Backbarrow
Backbarrow is a village in Cumbria, England, with a population of around 512. It has 1 GP surgery, 2 restaurants and cafés, 6 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Haverthwaite, 1 km away. There were around 3 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly Violence & sexual offences. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Backbarrow area — all from official UK open data.
- Council
- Westmorland and Furness
- County
- Cumbria
- Constituency
- Westmorland and Lonsdale
- Police force
- Cumbria
My Area Score
Excellent
Ranked 42nd of 294 English council areas — better than 86% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. Scored on 60% of the full weighting — some data isn't available here. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
15°CMist
- Today: 19° / 13° · 68% rain
- Tomorrow: 17° / 11° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:41Sunset 19:33
12h 52m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
20US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Blackpool Marton, United Kingdom
Crime
2 reported · July 2026▼ 33% YoY
- Burglary1
- Other theft1
Neighbourhood team: Ulverston, Coniston, Low Furness and High Furness · Cumbria
Local policing priorities
- Youth Antisocial Behaviour/Motoring offences
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
383 reported road collisions (2024)
131 killed or seriously injured · 480 casualties · 16.9 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
13 food businesses within 2 miles
- 11 rated 4–5 ★ (8 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Haverthwaite (1.0 km)
- 6 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Grange-Over-Sands (8.6 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£230,066 average▲ 11.1% YoY
Across Westmorland and Furness · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£812 average monthly rent▲ 6.5% YoY
- 1 bed £601
- 2 bed £769
- 3 bed £937
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
5.9× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 5.9 times median annual pay (5.5× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 171.9p · BP (8.5 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 193.9p · BP (8.5 km)
2 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
4 charging locations within ~8 km
- Fastest nearby: 7.2 kW
- Nearest: Rusland Pool Hotel (3 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres1
- Sports pitches1
- Playgrounds3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local news
- Tour de France Grand Départ Trophy draws the crowds at County Show
- South Lakeland Family Hub - August news
- Residents invited to have their say on local polling arrangements
- Relining works to begin, improving parking spaces at Westmorland Shopping Centre
- New plan aims to turn council spending into bigger benefits for local communities
Source: Westmorland and Furness Council
Population
226,591 residents in Westmorland and Furness
- Under 16: 15%
- 16–64: 59%
- 65+: 26%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Council tax
£2,508 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band A (25% of 117,810)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
162 schools · 31,227 pupils
121 primary · 19 secondary · 22 other
Ofsted: 49 of 54 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (91%)
147inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Appleby Grammar SchoolGood
- Furness AcademyGood
- John Ruskin SchoolGood
- Kirkby Stephen Grammar SchoolGood
- Queen Elizabeth Grammar School PenrithGood
- Queen Elizabeth SchoolGood
- Queen Elizabeth Studio SchoolGood
- St Bernards Catholic High School, BarrowGood
- The Lakes SchoolGood
- The Queen Katherine SchoolGood
- Ullswater Community CollegeGood
- Dallam SchoolRequires improvement
- Cartmel Priory CofE School
- Dowdales School
- Kirkbie Kendal School
- Samuel King's School
- Settlebeck School
- Ulverston Victoria High School
- Walney School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Westmorland and Furness
Care & health services
227 CQC-registered services
- Care homes59
- GP practices39
- Dentists55
- Homecare agencies48
- Hospitals & hospices7
CQC ratings: 95% of rated services Good or Outstanding
Source: Care Quality Commission · Westmorland and Furness
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 10 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
255 applications decided
92.9% granted · 237 granted, 18 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Tim Farron
Liberal Democrat
Westmorland and Lonsdale
Recent votes:
- NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- NoClosure motion
- AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 145
- AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 6
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Liberal Democrat majority
- Lab 15
- Con 9
- LD 35
- Grn 1
- Ref 1
- Oth 4
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- GPs & clinics1
- Parks & greens1
- Restaurants & cafés2
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
13,345 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Local economy
£812 median full-time weekly pay
1.8% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£26,301 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
46% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 23,188 certificates
12.9% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
78% low-carbon electricity
Nuclear 40% · Wind 33% · Imports 12% · Gas 10%
46 gCO₂/kWh · low intensity
Latest estimate for North West England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 84.4 yrs women · 80.7 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 64.4 women · 62.8 men
59% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Health services
5 GP surgeries · 2 pharmacies in LA12
- Ulverston Medical Practice
- Ulverston Community Health Centre
- Haverthwaite Surgery
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Westmorland and Lonsdale:
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership417 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office292 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership278 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s241 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks236 local signatures · 49,615 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Backbarrow · 0.3 kmBackbarrow is a village in the Lake District National Park in England. It lies on the River Leven about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Ulverston in Furness in the county of Cumbria.
Lakeland Motor Museum · 0.5 kmThe Lakeland Motor Museum is a museum now located at Backbarrow, Cumbria, England which houses a collection of classic cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pedal cars and motoring related items and memorabilia and an exhibiti…
Haverthwaite railway station · 1.0 kmHaverthwaite railway station is the western terminus of the preserved Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway; it serves the village of Haverthwaite, in Cumbria, England.
Bigland Barrow · 1.0 kmBigland Barrow is a hill in the English Lake District, near Backbarrow, Cumbria. It is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. It reaches 630 feet (190 m), and there is a concrete…
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway · 1.0 kmThe Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway (L&HR) is a 3.2-mile-long (5.1 km) heritage railway in Cumbria, England.
A590 road · 1.2 kmThe A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from junction 36 of the M6 motorway, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Bi…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Backbarrow?
- Backbarrow is a town in Cumbria, England, in the Westmorland and Furness local authority.
- What is the population of Backbarrow?
- Backbarrow has an approximate settlement population of 512.