its own railway station;

Arnside railway station Arnside is a railway station on the Furness Line, which runs between and . The station, situated north-west of Lancaster, serves the village of Arnside in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains. A short distance w ...

, which lies on the Furness Line giving connections to , , , , and . The Furness Line passes over the

via the Arnside Viaduct. The village is connected to Kendal by the 551 and 552 bus services.

Tides

With each high tide, the coast of Arnside is subjected to a very fast rising tide. Because of the potential danger warning notices are posted at the pier, and an audible warning is sounded before every high tide (in daylight). The sequence of warnings is:- # Eight sounds on the siren - around 2.25 h before high tide # Eight sounds on the siren - around 1.75 h before high tide # Twelve sounds on the siren - around 1.25 h before high tide, when the incoming tide is just visible from the Coastguard station (location of the siren ) The cause of this fast tide is a combination of the large area of Morecambe Bay, which narrows rapidly at Arnside, plus the second highest tidal range (at Barrow-in-Furness, which can be as much as on a spring tide nearest the spring and autumn equinox: these typically give rise to a tidal bore, which may be as high as , and are often used by canoeists.

Notable people

* Robert Wilson (1922-1980), first-class cricketer and Royal Air Force officer

Image gallery

File:Kent viaduct Arnside.jpg, Railway viaduct over the Kent estuary near Arnside

References

External links

Arnside Gateway
- local on-line resources

Photos of Arnside
Cumbria County History Trust: Arnside
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) * . This is from the Ordnance Survey of

. (The view of Lancashire and Furness is misleading - it was outside the surveyors' area and they have left it as an outline only.) {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Westmorland Populated coastal places in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria South Lakeland District Morecambe Bay Articles containing video clips