The Morecambe Bay Podcast

We may be shivering at the moment as winter hits home but what if your home is floating on an ice-covered canal?

The Lancaster canal is home to a community who live all year around aboard narrow and other types of boats.

You might be surprised that for some, becoming ice-bound is a good opportunity to carry out essential maintenance work and that far from being cold, the craft are as snug and welcoming as any cottage.

I met up with David Ashdown and boat crew cat Sherlock!

As you'll hear, his third boat has given him access to some amazing parts of the network in an association with canals that goes back to the 1980s.

He's researched and written about the network and is a self-confessed canal fan.

2 mins - Where his interest in canals began

4 mins- What is life like aboard when the temperatures fall

7 mins - Lancaster canal connections

12 mins- Why a boat beats a campervan

14 mins - Plans for the future

Morecambe Bay Podcast, January 2025

Over 500 members, 170 tonnes of surplus food saved from going to waste, 250 volunteering hours a week; just some of the impressive statistics shared by Eggcup, a charity with more than one function. As well as saving food from going to waste, they also provide real life experience for catering students at Lancaster and Morecambe College who use ingredients supplied to make ready meals which are distributed in Lancaster, Morecambe and Carnforth. Local farms benefit too thanks to links to the gleaning network.

Yet financial challenges mean the long term future of the venture is uncertain and a fundraising campaign is underway. Unless support can be found it could close next month.

https://www.eggcup.org/

https://www.gofundme.com/f/saving-eggcup?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=customer&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_ft&attribution_id=sl:0867b27d-47ac-46e8-9ae7-815d82d8330e

Notes:

Eggcup stops surplus food from going to waste and gets it to people instead. The low-cost, weekly food scheme helps members to save money on food, and that makes life more affordable for thoseon a tight budget.

There are three Community Food Outlets for members in Lancaster the West End of Morecambe and a pop-up in Carnforth.

Thousands make a bee-line to it every year and since it opened in the 1920s Happy Mount Park in Morecambe has been a 'must-see' attraction for visitors of all ages.

It's certainly changed over the years; the Radio 1 roadshow, illuminations and Mr Blobby are part of the park's rich history.

Helping city council staff maintain it are a group of keen volunteers who give their time every Monday morning come rain or shine. They often bring bulbs and plants to help add colour to the park.

The Friends of Happy Mount Park 2023 committee were formed with the support of Lancaster City Council and have tackled overgrown gardens to bring a splash of colour back to the park.

And more volunteers are always welcome!

Search "Friends of Happy Mount Park 2023" on Facebook.

From music and film to poetry and dance, a successful arts event with a difference has come to a close in Morecambe.

The idea of the Morecambe People's Biennial was to reclaim the term "local artist" as one of pride and, organisers say, 'remove the prejudice of yokel from the local. '

92 artists were inspired to get involved and funding from Lancashire County Council was distributed equally between the creatives.

The event concluded on the beach at Morecambe this weekend and the podcast was there.

You may have seen them (you might have missed them) but how much do you know about the natural phemomena that is the northern lights?

The skies above the Bay were amazing again last night as countless pictures on social media prove.

Is it happening more often? Have we now seen the best of the lights? And can we predict when we will see them again?

Jim Wild is a professor of space physics at Lancaster University and spoke to the podcast today.

Follow Prof Wild @jim_wild on X and check out https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/

Rarely seen artefacts, the sights and sounds of a working shipyard and QR codes which allow spectacular access to gems from over the years are just some of the new developments in Barrow's Dock Museum.

The Heritage Lottery Fund, Westmorland and Furness Council, BAE Systems and the Sir John Fisher Foundation have paid for the transformation of The Shipyard Gallery.

The Morecambe Bay Podcast was delighted to be shown around the museum for a preview of the development and an insight into how the collection may expand further.

Volunteers have been using historic techniques like weaving to trap trapping sediment and help prevent erosion around the Bay.

But unlike more typical coast defences which use rock and cement, these use natural resources and skills to try and arrest the decline of the shoreline.

With the nights drawing in there's a better chance of seeing stunning stars, planets and even the northern lights in the skies above the Bay.

But is there a risk that our dark skies could be affected by growing levels of light pollution?

Jack Ellerby is dark skies project officer for the Friends of the Lake District and works to spread the word about the effect too much light at night can have on wildlife, the environment and people.

Ahead of an event in Grange* at which he'll be talking about good and bad lighting with PEATSouthLakes and The Grange Lecture Society, he's been talking to the podcast.

*7pm- 8pm Tuesday 24 September at Victoria Hall, Grange-over-Sands, LA11 6DX

In its day it was the centrepiece of coffee shops and milk bars all over. The jukebox was the only place where the pop music of the '50s and early '60s could be heard.

But did you know the distinctive British jukebox was created on the seaside coast of Lytham, Blackpool and Morecambe?

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, a project led by the Mirador creative arts organisation have gathered a treasure trove of recollections. It will form a digital collection at Lancaster University as well as inspiring displays at Light Up Lancaster in November.

Why did the jukebox lead to a boom in youth culture during the 1950s and what prompted its demise?

I've been talking to George Harris from Mirador who explains where the idea for the project came from and historian Adrian Horn whose book Jukebox Britain sets more detail about the teenage revolution.

Incidental music used courtesy of Pixabay:

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come-on-over-rockabilly-234847

“The bigger the mandala, the more the work!  You can rack up 20,000 steps in the space of a couple of tennis courts over four or five hours.”

Simon Wheatley's work is amazing: a self-taught sand artist his mandalas have captured many people's imaginations and have adorned beaches in Cumbria and beyond.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the creation of Growing Well, a charity which uses horticulture as a way of rebuilding confidence and resilience, he's about to create his latest design on the beach at Bardsea.

In this podcast we not only hear from Simon about his artist skills but also more about the work of a charity that's grown from a single site in south Cumbria to now managing three across Cumbria.