they were the last occupants of the cottage, which is now a ruin. In 1837 Chapel Island was proposed as a railway station by George Stephenson who was considering alternatives to the hilly route over Shap Fell, which the main West Coast line to Glasgow now takes. His idea was to take the railway from Lancaster to Morecambe (then known as Poulton), before proceeding across the sands to Humphrey Head on the Cartmel Peninsula and then cross the Leven Estuary to Furness. Embankments would have been built on the sands, with the area inside of these reclaimed. On 6 October 1858 the sloop Delight of Ulverston grounded on the rocks of Chapel Island. She was carrying a cargo of iron ore and empties. Her master was lost in the accident. Chapel Island is referred to by William Wordsworth in The Prelude, Book Tenth. The penultimate paragraph of the books reads: Excellent beaches can be found at Chapel Island. Apart from a small area at the north of the island the land is completely overgrown with an impenetrable mat of brambles. The island can be accessed on foot at low tide. However, Morecambe Bay is notorious for quicksands, and the Ulverston Channel usually flows between the shore and the island. Those wishing to visit Chapel Island should not attempt the crossing at any time other than low tide and should seek local advice. References Sources A Story of the Growth of Ulverston, by Dorothy Ashburner. Published 1993. Islands of Furness