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Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barrow_Town_Hall,_Cumbria,_NWE.jpgAuthor: Ian Petticrew
Barrow-in-Furness is a seaport in Cumbria, England. Often known simply as Barrow, it is located at the end of the Furness peninsula, with Morecambe Bay to the east, Duddon Estuary to the west and the Irish Sea to the south. Between the town and the Irish Sea is Walney Island, a 22.5-km-long (14-mile) island, which is seperated from Furness peninsula by the Walney Channel.
Barrow traces its history to the Furness Abbey, built on the orders of King Stephen of England in 1123. The monks later discovered deposits of iron ore in the area. This helped bring about the development of the town in the subsequent centuries. By the 15th century, Furness Abbey had become the second richest in England, after Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire.
Barrow has a population of 60,000 people (2012 estimate). In addition to being a seaport, it is also an industrial town and shipyard specializing in military vessels and submarines. This was especially so during the Cold War years, the end of which brought a decline in the town's economy, driving up unemployment.
Furness Abbey, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Furness_Abbey_Cumbria_UK.jpgAuthor: Mikef
After decades of neglect, the waterfront area of Barrow-in-Furness underwent regeneration with the £200 million Dockland regeneration project that began in 2007. This urban renewal project will see the construction of residential properties as well as retail, commercial and food & beverage outlets in the waterfront area.
Visiting Barrow-in-Furness
Take the M6 motorway until Exit 36, then continue west on the A590 road till you arrive at Barrow-in-Furness.
Barrow-in-Furness War Memorial: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barrow_War_Memorial.jpgAuthor: Chris Upson
Places of Interest in Barrow-in-Furness
- Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall: Grade II-listed building from the Victorian era, built in the Neo-Gothic style in 1886.
- Dock Museum: Museum explaining the history of the town, its steel industry and shipyard.
- Furness Abbey: Ruins of an abbey from which Barrow-in-Furness was founded.
- Hindpool Retail Parks: A set of four conjoined retail parks in the Hindpool area of Barrow-in-Furness. The four are Cornerhouse Retail Park, Cornmill Crossing, Hindpool Retail Park and Hollywood Park.
- Portland Walk Shopping Centre: Medium sized shopping center in Barrow-in-Furness.
- South Lakes Wild Animal Park: A leading conservation zoo and one of the top tourist attractions in Cumbria.
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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.
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