SD2062 : Walney Island Groynes (4) - The northern row
taken 10 years ago, near to South End, Cumbria, England
There are two rows of groynes on the beach near Far South End on Walney Island, with a third row near to Pho Hill further south. There are also odd posts sticking out of the sand and pebbles, either individually or in small groups.
Although the usual main purpose of groynes is to prevent coastal erosion, it is possible that these wooden stakes - in particular the individual ones and small groups - were an anti-aircraft measure dating from WWII to prevent enemy aircraft from landing on the sands. This information was from an octogenarian local who was a lad here during the war.
The old stakes now make an attractive feature along this rugged windswept and wave-battered coast. They are covered in seaweed and show signs of the rough elements that they have withstood, but are generally in remarkably good condition.
Walney Island is a long, comparatively narrow island across a narrow channel (The Walney Channel) from the southwestern end of the Furness Peninsula. It acts as a huge natural breakwater for that peninsula and for the town of Barrow in Furness in particular. It is attached to Barrow and the mainland by a swing bridge from Vickerstown, effectively a suburb of Barrow, which straddles the central section of the island.
Walney is about 11 miles (18km) long curling eastwards at its southern end; it is however only about a mile wide at its widest point, and for much of its length far narrower than this. It has an area of roughly 5 sq.miles (13 kmē) making it the eighth largest offshore island of England; its population of 10,651 (2011 Census) makes it the sixth most populous however.
The central chunk of the island is built up with the estates of Vickerstown, but most of the rest of the island especially to the south is rural, unspoilt salt flats with an insteresting and convoluted coast. There is an airfield at the north of the island near the settlement of North Scales. The only other village on the island is Biggar, on the road southwards, which has a fine public house, The Queen's Arms.