Batteries Recharged by the Sea at Morecambe
My wife Anne and I were able to do a quick recharging of batteries recently with a one night stay on the coast at Morecambe.
We are not able to get away together very often, but we have this year managed a few short breaks, which has been very nice indeed.
We set off on the Saturday morning from Leicester by train to Birmingham, changing on a train which took us as far as Lancaster.
After a coffee at the bizarrely named but pleasant Juicafe in the bustling city centre and a look at the farmers` market, we said hello to the chaps in the Tourist Information Centre and paid quick visits to Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Priory, City Museum, Judges` Lodgings and Maritime Museum, where there was a performance of sea shanties going on.
Then we caught the train out to Morecambe, where we were staying at the gloriously refurbished art deco Midland Hotel on the seafront.
We spent most of the early evening walking around the seafront area, enjoying the fantastic views across Morecambe Bay to the Lake District, as well as the many sculptures of sea birds and of course the now very famous Eric Morecambe statue. Eventually we found a charming little restaurant named The Grove in a side street, where we had a very good, not very expensive meal served by attentive staff. We were very pleased to have found it!
The room at the Midland was one of the best we have ever stayed in, with a very clever space saving bathroom and shower arrangement.
In the morning, after breakfast, we left our suitcase at the hotel and took the bus out to Heysham, to see the ancient St. Peter`s Church, believed to be the oldest in England still in regular use. We were lucky enough to be able to get there in time for the morning service, which was full of children and their parents from a local school, for the Harvest Festival.
After that, we walked a little higher to the ruins of the even more ancient St. Patrick`s Chapel. This is without doubt one of the most interesting, if remote, Christian sites in England.
We were very surprised to find that we had quite a choice of tea shops open. We opted for Granny Bell`s in the village street, and were well satisfied with this, and then visited the splendid Heritage Centre, enthusiastically run by volunteers.
Returning to Morecambe, we looked around the indoor market and shops, before it was time to start thinking about going home.
We returned the same day, via Lancaster and Birmingham, refreshed from a lovely weekend.
Posted by colin on Wednesday 25th November, 2009 at 10:06am