RoA Island

Taken at low tide, this photograph looks landwards from the Roa Island pier, also known as Piel Pier, which provides safe mooring for, amongst others, the small ferry which crosses Walney Channel to Piel Island.  Prominent in the photograph is the modern lifeboat station from which the all-weather Tamar Class lifeboat, Grace Dixon, and an inshore rescue D-733 Class lifeboat, Vision of Tamworth, operate.  The station, which is manned by volunteer crews, plays an important role in providing rescue services covering Morecambe Bay and the Irish Sea.  It is understood that a lifeboat station has been in operation on Roa Island since 1864.  Since 1846 a causeway has linked Roa Island to the mainland tip of the Furness Peninsula.