‘And today’s First Prize is a Week’s Holiday in Morecambe , and your second prize …a fortnight in Morecambe …’

Yep we know the old one’s are the best but sadly on my last visit to ‘West Yorkshire by the Sea’ that ancient classic was not far from the truth , with the much loved seaside resort looking a lot down on it’s luck . Flyblown buildings lined the prom and those actually occupied were of the everything a pound / vape shops / fly by nite phone dealers variety . Highlights of my childhood , the open air pool and the Frontierland Amusement Park both gone , but with enough physical evidence still left , a half demolished pool , a few falling down arcades and the redundant Polo Tower ride to still be able jog happy memories but morn their demise as well …sad times indeed !

So it was pretty amazing to see the old girl looking pretty good on our last min jaunt to the coast – ok so where the roller coaster once stood was now an Aldi , but you cant have everything . Retro Cafes n ‘proper shops’ were replacing the crap outlets on the Prom and everything just looked that bit more ‘fresher ‘ and more appealling ….

Just a shame then that the local Council cant get around it’s non- sensical Dog Bans on huge stretches of the mud flat beaches along it’s prom. Don’t get me wrong I’ve no objection at all to the most popular sections being dog free zones , as responsible mutt owners it’s only right . However what is annoying is when you find yards and yards of not the most attractive mud flat shingle beach without a soul on it (remembering this is warm school holiday in August ) and pooches relegated to the pavement ! You’d think someone with half a brain would look and see that by being a bit more mutt friendly the town could up it’s canaine tourist numbers – especially looking at the number of seafront businesses that happillly accomodate canines – no brainer I’d say !

At this point I have a confession to make – a slight bit of cheating went on for this trip out- combination of a late morning , missed trains and general holiday cant be arsedness , meant that we hit the car for this one ,LSOH doing the chauffeuring duties meaning yours truly could still do my blog ‘research’ ! However Morecambe and its localitys are still easy to reach by public transport see details below and its a trip by train I’ve done many times before !