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A visit to the town of Millom, on the Cumbria Coastal Way, is a perfect opportunity to experience the quiet enjoyment of West Cumbria’s beautiful countryside and coastline. The majestic backdrop of the fells and mountains can be breathtaking. The town has a varied history with a rich industrial heritage founded on iron-ore mining and steel making in the mid-19th century. Little evidence remains of that activity although it was amongst the largest industrial sites of its type in the world.
Millom Folk Museum is home to vivid displays, including a reconstruction of a drift mine, recording the aspect of Millom’s past. Nestling close to the 1.970ft. Black Combe Fell, with mountains of the Lake district beyond, Millom overlooks the stunningly attractive Duddon Estuary where it joins the Irish Sea.
Poetry also played a part in cultural life of Millom in the 20th century, it was in the town that the writer Norman Nicholson was born and lived. A permanent exhibition in the Folk Museum records his life and works. The museum is open from Easter to October. Opposite the Folk Museum is a park with a children’s playground, a bowling green, putting green and tennis courts.
The iron ore mining took place at nearby Hodbarrow which today is a major R.S.P.B. nature reserve bordering an artificial lagoon, a legacy of the iron ore workings and where many species of sea birds can be seen. The nearby village of Haverigg is close to the nature reserve with attractive views out to the Irish Sea. This is a good place for families to visit with children’s adventure play features and safe beaches extending northwards. Ideal for walking, the area also offers activities such as pony trekking, water-sports and sea-fishing. Walkers and cyclists can proceed along the Cumbria Coastal Way or Cumbria Cycle Way towards Whitehaven or, perhaps, take time to explore the roads and tracks which ramble over Corney Fell.
During World War II, RAF Millom was a vital centre for training aircrew. Its memories are kept alive by a group of enthusiasts who founded the RAF Millom Museum in 1992. The museum has limited seasonal opening and is located in some of the original airfield buildings. Here, through a collection of memorabilia and items rescued from crash sites, visitors can learn some of the unique stories of the airmen who trained at Haverigg.
To the north of Millom are the villages of Kirksanton, Silecroft (with its fine shingle beach), Bootle and Waberthwaite; home to woodall’s famous Cumberland sausage and ham. Just outside Millom, along the north bank of Duddon Estuary, are the remains of Millom’s medieval castle which can be seen from the road. Nearby is the 12th century Holy Trinity church, with its “fish” window. The attractive villages of The Hill, The Green and Thwaites lie before the descent towards Duddon Bridge, where the Duddon iron furnaces form a site of important industrial archaeological interest.
Millom has a range of shops where there is still to be found variety and old-fashioned courtesy. There are some fine examples of Victorian architecture, with a library, the Town Hall and other buildings surrounding Market Square. Throughout the are there is a wide variety of places to stay including serviced accommodation, self-catering and caravan site. Just across the railway line – which has a regular service between Whitehaven and Barrow-in-Furness, as part of Cumbria’s Coastal railway – is Millom Craft centre. Located in the former Millom railway station buildings, the Craft Centre provides workshop units offering a variety of crafts which visitors can see being made as well as for sale. There are also continually changing exhibitions and a bistro-style café/restaurant which like the centre is open throughout the year.
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