This tiny British Island has its own King (and he'll even serve you a pint! 🍺)

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Today we're going to be visiting the magical Peele Island, a small English isle steeped in centuries old history and tradition. The most quirky of which is that it has its own king who's crowned in a ceremony that dates back hundreds of years. We'll take a look at the castle, visit the island's pub, and of course, meet the king himself. So, without further ado, let's rewind to the beginning and start our adventure in the small Cumbrian town of Olston.

[00:00:25]>> Should we uh get in the car and on the road?

[00:00:28]>> Let's do it.

[00:00:28]>> Let's go.

[00:00:39]Yes. Yes. So, Row Island, where we get the ferry across the Peele Island, is connected to the mainland via a courseway, which we're just about to go across now.

[00:01:04]Here we are on Row Island, a tiny little island with just 100 residents. Now, up until the mid 1800s, this was disconnected from the mainland. And these days, it's connected by a courseway.

[00:01:21]Yeah. So, it's from here that we need to get the ferry, tiny little 12-seater, over to Peel Island.

[00:01:27]It's a journey of about half a mile.

[00:01:31]Imagine living on here.

[00:01:36]>> Trying.

[00:01:36]>> Yeah, it is, isn't it? Yeah.

[00:01:38]>> I haven't seen the pub yet though.

[00:01:41]Bit of a worry.

[00:01:43]>> Pure ferry.

[00:01:44]>> There we are. £7 return. Under 165 return.

[00:01:50]>> What if that's where you get?

[00:01:52]>> Is that where you get the ticket from?

[00:01:54]Don't know. It say closed down there.

[00:01:55]Oh, yeah.

[00:01:57]>> It's not a good sign, is it? No.

[00:01:58]>> Oh, we got people here.

[00:02:00]>> Yeah.

[00:02:08]So that's Barrow Lifeboat Station.

[00:02:11]>> It's pretty impressive, isn't it? That it's built right out.

[00:02:14]>> Beautiful.

[00:02:14]>> Yeah.

[00:02:28]>> Yeah. Yeah. So, we're just talking to a uh a guy who was uh who's just stood here and he was saying that uh as well as doing the ferry across and back from the island um they they also do seal trips as well.

[00:02:41]>> Not a bad place to live that, is it?

[00:02:43]>> Beautiful.

[00:03:24]Morning.

[00:03:24]>> Morning.

[00:03:26]Okay.

[00:03:27]>> Cheers. Thank you.

[00:03:46]>> You're all right.

[00:03:47]>> Thank you very I don't know if I can find my way out.

[00:04:29]I'm stuck in a prison of >> Thank you.

[00:04:40]>> I'm just watching be a bit slippy for the first 10 years.

[00:04:42]>> Lovely. Thanks.

[00:04:45]>> Thank you very much.

[00:04:46]>> Thank you. See you in a bit.

[00:04:56]Oh, brilliant. That >> Yeah, it would be cool to camp on here, wouldn't it?

[00:05:06]>> Yeah. Really cool.

[00:05:07]>> Get away from it.

[00:05:09]>> Yeah. And then you just get fur over if you want to go over to Row Island.

[00:05:14]>> Sounds perfect.

[00:05:16]Oh, is that the pub? That's a pub, I think.

[00:05:18]>> It is. There it goes.

[00:05:20]>> Yeah.

[00:05:25]>> Lovely little bench.

[00:05:29]>> Memorial to Weswood.

[00:05:32]It says on there, "We will fight them on the beaches."

[00:05:35]>> I know.

[00:05:36]>> Winston Churchill.

[00:05:39]>> Yeah. So, Peel Island is only tiny, about 26 acres. As I say, it's got four permanent residents.

[00:05:45]There's a pub there, the ship in which we'll be going in shortly. There's the castle just around the corner there. And there's also the king as well.

[00:05:55]>> So, will we see the king in a bit?

[00:05:57]>> I hope so.

[00:05:58]>> Might do. Historically, Peele Island was used as a base for pirates and smugglers, but these days it's more of a bird sanctuary.

[00:06:07]>> W solar panels there. Should imagine that's necessary out here, isn't it, for the electric?

[00:06:15]No maze electric.

[00:06:20]>> Yeah, it's funny. We'd never heard of Peel Island, but we're on the ferry on the way back from the aisle of man last year and uh I was just looking on Google Maps and it I just noticed it. Thought that sounds interesting. So, we researched it, didn't we?

[00:06:34]>> Here we are.

[00:06:35]>> Yeah. Thought we're going to have to visit there.

[00:06:41]Peele Castle, the ruins of a 14th century castle with a massive keep, inner and outer baileies and towered curtain wall. It was built for the abbotts of Furnace Abbey as a means of controlling shipping and trade with Ireland and the aisle of man.

[00:07:11]Nice view of the mountains of the Lake District in the distance.

[00:07:28]>> Wow. Quite a big castle, isn't it?

[00:07:33]>> Yeah. It must have been huge. Yeah.

[00:07:41]Can we go in here?

