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
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Morecambe, Lancashire, Winter
We felt the coast calling us.
We felt the coast calling us.
After an epic hike around Malhamdale in the Yorkshire Dales, followed by a beautiful walk along the Keswick–Threlkeld Railway trail, it was time for something a little more… pedestrian.
The coastline was calling us, and we heeded its call. But where to go? We decided, ultimately, on Morecambe.
Morecambe has a special place in the hearts and minds of the Lisabet family. To start, it’s a favourite destination of her brother, Dwight. Additionally, Lisabet has fond memories of visiting Morecambe with her grandparents for a stroll along the promenade, perhaps with a pit stop for some tea and a slice of cake for good measure.
Morecambe was set up by the Morecambe Harbour and Railway Company to connect the nearby fishing village of Poulton-le-Sands with a railway line. The Company expanded the railway line further. In the 1850s Morecambe was connected to Skipton, Keighley, and Bradford in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and a settlement began to grow around the harbour and railway to service the port and as a seaside resort.
In time, Morecambe became known as the UK seaside resort, which peaked in the middle of the 20th century. In fact, Coco Chanel was known to fly directly to Morecambe from the South of France for weekends at the town, staying at the Midland Hotel.
Like most UK seaside resorts, Morecambe experienced a decline from the 1970s onwards. Even the jewel of the Morecambe promenade, the Midland Hotel, fell into disrepair until its resurrection in 2008.
Plans are afoot, though, to continue the rejuvenation of Morecambe, including the ambitious Eden Project North, no doubt following on from the success of the first Eden Project in Cornwall.
On this day, weather and light conditions were very generous, and Lisabet and I enjoyed several hours along the promenade, soaking in the massive scenes across Morecambe Bay towards the Lakeland fells.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using two of my prime lenses: a Fujinon 23mm f/2.0, and a Laowa 9mm f/2.8. All images made in-camera using Øyvind Nordhagen’s Daylight Fujifilm recipe.