Morecambe & Heysham, Lancashire, Summer
After a thunderstorm, you need to get those vast and expansive views.
On the Saturday, the Met Office issued a Yellow Warning of thunderstorms and torrential downpours. This was very much needed as temperatures were starting to creep up to the mid 20’s again with 90%+ humidity.
If there’s one thing a thunderstorm is really good at it’s clearing the atmosphere. So, on the Sunday, we decided that solid hike along the Morecambe Bay coast, from Morecambe to Heysham and back, was needed. The views across the bay to Cumbria and the Lake District fells are always welcome. Plus, we knew we would have limited time before the next load of thunderstorms arrived.
I decided to equip relatively minimally; just my camera, Sony 28–70 and Vivitar “Series 1” 70–210mm for those super tight and zoomed in compositions.
The views, and the weather, were glorious.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony FE 28–70mm f3.5–5.6 OSS and Vivitar “Series 1” 70–210mm f2.8–4.0 zoom lenses. RAWs developed in Lightroom for iPad using RNI Films’ Portra 160 film emulation, then a little bit of finalisation in Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
Morecambe & Heysham, Lancashire, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Want sweeping and expansive views for mountains in the distance? Morecambe Bay is where you need to be. Anywhere with access to the Bay will do, but for this walk we chose the town of Morecambe itself.
This is the 14 m tall Hook Beacon, signalling the location of West End Gardens at Morecambe Bay. It was conceived by Broadbent Studio in collaboration with local school pupils.
A man and his dog, watching the world go by.
We started the walk 1-hour after low tide, so the sea was still miles out. Families and couples alike were enjoying the sensation of wet sand on their feet and sea air in their faces.
I decided to equip my 70–210mm lens for some super-zoomed in compositions across the bay to Cumbria.
A lovely mural that I can never resist taking a shot of.
Nice and clear, the Coniston Fells in the Lake District, 25 miles away.
One of numerous breakwaters along Morecambe. This is Grosevenor Breakwater, with Black Combe (600 m/1,970 ft) rising in the distance.
It’s always nice to see people soaking in the vibes of the day and taking in the immense views that Morecambe has to offer.
South beyond the town of Morecambe, ancient Heysham comes into view, resting on a small hill above the Bay.
St. Peter’s church. Christian worship has been regularly practised at the site for over 1,000 years.
The graveyard behind the church enjoys spectacular views across the Bay.
Trees in the graveyard remind us of the passing of time beyond our own horizons.
The ruins of St. Peter’s chapel, dating from around the 8th or 9th century. It gives me vibes of a portal to another world.
A group of six stone-hewn tombs dating from around the 11th century. Each tomb has an associated “socket”, which was probably where a wooden cross would be inserted.
At Half Moon Bay, just before Heysham Nuclear Power Station, one can find the marvellous SHIP sculpture by Anna Gillespie.
The ship's hull is mounted with two opposing figures at each end. One faces "new" Heysham, the Nuclear Power Station, and the other faces "old" Heysham, the ancient monument of St Patrick's Chapel.
The sculpture "celebrates Morecambe Bay's landscape and maritime heritage, and reflects the importance of seaborne trade in bringing news, innovation and shaping the character of the area."
Heading back to Morecambe, I couldn’t resist nabbing the colour contrast of pink and green courtesy of these flowers.
The way back to Morecambe, with plenty of other peeps enjoying the day out in the glorious sunshine.
This gentleman was raising people’s spirits with tunes from his pocket trumpet. He was also kind enough to pose for a photo or two and give us a rendition of “Bring Me Sunshine”, an appropriate tune for the town of Morecambe.