[00:07:51]This is my room.

[00:07:58]P. They don't build them how you used to, do they? No.

[00:08:01]>> Don't need any cavity insulation in that.

[00:08:23]Wonder what that lighthouse is over there.

[00:08:25]>> Check it out.

[00:08:26]>> Yeah. Yeah. I'm a little bit confused geographically here with what's what.

[00:08:31]Lost my sense of direction. Oh, you can see Blackpool Tower over there.

[00:08:38]>> You can >> Let me just grab my phone. I'll uh I'll try and video with my phone cuz I can zoom in. Where is it?

[00:08:46]There we are.

[00:08:52]Amazing.

[00:08:56]>> Yeah, this castle is a lot bigger than what I thought it were going to be. Huge and pretty intact.

[00:09:03]12 steps.

[00:09:04]>> Don't look down.

[00:09:08]>> Yeah. It's quite a drop, isn't it?

[00:09:09]>> Yeah.

[00:09:14]>> Really is beautiful on here, isn't it?

[00:09:16]>> Lovely.

[00:09:17]>> Yeah. You just feel your stress levels just dissolving.

[00:09:20]>> You can.

[00:09:21]>> Yeah.

[00:09:52]brought us a loop background for the >> Yeah. Hey, >> marvelous.

[00:09:56]>> Yeah. So, I wonder where the four residents live.

[00:09:59]>> Them poor houses over there.

[00:10:01]>> What about the pub? Do you think they live in the pub? That's where I'd live.

[00:10:05]>> All right.

[00:10:08]>> Love the toilet block.

[00:10:10]>> Brilliant, isn't it?

[00:10:12]>> Yeah. Lovely clean toilets in here.

[00:10:16]Beautiful. There's even a shower.

[00:10:19]That'll be for the campers.

[00:10:24]Tokens from the bar.

[00:10:28]Beer tokens.

[00:10:33]Imagine living in those houses there.

[00:10:37]Just have a bit of a nosing down at these houses in the campsite just here.

[00:10:42]And then we'll go in the pub.

[00:10:43]>> Brilliant place to camp.

[00:10:44]>> Lovely, isn't it?

[00:10:48]>> I really want to come camping here.

[00:10:50]>> And there's a pub.

[00:10:51]>> Exactly. Perfect.

[00:10:52]>> What more do you need?

[00:10:55]Nothing.

[00:10:57]There's food and drinks.

[00:11:03]There's even cars on the island.

[00:11:08]>> I like the cocking.

[00:11:12]>> Yeah. Good, aren't they?

[00:11:13]>> Those are nice >> rum barrels.

[00:11:15]>> Yeah, they're very good.

[00:11:20]>> I love these houses.

[00:11:22]Costly cottage. That's about right, isn't it?

[00:11:29]>> Wonder if those houses are privately owned.

[00:11:36]>> You can see where we've just come from next to the lifeboat station over on Row Island.

[00:11:44]In the distance, you've got the Lake District and the mountains.

[00:11:48]And then over there, you got Barrowing Furnace. All right. Pop >> pop.

[00:11:59]>> Pop.

[00:12:13]Fridge magnets.

[00:12:14]>> Fridge magnets.

[00:12:15]>> Yeah.

[00:12:20]>> Wow. Oh, how cool are they?

[00:12:22]>> I collect fridge magnets.

[00:12:24]>> Solar powered workshop. So, they're actually made on here.

[00:12:27]>> Wow.

[00:12:30]Ah.

[00:12:31]>> Got to have one of those.

[00:12:32]>> Yeah. Do you like that one?

[00:12:34]>> Yeah.

[00:12:34]>> I like that color.

[00:12:35]>> That one? Yeah. Lighter one. Yeah.

[00:12:37]>> That one. Where do you put your money?

[00:12:40]>> Uh in there.

[00:12:53]Right. Good.

[00:12:54]>> Right. Brilliant. I think that's my favorite magnet ever.

[00:12:59]>> That's a bit special, isn't it?

[00:13:00]>> Yeah. That's right.

[00:13:02]>> Hello, doggy.

[00:13:04]>> Hello, doggy.

[00:13:06]>> Apparently, the the pub serves food. So, the idea is we're going to get some lunch here, aren't we?

[00:13:11]>> Oh, yes.

[00:13:12]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:13:14]Here we go.

[00:13:25]>> Yeah, you are.

[00:13:25]>> All right. Thank you.

[00:13:26]>> Good.

[00:13:31]>> You're the king there.

[00:13:32]>> I am, mate.

[00:13:34]>> That's brilliant.

[00:13:36]>> Been here in 4 years now. So >> 4 years.

[00:13:39]>> Yeah. Four years this month. So >> congratulations.

[00:13:44]So this chair, this is a chair that's used in the crowning ceremony, is it?

[00:13:48]>> You get beard poured over your head.

[00:13:51]>> Yeah, >> my >> uh >> How old is it? This >> So there's date on the back.

[00:14:01]>> Yeah, >> there is one date around here.

