THIS stunning picture of Roa Island has impressed users of a Facebook group which celebrates the beauty of Barrow and the surrounding area.

Paul Waddington uploaded the photograph to the Beauty of Barrow and Furness group over the weekend.

The picture shows the Grade II-listed watch tower, a former custom house.

Roa Island's distinctive watch tower was under construction in October 1847 and was designed as a lookout post for Customs and Excise officials.

In 1879 the Customs authority was paying £30 a year rent for it.

Four officials were based on the island in 1886 but it was reduced in height after the Second World War.

At one time it was in use as a lifeboat station and as a meeting room for Wesleyan Methodists

In the days before the development of Barrow and its railway and dock system, Roa Island played a key part in the transport of Furness iron ore, slate and people.

Until 1840 the island was part of the Rampside Hall Estate, owned by the Reverend John Hutchinson, and was then bought by London banker John Abel Smith.

His aim was to run a ferry service from Piel to Fleetwood, linking to a rail service between Glasgow and London.

He made an embankment to carry a rail line from Roa Island to Concle “To connect Roa Island with the neighbouring Island of Great Britain" and by 1847 he had built a pier from Roa into deep water.

In 1852 the pier was badly damaged in a storm and the Furness Railway was able to buy all Smith’s property holdings for a bargain £15,000.

Until 1847 Roa Island was a true island, being accessible only by boat, or on foot across the sands at low tide.

John Abel Smith, a London banker, bought Roa in 1840 and built a causeway to the mainland, completed in 1846.

The pier connected with the Furness Railway line to Kirkby via Furness Abbey, making use of the causeway. Initially the line was open for goods traffic only, but in 1846 a passenger service was introduced.