Morecambe & Heysham, Lancashire, Summer
And now for something a little different.
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.
Morecambe & Heysham, Lancashire, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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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Bardsea, Cumbria, Spring
It’s time to say goodbye to our extended Easter break.
It’s time to say goodbye to our extended Easter break.
Not including everyday walks to and from local shops, we’ve managed to clock up nearly 39 miles or 62 km of hiking.
Today was slower. After shopping for food supplies and a quick coffee break, I made and put a ragù on the slow cooker, and then we ventured towards the Furness peninsula for a waltz around Bardsea beach.
Bardsea beach offers extensive views of the Cartmel peninsula from its position at the outflow of the Levens Estuary, which ultimately joins Morecambe Bay. Much like Morecambe Bay, the coast of Bardsea is largely expansive sand and mudflats with seemingly unending panoramas. On our visit, conditions were clear enough to easily make out the Southern Lake District fells 22 km away and even Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales, 43 km away as the crow flies.
Throughout much of its history, Bardsea was a small farming and fishing village, accessible only by carefully crossing the sands of Morecambe Bay. The village also has historical ties with the Quaker movement as founder George Fox married the local landowner Margaret Fell.
Overall, a lovely way to cap off our extended Easter break.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my three prime lenses: a Samyang 35mm f/1.2, a Laowa 9mm f/2.8, and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Developed using RNI’s Fuji Fortia SP film profile.
As a contrast to the consistently clear skies we’ve enjoyed this past week, today was overcast and deliciously moody.
The Southern Fells of the Lake District and the endless expanse of sand at the Levens Estuary.
Even in overcast conditions, you could clearly see Ingleborough (723 m/2,372 ft) from the beach, 43 km away in the Yorkshire Dales.
When the industrialisation of the Furness peninsula developed in the 19th-century, Bardsea became an important sea port. The remnants of all this activity now lies in ruins along the beach front.
I enjoyed the layering of this composition.
A small child, running freely across the sands of Bardsea beach.
When the tide is out, one can follow the many channels cut into the Levens Estuary.
Daffodils and other spring follows bloom in the small woods just off the beach.
Testament to Bardsea’s short-lived but intense period of serving the Furness peninsula as a sea port.