Tourist Information on Ravenglass

Ravenglass, lies between Whitehaven and Barrow-in-Furness.

Set on the estuary of the Rivers Esk, Mite and Irt, it is the only coastal village in the Lake District.

In the 2nd century Ravenglass was an important Roman naval base.  Little remains of the Roman port, known as 'Glannaventa', apart from a remarkable bath house, known as 'Walls Castle'.  Ravenglass's main street is paved with sea cobbles from its shingle beach.

To the north lies the Drigg Dunes and Irt Estuary Nature Reserve, home of a colony of black headed gulls.

The popular Ravenglass & Eskdale Narrow Gauge Steam Railway, known as 'La'al Ratty', terminates at Ravenglass.  England's oldest steam narrow gauge railway, this was built in 1875 to transport iron ore from Eskdale.  The station boasts a museum, workshops and the Ratty Arms pub (the old Furness Railway station).  A trip along the 7 mile line takes visitors through one of the most beautiful valleys in the Lake District, passing Scafell Pike the highest peak in England.

Just south of Ravenglass stands Munster Castle, Gardens and Owl Centre.

To the north is Sellafield, the BNFl nuclear reprocessing plant, near Seascale. The Visitor's Centre here is now closed.