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The island joined the mainland in 1846 after John Abel Smith bought the island and had a causeway constructed joining Roa with nearby Rampside. The causeway was used by the Furness Railway for transporting goods from Barrow and further up the coast, across Morecambe Bay to Fleetwood. Soon after, the ferry was used for passengers, this was the old Barrow way of having a day out in Blackpool! The Piel pier as it was known, was demolished in 1891 mainly due to Walney Channel silting up and also because Barrow, having grown, was now the main port in the area. The railway line ran on until 1936, when it was finally closed down and replaced with the existing (often repaired) road. The island has a few things to see that make it well worth a short day out. The old customs house still exists and was (is) used as a chapel. The south shore of the island has the island's best features: a terrace of Victorian houses, best known a few years ago for windsurfers getting changed on their lawns (a fence has now been erected!). The Villa Marina is a lovely building, built for local industrialist H.W. Schneider, it is now a guest house and has an adjoining café – The Bosun's Locker, which does really good meals and cracking cakes! Barrow lifeboat station is also on the south shore and can be visited by phoning ahead (if anyone is in!). It's a modern building but doesn’t spoil the view. The station overlooks the small jetty for the ferry across to Piel Island. It's onlya short boat ride across to Piel and is worth a look round (even if the pub is still shut for repairs!). However, pub or not, the island is woth visiting for the castle (once the largest motte and bailey in the northwest of England), the birdlife and the occasional seal. Perhaps the best feature of Roa Island is the view, on a good day you can see Blackpool, across Morecambe Bay to Heysham and the Bowland Hills and beyond toward Ingleborough. Looking towards the mainland you get a fine view of Barrow with Black Combe behind, and a line of fells, Coniston old Man and Dow Crag standing out. For a short day or evening out, Roa Island is well worth a trip if you are staying nearby, even if it is only for the cake!
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