It's taken 2 years of painstaking work but a historic Morecambe Bay fishing boat is about to return to the Bay.

The Morecambe Bay Prawner Trust acquired the 130 year old Spray after it faced an uncertain future.

Built in Arnside, the sturdy wooden craft was built to handle the dangerous waters, rushing tides and strong winds of Morecambe Bay.

I've been given a look around the boat by trustee and skipper Robin Ashcroft who shares his hopes for its' future.

Spray was built by Crossfields of Arnside and her history and restoration will be covered at this year’s Crossfield Conference, run by Arnside Sailing Club on Saturday 22nd November 2025.

Every picture tells a story and it’s certainly true when it comes to a photography project quietly gathering momentum in Morecambe.

It’s the idea of creative Johnny Bean.

He’s capturing pictures of people who make a difference in Morecambe.

From tap dancing pensioners to fishermen, hairdressers to the town's member of Parliament and everyone in between; characters who make the town what it is.

Johnny is recording images for posterity and to chart how the town is changing.

We met up - near arguably the town’s most famous son ! to talk more about Morecambe Faces.

https://johnny-bean.blogspot.com/

Bikers from across the UK descended on Barrow on the longest day to mark the second Dave Day to be held to mark the life and work of the Dave Myers who hailed from the town.

Hairy Biker Dave has a loyal following and his wife Lili is continuing to raise awareness as well as money for cancer care and other good causes.

Over 20,000 bikers came to Barrow today with people lining their routes from London to south Cumbria.

I've been meeting a few of the well wishers as well as some hairy (and not so hairy!) bikers.

This is a gem!

A recording of the sights and sounds of Morecambe made over 40 years ago has been shared publicly for the first time since it was produced.

Sounds of Morecambe and District was a cassette made by a small team led by Peter Mason-Milward in 1981.

As well as the sounds of Marineland, go karts at Heysham Head and the Harbour Band Arena it also featured interviews with some of the stars of the day who visited the area. They include presenters Pete Murray and Isla St Clair along with Colin Crompton, the comic whose routine took aim at Morecambe in TV’s The Comedians.

Using recording equipment from Lancaster and Morecambe Hospital Radio where Peter was chairman, the result is an extraordinary audio archive of the resort in the 1980s.

Isla St Clair had the honour of switching on Morecambe illuminations in 1980 and told Peter about her love for the town. Meanwhile Colin Crompton said his jokes about Morecambe as ‘a cemetery with lights’ and a place where ‘they all turn out to watch the bacon slicer’ were taken too seriously by tourism staff and on the tape admits the town is ‘not bad.’

The cassette was produced as an audio postcard of the area with around 150 sold by Peter and his colleagues to tourists staying at hotels around Morecambe.

We met up recently with his wife Cath to listen back to Morecambe over 40 years ago.

1' the laughing clown

1'30" Pete Murray

4' Peter explains where the idea came from

5'50" Memories of working with Eric Morecambe

7' Top interview tips from Eric!

10'30" Isla St Clair switches the lights on

12'30" Colin Crompton

15' Gypsy Lee

16' Peter explains how people gave time to the recordings

16'30" Marineland

17' Heysham Head

19' Wrestling on the Central Pier

19' 30" The sand train to Heysham

Every year the port of Heysham becomes the focus for bikers from all over the UK and beyond.

Thousands flock to the Bay to be transported to the Isle of Man for the TT Races which are well underway.

Alice Rice knows more than most when it comes to ensuring bikers get across safely.

Since 1996 she's worked at the port but this is to be her final TT.

She's been telling me about meeting some of the stars of the event and sharing stories of life at Heysham port.

Do you remember Heysham Head or how about the pleasure park on the prom before it became Frontierland?Morecambe illuminations switch-on? Colin Crompton? Pontins Holiday Camp? Marineland ? The list goes on!

In the 1980’s a friend of mine had the foresight to record the sights and sounds of Morecambe and we recently met up to listen again to the cassette he produced.

Here's a taste!

Did you know there are over 100 works of art in Morecambe town centre?

With more artwork springing up around the town it's certainly causing much debate and it's emerged the town's Business Improvement District have supported artist Matty Green in sprucing up areas with imaginative work.

An art trail could coax visitors off the prom to explore lesser known areas - and businesses that could benefit.

So what difference will artwork make and what's next?

Enjoy hearing more from the BID here.

Details of https://morecambebid.com/

Live webcams overlooking the prom (seagulls permitting) https://morecambebid.com/more-cam/

The promenade may be where most visitors head for but in part of Morecambe some of the town's buildings are getting a colourful makeover.

There are already posters and artwork depicting some of the area's well known characters in the town centre but now a new mural has been unveiled just off the prom.

A seagull eating chips and Morecambe's 'bird man' - John Wilkinson who was jailed in 2014 after breaching an anti-social behaviour order to limit his bird feeding habit - is the subject of the artwork on the gable rear of the Old Pier Bookshop.

It's stunning and is the work of artists Matty Green and Harry Mills.

Matty gave us a guided tour of this and his other artworks which he hopes will spark widespread interest in a side of Morecambe visitors don't yet appreciate.

Notes:

2' We hear how work is already underway to brighten up the town's lesser known areas.

9' What is the reaction of the mural's nearest neighbour?

10' What's next...?