The Morecambe Bay Podcast

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A canyon stretching from London to New York. An extinct volcano three times the size of Mount Everest.

Those are just two of the astonishing facts about Mars — and now you can experience the Red Planet in the heart of Morecambe.

The Winter Gardens is hosting artist Luke Jerram’s spectacular seven-metre-wide illuminated sculpture of Mars, created using detailed NASA imagery. Every centimetre of the artwork represents 10 kilometres of the planet’s surface, giving visitors an extraordinary sense of scale.

And there’s more: the installation is accompanied by a specially commissioned surround-sound composition by Dan Jones, turning the theatre into an immersive journey across another world.

In this episode, lifelong amateur astronomer and author Stuart Atkinson takes us on a guided tour, revealing the science, stories and sheer scale behind this remarkable artwork.

Mars has landed in Morecambe — and it’s out of this world.

* Recorded November 2022

It's known as 'the red planet' but how much do we really understand about Mars?

Maybe visitors leaving the Winter Gardens know a little more after seeing artist Luke Jerram's astonishing creation.

NASA images have been used to depict the planet which is hanging inside the main theatre area until 28th November.

I was lucky enough to be given a guided tour by Stuart Atkinson, a mars amateur astronomer, writer and all round space enthusiast.

Here's an excerpt from the forthcoming podcast.

They're the family where Christmas must be a major operation, months in the planning.

The Radford family from Morecambe - all 22 of them - have become nationally known thanks to the Channel 5 series '22 Kids and Counting' that has charted their lives in recent years. Today the latest chapter was recorded: Sue and Noel's bakery in Heysham has been rebranded with queues forming to take up their kind offer of a free pie for the first 50 customers. The event was recorded by Lion TV for future broadcast.

I was able to enjoy a few minutes with Noel and Sue just before the ribbon was cut.

Winston Churchill described 1942 as ‘The Hinge of Fate’: a year in which the Allies could have lost or won the Second World War. 

An exhibition at City Museum in Lancaster details not only how soldiers from the King’s Own Royal Regiment faced death and hardship on active service but also what life was like on the Home Front.

As I found out, there are parallels drawn with more recent times too.

Two sisters from a village near Lancaster found themselves at the heart of Britain’s secret war against Nazi Germany.

Patricia and Jean Owtram grew up in Dolphinholme. When their family took in two Austrian Jewish refugees, the sisters became fluent in German — a skill that would change the course of both their lives.

When war broke out, 18-year-old Patricia was sent to top-secret listening stations on the Kent coast, where she intercepted German shipping communications. Jean became a code and cipher officer, serving in Egypt and Italy and supporting Allied agents and resistance efforts.

Now both in their nineties, Patricia and Jean have shared their extraordinary story in the book Codebreaking Sisters.

In this episode, they recall their wartime experiences, the secrets they carried for decades and the remarkable journeys that took two young women from rural Lancashire into the world of wartime intelligence.

A remarkable story of courage, secrecy and two sisters whose language skills helped change the course of their lives.

Codebreaking Sisters

The remarkable story of how two sisters played a vital part in cracking German code and intercepting radio traffic during the Second World War has been shared in Lancashire tonight.

Patricia and Jean Owtram were brought up in the county. After their family took in two Austrian Jewish refugees quickly become fluent in German, something which changed their lives forever. Their remarkable story has been published and tonight the pair shared their recollections in Lancaster at the City Museum. The museum's new exhibition, The Hinge of Fate: living with uncertainty in 1942 is now underway and will be featured in a forthcoming Morecambe Bay podcast.

I was honoured to speak to Patricia and Jean this evening and will share the full interview tomorrow - Remembrance Sunday.

For now, listen to Patricia recounting how she became a secret part of the war effort.

Stuart Nevin is an inspiration — and the dozens of people turning out in all weathers to run along Morecambe promenade are proof of the difference he’s making.

His C2K5 — Couch to 5K sessions are helping people take their first steps into running, bringing together a growing community at a time when getting outside and staying active can make a real difference to both physical and mental wellbeing.

But Stuart’s own journey hasn’t always been straightforward. He came close to giving up the sport he loves before finding a new purpose in helping others discover it for themselves.

On a blustery night on Morecambe promenade, Stuart talks about his own experiences, why he’s so passionate about encouraging people to run and how he hopes C2K5 can help more people take that first step.

You don’t have to be a runner to start running — you just need to take the first step.

He's encouraged dozens to grab their trainers and take to the promenade to try out running. Stuart Nevin created Morecambe Community Runners which now boasts a membership of nearly 700 and began another 'C25K' course this week. His own story is inspirational and in the next edition of the podcast he explains why he's on a mission to help people get the most of activity.