Following our 4 visits along the coast of Dumfries & Galloway we headed into Cumbria where there are 4 RNLI Lifeboat Stations. After a bit of a rough and eventful night in a rather poor hotel, we left before breakfast and headed to Silloth.
Storm Ashley was having a good old blow when we arrived in a small carpark next to the Lifeboat Station at 7:30am. We sat in the car watching the waves and the weather, checking our socials and doing our daily puzzles. We were not due at the Lifeboat Station until 10:00am so managed to find a lovely little café in town which had just opened so we headed in there for some breakfast. It was a quirky little place called the Fairydust Emporium. The food was delicious and the huge pot of Tea was very welcomed. If you are in Silloth, check it out, their Facebook page is below
Silloth Lifeboat Station
The lifeboat station sits on the promenade next to a lovely park and the Carr’s biscuit flour mills. The Station was established in 1860 as the first in Cumbria. The station was closed in 1896 as it was considered to be no longer viable. In 1967 the original boathouse was re-acquired and with a few upgrades remains to this day housing Atlantic Class Lifeboats.
We were met at the station by David who showed us around after a cup of tea. Their current lifeboat is an Atlantic 85, Elaine & Don Wilkinson (B-828). It is launched down a slipway using a Talus M3 bendy tractor, fully water resistant these tractors are capable of being submerged.
The inshore lifeboat covers a huge area much of which is sand and mud at low tides. However the crew are able to work closely with their Scottish colleagues from Kippford for any shouts in the Solway Firth.
After taking our required evidence photos with the RNLI Bears we headed on to our next visit.
Workington Lifeboat Station
The coast road from Silloth to Workington was windy but spectacular. The rain had stopped as we left Silloth and the views over the sea were amazing. Workington is in an area that historically produced coal and steel and was very much an industrial port. It lies on the mouth of the River Derwent which flows into the Irish Sea from the Lake District National Park. There are records and artifacts from Roman and Viking times.
It was to the Port that we were heading. Workington is one of a handful of RNLI stations that lie within restricted Port areas and so require permission to access them. We had made arrangements weeks before our visit and we were checked in when we arrived at the Port security barriers. This is a very unique station, not only due to its location but also due to the way its Shannon Class Lifeboat is launched, more on that in a moment.
On arrival the Boathouse looked very different to any other we had seen on our travels so far. It was more like a large warehouse with huge RNLI lettering on the side. Surrounded by security fencing it sits at the entrance to the deep ship dock protected from the Irish Sea by a short harbour wall. We were met by Coxwain Stephen, Mechanic Richard and Lifeboat Operations Manager Tim. Before heading up to the crew room they gave us a thorough tour with plenty of photos. They were so welcoming.
So, to the unique Shannon launch method. This is the only RNLI station that launches a Shannon Class lifeboat using a Davit and Cradle system. After moving from its inside position on a track, the boat is lifted from its cradle by the massive Davit, or crane. The crane moves towards the edge of the dock before lowering the boat into the water. It must be an impressive sight to see an 18 tonne boat being lowered using this crane.
Workington also have a D-Class inshore lifeboat which is housed in a container adjacent to a portacabin crew kit room. It was very small but serves the purpose. The D-Class, John F Mortimer (D-767) is pushed by the crew to another small Davit and lowered into the water close to the Dock gates.
The Shannon Lifeboat is called Dorothy May White (13-19). Despite the unique launch method there are only two minor differences to any other Shannon lifeboat. The recovery rope at the front of the boat is removed and there is an additional bar on the side rails to secure the cradles. We were allowed to stand on the back of the boat for a photo before heading into the crew room for a very interesting discussion about the operation of the station.
The RNLI first established a station in Workington in 1886 but this was closed in 1905. Subsequently a permanent station was opened in 1949. The current boathouse was built in 1990. There were many benefits to the station being in the Port location and the arrangement seems to work very well.
This was a fascinating visit due to its unique setup and we are so grateful to Richard, Tim and Stephen for their incredible welcome and tour.
St Bees Lifeboat Station
Our next stop, south on the Cumbrian coastline, was a lovely little village called St Bees. It lies on a beautiful long sand beach at the foot of the St Bees Head cliffs. At this location we were actually closer to the coast of the Isle of Man than we were to the M6 on the other side of the Lake District. When we arrived, the wind was whipping up some impressive surf which, coupled with an incoming tide, was causing some concern to the St Bees Lifeboat crew.
We were met at the station by Phil and Dick who were keeping an close watch on the water levels as they approached the doors to the Boathouse. We stood in the crew room looking out at the rough seas having an interesting chat with them both. They were both long serving members of the crew and recalled many stories of rescues that they and the station had been involved in. This station was established relatively recently in 1970 just south of St Bees Head. The current boathouse was built in 1995 and provided improved facilities for the crew and was able to accommodate the larger Atlantic Class boats. The station is full of historical photos and the hand painted name plate from the original boathouse hangs proudly above the stairs.
St Bees have an Atlantic 85 called Joy Morris MBE (B-831) which has been on station since 2009. Phil very kindly allowed us to sit in the Talus bendy tractor and board the boat for some photos. The wind had subsided by the time we left reducing the threat of water ingress into the station.
Barrow Lifeboat Station
Our final visit of the day was to Barrow which was a long 90 minute drive to the southern most point of Cumbria. We were unable to access the boathouse which lies at the end of a pier on a small island called Roa Island. The current boathouse was built in 2000 and both their Tamar Class and D-Class boats are launched down the slipway. It was still very blustery at this exposed location and so we took our photos and started the drive to our overnight accommodation in Lancashire, 45 miles by road but just 15 miles across Morecambe Bay – if only we had a lifeboat to take us there!
Comments