Arnside


Arnside is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, historically part of Westmorland, near the border with Lancashire, England. The Lake District National Park is located a few miles south. Travelling by road, Arnside is to the south of Kendal, 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.
It faces the estuary of the River Kent on the north-eastern corner of Morecambe Bay, within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is overlooked by Arnside Knott, 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.

Buildings

The oldest building in the parish is Arnside Tower, a Peel tower built in the 14th/15th century as a refuge against raids from Scots and the Border Reivers.
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 River Kent on a viaduct long, it was built in 1857 and rebuilt in 1915.

Governance

Arnside is part of the Westmorland and Lonsdale parliamentary constituency, of which Tim Farron is the current MP representing the Liberal Democrats.
Before Brexit, it was in the North West England European Parliamentary Constituency.
For Local Government purposes, it is in the Arnside + Milnthorpe Ward of South Lakeland District Council 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, which lies on the Furness Line giving connections to,,,, and. The Furness Line passes over the River Kent 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. The sequence of warnings is:-
  1. Eight sounds on the siren - around 2.25 h before high tide
  2. Eight sounds on the siren - around 1.75 h before high tide
  3. Twelve sounds on the siren - around 1.25 h before high tide, when the incoming tide is just visible from the Coastguard station
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