Cycling in Yorkshire & Beyond
Cycling in Yorkshire & Beyond
Morecambe is a seaside town in Lancashire. It's the
starting point for the Way of the Roses.
It was once a very popular beach resort, with visitors coming by train from Bradford and Leeds, and the other mill towns of West Yorkshire. That resulted in the nickname 'Bradford-on-Sea'.
Like many coastal resorts, Morecambe has struggled economically in more recent years, but it still has lots going for it. Local resident Tyson Fury is enthusiastic about his home town.
The name Morecambe comes originally from maps drawn by Ptolemy for the Romans.
They showed the fourth inlet north of Wales as Moriancabris Aesturis.
Although the name Morecambe for the bay (or the estuaries in it) is very old, there was no town called Morecambe until 1889. In that year, three hamlets - Poulton, Bare and Torrisholme - were amalgamated and officially named Morecambe.
The Morecambe Harbour and Railway Company was formed in 1846 to build a harbour near the fishing village of Poulton-le-Sands, and a connecting railway to Lancaster. The railway, and Morecambe station on Northumberland Street, opened in 1848.
Also in 1848, the Little North Western took over the Harbour and Railway Company. A railway line from Lancaster (via Hornby, Wennington, Bentham, Clapham and Settle) to Skipton was built by the Little North Western Railway Company.
Skipton was already linked by rail to Ilkley, Leeds and Bradford. The first train from Leeds to Morecambe (Poulton-le-Sands) ran on 1st June 1850.
In 1852, the Midland Railway took over the running of the Little North Western Railway.
Because Morecambe was linked to West Yorkshire by rail, it became popular with mill workers in Bradford and Leeds, and it got the nickname Bradford-on-Sea. Workers from Lancashire mill towns tended to go to Blackpool.
These are some more key dates in Morecambe's railway history:
The Bentham line history website gives a vivid picture of Morecambe's railway heyday.
'People flocked to Morecambe from the West Riding, on day trips and for holidays. But passengers were travelling in the opposite direction too, as businessmen based in Leeds or Bradford found they could conveniently make their home by the sea.
And so the Leeds, Bradford and Morecambe Residential Express became an institution, speeding the movers and shakers in the woollen industry to their offices in the morning and back home in the evening. Bradford-by-the-Sea was born'.
'Late trains on Saturday nights brought people home from dances in the Central Pier ballroom.
In Summer, Irish labourers crossed to Heysham and travelled by train on to Bentham for the annual 'hiring day'.
Bell Busk Station was the gateway for thousands of visitors to the delights of Malhamdale. From Clapham, the more energetic could head off up Ingleborough, perhaps returning via Ingleton.
There was plenty of freight too, and each station had its goods yard and cattle dock'.
The Super Swimming Stadium opened in 1936, and was a big attraction.
In later years, many West Yorkshire families stayed at Pontin's Middleton Tower Holiday Camp near Heysham (open 1939-1994). It was the largest Pontin's in the country.
The Miss Great Britain beauty contest was held in Morecambe from 1956 to 1989.
From the 1950s, freight and passengers increasingly used roads. The railways were nationalised and they were losing money.
The direct line from Wennington to Lancaster and Morecambe was taken up in 1966, and from then on all trains had to go via Carnforth.
Morecambe Promenade Station thrived for many years, but as passenger numbers declined the station's four platforms were no longer needed. It closed in 1994 and was replaced by a new station with two platforms a little further inland.
The old station reopened in 1997 as The Platform, an entertainment and events venue. The building also houses Morecambe tourist office.
Morecambe declined as holidaymakers' habits changed, and more people went abroad.
The loss of two piers didn't help the town. West End Pier was washed away in a storm in 1977, and Central Pier - damaged by fire many years previously - was removed in 1992.
The fairground Frontierland closed in 2000.
Helen Pidd's article in the Guardian quotes one of the leaders of More Music saying that Morecambe has 'echoes of happiness, because I think with a few of the seaside towns, they used to be holiday destinations, and since people started going abroad, they kind of got left in the dirt and forgotten about'.
Morecambe today is part of a two-tier council system, with Lancaster City Council and Lancashire County Council. There's also a town council for very local issues.
Morecambe Promenade runs for a few miles north and south of the town, and is very popular for dog-walking, jogging and cycling. The Park Run is held there on Saturday mornings.
