It was high season in Morecambe last week, but it had the
feel of a seaside town in March or April. There was a strange mixture of hope
and aspiration alongside a resigned culture of decline in the town, which we
stayed in for three nights.
Why did we choose Morecambe in the first place? Well we
couldn’t decide between the country and the coast and Morecambe gives the best
of both – having the bay, but being in such proximity to the Lake District.
Then if I’m honest there was the cost element. We were
booking a holiday on a budget, taking advantage of the Virgin Train Sale. This
meant that our choice was going to be somewhere along the West Coast Line. We
could get from Birmingham to Morecambe for under £30 taking advantage of this
sale, along with use of our Two Together Railcard. Hotel wise we went for the
Travel Lodge on the basis of you know what you’re getting and it was relatively
cheap – giving a discount as we were staying a third night, but also very clean
and comfortable.
We knew that we weren’t planning to do breakfast at the
hotel, but rather find a local café or coffee shop. We weren’t disappointed
Kerry’s Coffee House did well. It did an excellent breakfast menu, using local
organic ingredients. We got a good breakfast for two people each day for
somewhere in the region of £10. The staff were friendly enough, but some of the
other customers were symptomatic of the resorts problems we thought. On the
second morning there were a couple of older ladies came in and it was obvious we were
sitting on “their table”. There were comments made about not liking to sit near
the door, but we ignored them. Then they appeared on the third morning, when we
were sitting at a different table. They were clearly somewhat confused or
dismayed that we were there again. Their view was that we didn’t fit and a comedy style
conversation between the them then ensued where we heard that my husband and I
were obviously not happy, because we weren’t looking at each other enough and
he must be on benefit. In fact he is a Methodist Probationer Minister about to
take up his first appointment and we are very happy.
The feeling of middle class 30 & 40 year olds choosing
to being there on holiday being somewhat of a novelty was palpable elsewhere too.
We were looked at like we were oddities, something we did not experience in
Lancaster, Heysham or the Lake District but we did quite a bit in Morecambe.
As I say though there is clearly an aspiration for this to
do what Margate is doing and becoming a revitalized resort. This is not only
apparent through the restoration of the Midland Hotel which is an example of
art deco magnificence but also through places like The Honey Tree Chinese Restaurant.
Having wandered down the sea front ruling places out, primarily on the basis of
the staring from the local residents we found this wonderful place. The food
was first class and the bathrooms with the individual flannels and hand creams were also
excellent (although a new hand dryer wouldn’t go amiss). What showed the
aspiration most though was the way that we were treated, there was almost a
desperation to give wonderful customer service – so much so we did wonder if
they thought we were food critics. The waitress who delivered our food sounded
like she had been trained Eliza Doolittle style, having perfect diction with
her broad Lancashire accent when she told us “smells delicious doesn’t it”.
The difference between our experience in Morecambe itself
and it’s neighbour of Heysham couldn’t have been more different. Heysham is
more middle class and whilst the service at the The Royal was more relaxed,
whilst still being of a very high standard – we didn’t feel like some kind of
novelty here. The menu here was what one might expect in a typical British
village pub and we had a great Steak and Ale pie at a very reasonable price.
Walking back along the coast from Heysham we were able to take in a beautiful
sunset and enjoy the two mile walk.
For those wondering about visiting the resort I’d say go
for it. Not only do you get the sands and scenery around the bay it really is so easy to get to the Lakes. We got a £11 Northwest Day
Ticket from Stage Coach and took advantage of the bus to go to Windemere and
Bowness. It takes just under hour and half but you get to see the most breath-taking
scenery. For Keswick and Derwent Water we took the train to Penrith and then
the bus.
One thing I was a bit sad about was that whilst there were
lots of tributes to Eric Morecambe about there was little commemoration of
Thora Hird, who had also been born in the town.
I have to say I so hope that Morecambe does keep going with
trying to achieve the aspiration which is clearly there and more people get to see
the charm. If you haven’t been I advise you to do so, but be ready to deal with
the culture of despair amongst some of the ageist (and that’s what the elderly
women in the cafe were) locals. If it all gets too much I can recommend the
Rotunda Bar to escape to, it’s attached to the Midland Hotel, it’s not the
cheapest bar in the area but it’s worth a look in.
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