Causway

The causeway carries Roa Island Road from Rampside, on the mainland, to Roa Island. The causeway was built in 1847; prior to that, the tidal island was accessible only by boat, or on foot across the sands at low tide. The causeway was built by John Abel Smith, a London banker, who bought Roa Island in 1840. The causeway was originally used for the Furness Railway branch line to Kirkby via Furness Abbey. It connected the railway with Piel Pier, a 247m deep-water pier construced by Smith, from which steam ships sailed to Fleetwood. There were also stream ships to the Isle of Man and Belfast steamers from 1861, until 1881, when they were moved to Barrow-in-Furness. A small railway station on Roa Island (named Piel Station) operated from c.1846 to 1936. The railway spur to Roa Island was lifted when the line closed in 1936, and the causeway then was used just for road traffic.