Furness (peninsula)
Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria , England . Historically, although north of Morecambe Bay , it was part of Lancashire .
The area is divided into Low Furness and High Furness . Low Furness is the actual peninsula that borders Morecambe Bay and the Irish Sea . In front of the mainland are the islands of Walney , Roa Island and Piel Island , as well as 3 uninhabited small islands. Traditionally known as the island, Barrow Island was connected to Barrow-in-Furness in 1980 by filling in the Devonshire Dock. High Furness is in the north of the actual peninsula. High Furness is largely part of the Lake District National Park and is bounded by Lake Windermere . The place Barrow-in-Furness is the center of the area, in which around 100,000 people live. Other locations in the area are Ulverston , Coniston , Broughton-in-Furness , Cartmel , Dalton-in-Furness , Askam-in-Furness, and Ireleth .
history
Furness was long a border area between England and Scotland and it was not until the border moved north in the late Middle Ages that the area was pacified and came under the influence of the monks of Furness Abbey .
While Low Furness was difficult to access and isolated, holidaymakers began to come to High Furness in the late 18th century, and John Ruskin made it a tourist destination in the 19th century , and the works of William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter contributed to its popularity .
In the middle of the 19th century the first iron ore in the region was discovered near Askam-in-Furness . The Furness Railway was built to carry the ore away, creating the first reliable link between Low Furness and the rest of England. Large steel mills were built in Furness.
Furness has been part of Cumbria since 1974 .
Coordinates: 54 ° 16 '12.1 " N , 3 ° 5' 18.7" W.