MORECAMBE. The Cormorant & The Bell. ( And Eric )

13-06-20 MORECAMBE. The Stone Jetty. Cormorant Sculpture.

MORECAMBE. The Stone Jetty Comorant sculpture.

Looking for somewhere to spend a little time? You could do worse than to hustle your way up to Morecambe and spend a little time taking in the beauty of the Bay it sits on. You could treat yourself to an ice cream or fish and chips, both are in plentiful supply.

I know that in the past it’s been seen as good fun to knock the resort but that’s unfair to my mind. If you want a jazzy 24/7, in your face kind of town they are readily available not too far away. If like me though you want to go somewhere to kick back and relax then Morecambe would be a good place to start.

On my last visit I took a walk along the Stone Jetty, a major feature of the town’s seafront. Jutting out into the bay from by the elegance that is Morecambe’s iconic Midland Hotel. It’s hard to believe as you watch the families taking the sun and relaxing that the jetty was built as a railway loading wharf and terminal by the North Western Railway which had chugged its way over the Pennines in the early 1850’s. The former station building still stands with it’s beacon at the jetty’s end. I that spirit of Victorian adventure, after your thrilling train journey you would then take ship to cross the Bay to far flung Barrow in Furness, which you can make out in the distance at the end of where the hills of the Lake District slope and tumble down to the Cumbrian Coast.

13-06-20 MORECAMBE. The Stone Jetty. Tide Bell.

MORECAMBE. The Stone Jetty, the tide activated bell.

As you walk the jetty you are watched by the beady eyes of the cormorants cast into the railings. They never move, never blink. Perhaps they wait until everyone has gone home for the night. They now have the company of the Tide Bell, part of a chain ringing, sorry couldn’t resist, the British coastline and created by the artist Marcus Vergette. As the Bay has one of the largest tidal ranges in the country the bell will have it’s work cut out.

There are plans in the making to create an offshoot of the Eden Project at Morecambe which will be an interesting exploration of the Bay and its waters.

Oh and as final note, if you nip along the front from the Jetty, you can say hello to Eric , he’s always pleased to see you.