Flookburgh is an ancient village on the

Cartmel peninsula Cartmel Peninsula is a peninsula in Cumbria in England. It juts in a southerly direction into Morecambe Bay, bordered by the estuaries of the River Leven to the west and the River Winster to the east. It is, along with the Furness Peninsula, ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England, until 1974 part of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. Being close to

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

, cockle and

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

fishing plays a big part in village life. Flookburgh is sometimes thought to derive its name from a flat fish, known as the

Fluke Fluke may refer to: Biology * Fluke (fish), a species of marine flatfish * Fluke (tail), the lobes of the tail of a cetacean, such as dolphins or whales, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ...

, found in the area. (Many people in Flookburgh say, in fact, that Flookburgh wasn't named after the Fluke; the Fluke was named after the village.) However, it is far more likely that the name is Norse, an adaptation of 'Flugga's Town'.

Location

Flookburgh is located away from the nearest town,

Grange-Over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...

. Travelling by road, it 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 Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...

, to the east of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

and to the west of Lancaster.

Modern times

Flookburgh is also home to Furness Fish & Game who produce Morecambe Bay potted Shrimps, the famous Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding is made in the village. Cark airfield, which is actually in Flookburgh, is home to the

North West Parachute Centre The North West Parachute Centre is a BPA affiliated parachuting centre and skydiving drop zone at Cark, Cumbria. The drop zone operates a PAC XL750 Turbine aircraft. The centre provides student training in the Ram Air Progression System, Acceler ...

and is the place where the Annual Steam Gathering takes place.

Governance

Flookburgh 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 Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, before which he worked ...

is the current MP representing the Liberal Democrats. For

Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

purposes, it is in the ''Cartmel 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 '' Cartmel Division'' of

Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it is an elected local government body respon ...

. The village also has its own Parish council; ''Lower Holker Parish Council''.

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Holker, Lower
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)

by

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Keith Wilkinson (reporter) Keith Wilkinson is a former British television reporter and news correspondent for 35 years. In September 2019 ITV News announced he was leaving them to become a freelance writer and author. Born in Lancashire, England, he began his career in ...

ITV Local report on Cross Bay Challenge from Flookburgh 2008

The Cumbria Directory page on Flookburgh

Flookburgh Flookburgh is an ancient village on the Cartmel peninsula in Cumbria, England, until 1974 part of Lancashire. Being close to Morecambe Bay, cockle and shrimp fishing plays a big part in village life. Flookburgh is sometimes thought to derive ...

Morecambe Bay {{Cumbria-geo-stub

Location

Modern times

Governance

See also

References

External links