Arnside
Compared to many places in the area, Arnside is first recorded quite late around 1535 as ‘Arnesyd’. It is thought that this comes from an Old Norse personal name ‘Arni’ and ‘setr/sætr’.
Setr/saetr is the Old Norse for a ‘shieling’ or place for those looking after animals which are grazing summer pasture. Shieling places tend to be on less fertile ground than the ‘airge’ grazing places explained under Arkholme.
Although ‘Arnside’ comes from an Old Norse name and word it does not necessarily mean that it was named in the Viking Age. Old Norse names and words continued in common use in this area well beyond the Norman Conquest of 1066. However it does reflect the strong influence of those Vikings who originated in the area that is now Norway on the Irish Sea region.
After the building of the railway in 1857, Arnside became a popular small holiday location.