Morecambe A Seaside Town Out Of Season

Tweet

As my diary entry for yesterday said, I went for a walk round Morecambe, in Lancashire, about ten miles from home. Seaside towns can be very quiet, and even ad looking places in Winter, without the tourists (me excepted) pouring in. Many seafront shops and arcades cloe and a ense of desolation kicks in. I actually like the quietude of it and the ease with which I can wander around taking photos. Among sites seen, were the many tributes the town has to comedian, Eric Bartholomew, better known as Eric Morecambe as he used his home town as his stage name. The view across Morecambe Bay at low tide is beautiful, with the Lake district hills visible in the distance. The sands are treacherous though. Even designated bathing areas have signs up warning beach users to beware of the quicksands. Morecambe is quiet even in the holiday peak season. It was once a popular Victorian holiday resort until nearby Blackpool built the famous tower and the big spenders went there instead. TV presenter Noel Edmonds and Morecambe council spent a fortune building a theme park for Morecambe, Crinkly Bottom, inspired by the Mr Blobby TV character Edmonds used in his TV shows but Mr Blobby was hated by more people than loved him and the park never opened. A comedian called Colin Crompton once joked that in Morecambe they dn’t bury the dead but prop them up in bus shelters. He was never allowed in the town again. Sir Laurence Olivier shot his movie, The Entertainer at the town’s lovely Midland Hotel, but even in the early 60’s the film captured the decline of end of the pier seaside vaudeville shows of the kind that once made Morecambe. Despite its fading fortunes and a sense of former glories, I like Morecambe. This was my firt visit since my teens and I will undoubtedly wander round the town again. Photo taken by me – The Midland Hotel, featured in The Entertainer (reviewed on other pages on Mylot). Arthur Chappell