In August 2025, Helen Pidd of the Guardian went back to Morecambe, her home town, and talked to young people there.
The article notes the deprivation affecting many Morecambe families, and the lack of things for young people to do. 'Walk up and down the Prom and maybe pop into Aldi' was how one interviewee summed up the options.
There are tourist-oriented shops and stalls along the Promenade.
There's also a town centre bounded by Northumberland Street, Central Drive, Queen Street and Marine Road Central. Quite a lot of the shops in the town centre streets are small independents.
The Arndale Centre is here too.
Festival Market is behind the old station, The Platform.
A Sunday Market is now held in the car park behind Pleasureland and Morecambe's Winter Gardens. The old Sunday Market looks to have been abandoned.
Alan Bennett spent some of his family holidays in Morecambe when he was a child. He recounts his memories in the short film above.
Later he made two films in Morecambe - Sunset Across the Bay as a BBC Play for Today in 1975, and All Day on the Sands for ITV in 1979.
Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 1926-84) took his stage name from his home town of Morecambe. From the 1960s onwards, he lived in Harpenden, and in one sketch he referred to himself as 'Lord Eric, Fourth Duke of Harpenden, and certain parts of Birkenhead'.
Eric Morecambe is famous for his double act with Ernie Wise. They met and started performing when Eric was just 14. Their partnership was interrupted during World War II when Ernie joined the Merchant Navy and Eric was conscripted to work in a coalmine in Accrington.
Morecambe and Wise appeared on stage and on TV. BBC Christmas shows were especially popular, with the 1977 edition attracting over 28 million viewers.
Eric Morecambe had already suffered two heart attacks and recovered, but on 28th May 1984 at the end of a charity show he collapsed with a third heart attack and died.
In the statue on Morecambe Promenade by Graham Ibbeson, Eric has binoculars around his neck. This is a reference to his love of birdwatching. He was a supporter of the RSPB. He was also a Luton Town fan.
Bill Bryson included passages about Morecambe in his book Notes from a Small Island.
He visited the town because he likes it. 'I'm not at all sure why, but I do'.
He says that in the Wakes Weeks whole northern factory towns went on holiday together, and up to 100,000 people went to Morecambe.
Bill Bryson wrote:
'The surprising thing about Morecambe, it occurred to me, isn't that it declined, but that it ever prospered.
It would be hard to imagine a less likely place for a resort. It beaches consist of horrible gooey mud and its vast bay spends large periods devoid of water thanks to the vagaries of the tides'.
The TERN Project is a series of sculptures along Morecambe seafront celebrating birds and other wildlife. The Eric Morecambe statue is part of it.
There's also a 300m long path called Flock of Words, with poems, sayings, nursery rhymes and lyrics, all with a bird theme. It links the station to the Midland Hotel.
Baylight Festival is a light art trail which is in place for a few days in February.
It is not due to take place in 2026, but is planned to resume in 2027.
Among Morecambe Landmarks is the Clock Tower which dates from 1905.
The Winter Gardens in Morecambe date from 1897. This was a theatre, ballroom, restaurant and garden.
Stars who played the Winter Gardens include George Formby and the Who (not at the same time).
Laurence Olivier's film The Entertainer was shot around Morecambe, including scenes on the stage of the Winter Gardens.
The building is open to visit on weekends, and there are guided tours between April and October.
The Midland Hotel is another major landmark. It is an art deco hotel with interior design by Eric Gill.
From 2009 to 2011, it was restored by Manchester company Urban Splash, and it's now open to guests once more.
The boxer Tyson Fury lives in Morecambe and owns a gym there.
A Parkrun is held on Morecambe Promenade every Saturday.
Morecambe FC are known as the Shrimps. (Potted shrimps is a Morecambe delicacy).
The club was promoted to the Football League in 2007, and in 2021 it made it via the play-offs to League One.
Unfortunately Morecambe were relegated back to League Two in 2023, and in 2025 they dropped back to the National League.
There were financial problems as owner Jason Whittingham delayed selling the club. In the end, it was bought by Panjab Warriors in August 2025.
Morecambe is on the 1:50,000 OS Landranger map number 97 Kendal and Morecambe.
OS Landranger 97 on Amazon (affiliate link).
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