Barrow

In the big picture, the key point here is that Barrow’s highest-ever league finish, since their founding in 1901, was eighth place in the third tier – and that was 1968. But before that was a nearly 50-year run in the league, so they were solid if not particularly successful.

There were some good years in the 1950s, including a couple of FA Cup Third Round appearances, but after the highs of the 60s came the lows of financial problems and being voted out of the Football League (that’s how they did it in the 1970s), in part because Barrow is literally at the end of a road, miles from anywhere else.

They were non-league from 1972 to 2020, but along the way they won the 1990 FA Trophy, beating Leek Town, 3-0, in the final at Wembley. (Here’s that’s video.) Hometown boy Kenny Gordon scored two in that one – his last game as a Bluebird.

They muddled along in the 5th and 6th tiers for the next 30 years before finally winning the National League when the 2019-20 season was cut short by Covid and settled on a points-per-game basis.

Their first season back in the League, they barely hung on, finishing 22nd. But in 2022–23 they rose to ninth in the league and got a famous win away to local rivals Blackpool in the League Cup First Round. The last two seasons they finished eighth and 16th.

2024–25 SEASON: 16th in League Two, 1st Round FA Cup, 3rd Round League Cup

2025–26 SEASON: League Two (promoted in 2020)

Traditionally, that would be Workington – now three leagues below them – and Carlisle United, who are now in League Two with them. The latter is referred to as the Cumbrian Derby. At 87 miles distant, in this remote part of England we suppose that counts as neighbors! Morecambe, Fleetwood Town and Blackpool are all just across Morecambe Bay but don’t seem to get much mention.

None.

When I attended the derby at Carlisle, the Barrow fans actually did a song I had not heard before. It’s a long, slow, rising-and-falling “Heeeyyy, Barroooow … Heeeeyyy, Barroooww!” Not the greatest song in the world, but also not one I’ve heard elsewhere. So that’s something.

There’s a video of that song below.

Holker Street, capacity 5,400, opened in 1909 and is about as old-fashioned as they get. It hasn’t had much work done since the 1,000-seat Main Stand opened in 1998. Across from that is the Popular Stand, with covered and uncovered home terracing, and behind one goal is another covered terrace housing home and away fans. The other end has a building which houses some pretty friendly hospitality as well as the club offices.

TOURS: None offered

GETTING THERE: First, if you’re in Barrow-in-Furness, it’s because you meant to be. By rail it’s at the end of a roughly 2.5-hour direct train from Manchester. From the station, it’s just a 15-minute walk to the ground. Here’s a Google Maps link.

PUBS: The Tally Ho is a nice choice, a five-minute walk away and with outdoor seating overlooking a reservoir. Closer to the station, check out the Duke of Edinburgh, with decent food and nice rooms. The Derby Inn is cozy, as well. The local Wetherspoon outlet is the Furness Railway, which also has outdoor seating if you’re in town for nice weather. And finally, there’s a place called the Crossbar at the ground, as well as one called the Soccer Bar.

GRUB: Aside from the pubs, and a nearby chippie called Mattie’s, the hospitality at the club really is worth the money, especially to meet local fans.

AROUND TOWN: English folks may chuckle at this, but I find Barrow very much worth a visit, even as a day trip from Manchester, which is how I did it. Its settlement history goes back to pre-Roman times, and in the Middle Ages the Furness Abbey was a major landholder; its ruins are well worth a walk around.

The monks discovered iron ore in the 12th Century and got rich mining it, but in the 19th Century this went big-time, making the area a major steel producer and, combining this with its safe port, Barrow became a major shipbuilding area. The first ship launched in 1852, and by the end of World War II there were nearly 80,000 people in town. Today some 9,500 people – of a 56,000 population — are still engaged in shipbuilding, mostly nuclear submarines.