To say it's home to only a few dozen people Sunderland Point they are a musical lot!

The village has made a name as the home of a thriving sea shanty band.

The Sunderland Point Sea Shanty Crew are in demand to perform around the Bay and further afield - they've been part of the Edinburgh Festival.

Made up of a wide range of people they're creating their own music alongside well known sea shanties.

Morecambe Bay is reknown for paths and tracks offering brilliant views but it's also part of a national network of walking routes connecting all of Great Britain’s towns and cities as well as thousands of villages.

Using existing paths, ways, trails and roads, people can use Slow Ways routes to walk or wheel and is designed to make it easier for people to imagine, plan and go on walking journeys.

There are currently over 8,000 Slow Ways stretching for over 120,000km. This network of routes was created by 700 volunteers during the Spring 2020 lockdown, creating a unique Slow Ways map in the process. 

In this episode we'll hear from the man who came up with the idea and a walker from Morecambe who's certainly making her mark on the map.

We know Morecambe Bay is a draw for tourists and that industry is big business around the Bay.

It's often hard to believe the changes that have taken place along Morecambe's seafront.

A shipbreaking yard, several piers and a three masted sailing ship used in Disney film could once be found along this popular piece of coast.

A project to capture the knowledge and memories of coastal life through the eyes of those who witnessed change is now active. Coastal Connection has developed a network of 20 locations - 17 in Morecambe and 2 near Overton and one at Sunderland Point - where a QR code allows listeners to hear the memories of people living by and working on the Bay.

It's the work of Steve Fairclough who explains more in this podcast. To hear the stories follow this link to the sites :https://www.timeandtidebell.org/morecambe-map/

A candlelit memorial service has been held to mark the 20th anniversary of the deaths of 23 Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay.

Members of the emergency services joined locals in paying tribute at the lifeboat station in Morecambe which played a leading part in the rescue and recovery of migrants stranded on the treacherous sands of the Bay.

A cockle shell was offered as a permanent reminder of the fight against modern day slavery and in memory of those who died on the sands.

The Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Philip North, who led the service said he hoped the service would also serve to highlight continuing cases of those who are 'trapped, tricked and traded.'

How often do you go to your library?

Did you know these days they offer far more than just a book lending service?

The Friends of Heysham Library are certainly keen to promote the variety of activities held there. From Scrabble and Lego sessions to access to the web and even talks about bats, there's a lot going on.

And with over 900 friends on social media, the volunteers are certainly helping spread the word.

In one of the first editions of the Morecambe Bay Podcast we heard about BOOM - Back on Our Map - a project aimed at restoring the landscape of parts of the Bay to help reintroduce and reinforce locally threatened or extinct native species.

Led by the University of Cumbria in partnership with Morecambe Bay Partnership together with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Natural England and Forestry England it was supported by the National Lottery.

A main aim was to encourage people living locally to get involved.

You can see a video about the project.

More information on the project.

It's back for 2024!

Coming up in the next series of the Morecambe Bay Podcast we'll hear from more great guests who take candidly about their life around the Bay.

With over 100 episodes already published I'm looking forward to sharing more conversations from people you may know and many more you probably won't.

If you'd like to get involved, get in touch by using the new 'Suggest a guest' feature on the website.

Thanks for the support so far and spread the word about the podcast that's all about the Bay!