It’s only a few weeks since I last visited an English seaside town and after that not so good experience I was again going to sample the delights of Morecambe this Bank Holiday weekend.
I have a soft spot for Morecambe as I have spent quite a few weekends and short holidays there so I was interested to see if there had been any improvements. As we drove through the town centre I hardly recognised the place as many of the tacky shops have gone and a big supermarket seems to have sprung up instead. Also gone is Frontierland !
All the wild west style rides have gone and the place has been flattened. After a bit of research I discovered that Frontierland was demolished in 2007 and there are plans for some housing but I couldn’t see any signs of new development.The best part about Morecambe is it’s fantastic promenade and views out towards the Lake District. The promenade stretches from the far northern end of Morecambe to the very quaint village of Heysham.
Heysham is famous for the ferry to the Isle of Man and its nuclear power station but you wouldn’t know about these as you stroll up the narrow lane that leads up from the rocky beach to the village itself. There isn’t much in Heysham apart from a pub and a cafe and about two shops but it’s still worth a visit especially if you take the path into St Peters Church and wonder through the grave stones to the wall at the bottom where you can look out onto Morecambe Bay.
When the tide is in it is a spectacular sight.Many English seaside towns are in decline and Morecambe is no exception. In fact Morecambe has been in decline for many years even though the council have promised investment it does not appear to have materialised in great amounts, but at least some of the tacky promenade shops have disappeared and the fun park has been demolished – so that’s a start.Morecambe along with many other English seaside towns are great for weekends or short breaks but that’s about it. T
here are so many cheap holidays available abroad and with virtually guaranteed hot and sunny weather it is difficult to compete with that.
Here are some of the photographs that I took on my day trip to Morecambe.
This first photograph is taken from the promenade at Morecambe. Huge boulders stretch along the seafront to help prevent erosion. As you can see, the tide is in and the area is popular with fishermen.
Heysham village is a world away from nearby Morecambe and is well worth a visit. This is a picture of the road and houses in Heysham.
This is a picture I took of St Peter’s Church in Heysham. The church dates from the Saxon period (8th century) but the original church was probably Celtic (6th century). The church is right beside the sea with views across Morecambe Bay to the mountains of Cumbria. The church contains many important artifacts including the world-famous ‘Hog Back Stone’ (Viking grave stone).
The view from St Peter’s Church is great, especially when the tide is in and the sea is rough like it was when I took this photograph on 30 May 2010. This is the view looking out towards Morecambe.
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