Morecambe & Heysham, Lancashire, Summer

And now for something a little different.

Morecambe’s a good place to visit, especially if you like long walks beside the seaside. It enjoys vast panoramic views across the bay towards Silverdale and Arnside, the Furness Peninsula, and the Lake District fells beyond. You can’t help but take photos of the views before you.

Just a wee bit south down the coast from Morecambe is a small coastal town with a lot of history: Heysham.

Today we did a walk between the two.

Heysham is an ancient place. The main focus of historical human inhabitants is Chapel Hill, a small headland above the bay and Heysham itself. It’s suspected that there’s been human activity here for 12,000 years. Heysham is also only one of three sites in Britain and Ireland that contains pre-Roman labyrinth carving.

On Chapel Hill one can find the ruins of St. Patrick’s Chapel, probably constructed in the 6th of 7th century CE. Next to the chapel is a group of six stone-hewn graves, made around the 11th century. The grounds of St. Peter’s church contains lots of Saxon and Viking artefacts, including a Viking hogback stone that’s on display in the church, making the stone around 1,000–1,200 years old.

It’s an ancient place, and you can feel it around you when you’re on Chapel Hill.

All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f/2.8–3.8 and Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lenses. Converted in Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films, and finished in Affinity Photo.

The security fencing surrounding the site of the former “Frontierland” theme park has now been beautifully decorated with murals from local artists.

This one’s my favourite.

Across Morecambe Bay the tide was on its way out. Two people stroll along the sands seemingly all alone, with the backdrop of the Lake District fells in the distance.

The sail-like structure is called the Hook Beacon, part of a series of sculptures created for the redeveloped West End Gardens along Morecambe Promenade.

Families bravely navigate the sands of Morecambe Bay with the Furness peninsula in the distance.

It was a beautiful day to be out and about in Morecambe.

People from all walks of life were out on the Promenade; running, walking, cycling, skating, and more.

A gentle moment between father and son I felt honoured to have captured.

On a day like this, Morecambe Bay is Big Sky territory.

I love that the town is allowing creatives to brighten up and revitalise the seafront.

On the path towards Heysham we passed some common land where various horses and ponies were contently grazing.

I don’t know if these were Shetland Ponies, but they were cute and inquisitive.

This child was delighted to feed the ponies.

Our destination, the old part of Heysham with Chapel Hill above it.

We took a moment to wander the grounds of St. Peter’s Church in Heysham. Not a bad final resting place, eh?

The small St. Peter’s Church. Records show that an Anglo-Saxon church was present here in 1080 CE, and some parts of it remain in this present-day church.

Approaching our ultimate destination for the day. This is “Ship” by Anna Gillespie, with Heysham Nuclear Power Station framed in between.

I whipped out my 9mm ultra wide lens for some interesting compositions of this fantastic sculpture.

I can’t do better than Ms. Gillespie’s words, so here they are: “Symbolically positioned on the boundary between land and sea, benefitting from dramatic backdrops of the tides, horizon and stunning coastal sunsets, the outline of a ship's hull is mounted with two opposing figures at each end, one facing 'the new' of Heysham Nuclear Power Station and the other facing 'the old' of the ancient monument of St Patrick's Chapel.”

I think it’s absolutely brilliant.

Heading back north towards Morecambe, the path clambers over Heysham Head. I paused for some compositions of the rock formations.

Endless views.

We followed the trail alongside Heysham Head towards Chapel Hill and the ruins of St. Patrick’s Chapel.

Most of the south wall, east gable wall, and eastern part of the north wall are still present to this day. Despite the name the chapel was probably built 300 years after the death of St. Patrick.

Next to the ruins are these stone-hewn tombs, probably Viking in origin. They date before the Norman Conquest of 1066 CE.

My lovely Lisabet, admiring the views and soaking in the ancient presence of this mystical place.

The way back to Morecambe. What a lovely day.

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Grasmere Sports & Show, Lake District, Summer

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Retro Reworking: Pembrokeshire & Brecon Beacons, South Wales, Autumn, 2018