[00:14:03]>> Yeah.

[00:14:04]>> Uh it's dragged into it, but you can see 1812, >> right? Wow.

[00:14:08]>> So it's engraved 1812. So we know it's at least that old.

[00:14:11]>> Oh, yeah. You can see it there, can't you? Yeah. Um, >> so all this has just been engraved over time, has it?

[00:14:17]>> Yeah, just just different people have just repeated on it over time. Yeah.

[00:14:23]>> Wow. That's incredible.

[00:14:24]>> If you went down the the route like to take a bit off it and carbon date it.

[00:14:29]>> It wouldn't give you the true age cuz it' give you the age of the tree.

[00:14:32]>> Yeah, >> of course. Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?

[00:14:34]Yeah.

[00:14:35]>> Not when it was not when it was actually put together.

[00:14:39]>> It's the first time we met a king. Yeah.

[00:14:41]So probably the only one you like.

[00:14:45]>> Yeah.

[00:14:45]>> Did you have to be interviewed for it then or?

[00:14:47]>> Yes. It's council own property, >> right? Yeah.

[00:14:51]>> And then it was application basis.

[00:14:53]>> Right. Wow.

[00:14:54]>> I applied along with like 198 others and >> you got it. Got it.

[00:15:00]>> Fantastic. Congratulations.

[00:15:02]>> Electrician that works in the yard.

[00:15:04]Yeah.

[00:15:04]>> Is that what you were doing?

[00:15:05]>> That's what I was doing. Never run a before. So >> in at the deep end Paul's doing the food outside show me how to run all the bar and everything.

[00:15:16]>> Really? It's quite good.

[00:15:17]>> Fantastic.

[00:15:18]>> Yeah.

[00:15:20]>> Yeah. We're going to go and get some food out there in a minute inside. She does the outside stuff.

[00:15:25]>> All right.

[00:15:25]>> Brilliant.

[00:15:26]>> Lovely. All right. Cheers. See you. Bye.

[00:15:28]Bye.

[00:15:33]>> Well, >> lovely.

[00:15:34]>> The king is lovely.

[00:15:36]>> King is friendly.

[00:15:42]Cheers to the king.

[00:15:43]>> Cheers to the king.

[00:15:49]>> Mhm.

[00:15:49]>> Refreshing.

[00:15:50]>> Very >> food. Next. We'll show you the food when it arrives.

[00:16:04]>> Woohoo.

[00:16:08]Look at these.

[00:16:09]>> Wow.

[00:16:12]We got cheeseburger. Yeah.

[00:16:13]>> With onions. Hot dog >> with onions. Got chips and cheese. And we've got some dippy stuff, haven't we?

[00:16:19]>> Yeah. I just went How much were that?

[00:16:22]>> £1550.

[00:16:23]>> Baggy.

[00:16:23]>> Baggy. Cheers to that.

[00:16:26]>> Cheers to that.

[00:16:32]Oh, look at that.

[00:16:50]Very nice. That was it.

[00:16:52]>> Beautiful.

[00:16:53]>> Yeah. Lovely.

[00:16:54]>> Love sitting here.

[00:16:54]>> What a location to sit and eat.

[00:16:57]>> Just >> perfect. Yeah. I know.

[00:17:00]>> We don't want to leave, but we've got to.

[00:17:03]>> Um So yeah, >> hopefully off to the Laureland Hardy Museum.

[00:17:08]>> Yeah. Yeah. Back to Olston to finish our other video. Um so I don't know if that's already been on. If it has confusing >> Yeah. Anyway. Yeah.

[00:17:19]>> We'll work it out.

[00:17:20]>> We're getting the boat back in a minute.

[00:17:21]>> Yeah.

[00:17:29]>> Hello again.

[00:17:30]>> Okay.

[00:17:31]>> Yeah. Brilliant day. Thank you.

[00:17:32]>> Excellent.

[00:17:34]Lovely. Thank you.

[00:18:10]I'd recommend that to anyone.

[00:18:12]>> Oh, yeah. Without a doubt.

[00:18:13]>> Need to go to Peele Island.

[00:18:18]>> Yeah. So, that's us back on Row Island.

[00:18:20]What a fantastic place.

[00:18:22]>> Oh, amazing.

[00:18:22]>> Amazing place.

[00:18:23]>> Peel Island. You've got to visit.

[00:18:25]>> Give it give it a go.

[00:18:26]>> I just I just feel so relaxed.

[00:18:30]>> Very relaxing. Yeah. Therapeutic.

[00:18:33]>> Yeah. Well, if you've enjoyed watching the video, as always, if you give us a big thumbs up, that really does help.

[00:18:37]>> Oh, yes.

[00:18:38]>> Um, and if you're not subscribed, possibly consider subscribing.

[00:18:42]>> It's free.

[00:18:43]>> Give us a will.

[00:18:46]>> Yeah. Other than that, thanks ever so much for watching and hopefully we'll uh we'll see you again on another video.

[00:18:52]>> See you soon. See you.

[00:18:53]>> Bye.