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Roa Island lies just over half a mile (1 km) south of the village of Rampside at the southernmost point of the Furness Peninsula. Until 1847 Roa Island was a true island, being accessible only by boat, or on foot across the sands at low tide. A causeway to the mainland was completed in 1846 along with a deep water pier known as Piel Pier from where steamers sailed to Fleetwood. The pier connected with the Furness Railway line to Kirkby via Furness Abbey, making use of the causeway.

Piel Pier was demolished in 1891 following changes to the course of Piel Channel which resulted in silting up of the area around the end of the pier. The railway continued in use until July 1936. Today there is little obvious trace of it; a road linking Roa Island to Rampside has now taken the place of the railway tracks along the causeway.

Today, the jetty is the departure point for the ferry which carries tourists to Piel Island in summer. Roa Island is also home to an RNLI lifeboat station, serving Morecambe Bay and the Irish Sea. The lifeboat station was established in 1864 and was known at the time as Piel (Barrow). In recent years it has been completely rebuilt and enlarged.