It's one of the country's best known bird reserves and 2024 will mark a significant anniversary for the RSPB's Leighton Moss.

Big things are planned to mark 60 years since it was created.

In that time it's welcomed thousands of visitors, not all feathered, and has made a big impact on many.

As a young ornithologist Jon Carter often had to rely on his older brother to drive him to the reserve; little did he know one day he'd be working for the RSPB, sharing his enthusiasm and passion for ornithology and inspiring many. He's about to move on to pastures new - a tough decision!

In this extended podcast, as you'll hear, he takes us on a tour on a day when the reserve was teeming with wildlife.

Enjoy!

From stars of stage and screen to the throngs who came to see them over the years how many thousands must have walked through the foyer of Morecambe's Winter Gardens?

Yet very few will have looked down to admire the ornate tiled flooring beneath their feet which has suffered wear and tear after decades of use.

The good news is a team of craftsman are carefully restoring the tiles. Over a five week period they've painstakingly replaced missing tiles and carefully cleaned the extensive floorwork.

Michael Rieveley is lead conservator at Rieveley Ceremics who have been carrying out the work and says the theatre is a leading example of this kind of art.

For writer and academic Noreen Masud, flatlands have always been a source of fascination. From the wide, flat field glimpsed as a child from the back seat of her father's car in Lahore to more recent discoveries including the Cambridgeshire Fens and Morecambe Bay.

The silver sands revealed during a cross Bay walk made a lasting impression on her and together with experiences elsewhere she recounts her pilgrimage around Britain's flatlands, seeking solace and belonging, in her book A Flat Place.

It's a fascinating consideration of memory, mind, painful histories and the breathtaking flatlands she has come to love.

While mountains are usually celebrated in literature and popular culture, Noreen prefers the quietening effect of flat landscapes.

Noreen Masud is a Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literature at the https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/noreen-masudUniversity of Bristol, and an AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker. Her research covers all kinds of bases: flatness, spivs, puppets, leftovers, earworms, footnotes, rhymes, hymns, surprises, folk songs, colours, superstitions. She works mostly on twentieth-century literature, but also makes forays into Victorian and Romantic literature too.

Dan Fox enjoys a fascinating career.

A sound artist, musician, film-maker and installation creator based in Ulverston he's responsible for creating stunning soundscapes.

This weekend his latest project, a singing drumlin celebration organised with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, takes place at Bowber Head Nature Reserve close to Ravenstonedale.

His parents ran the acclaimed Welfare State International and a childhood spent experiencing artistic events around the world inspired him to set up his own company to work on a range of amazing projects. We met up and recorded this conversation as he was about to start another piece of work involving the Boom Bikes as part of this summer's Bay Lines - Beach of Dreams project by the Morecambe Bay Partnership.

Angela White, aka The Running Granny, started running when she was 53. Seven years later she set a new Guinness World Record as the Oldest female to run from John O’Groats to Land’s End. She was 60.

We met at the Bay Health Festival and discussed her ambition to help more of us to stay in shape in later life.

Going for Old is Angela's latest project and it's already prompting some of us to look again at our diets, activity and long term plans.

2 mins - Why 'the Running Granny.'

4 mins - The benefits of running

6 mins - Addicted to running?

11 mins - The record!

14 mins - How do you keep going for 18 days?

19 mins - The psychology of running

28 mins - Future aims and ambitions

They say there's a book in every one of us but a group of enthusiastic writers from Morecambe have gone a step further.

The Nib Crib based in the West End have just celebrated their second anniversary of acting as a safe space for novice writers to hone their craft.

This weekend we'll be able to see the latest work when In Westendia, a play by Crib members Jim Lupton and Martin Palmer, and described as 'a comical, costumed, family friendly extravaganza' is performed by the frame on the seafront.

With stunning costumes by Wendy O'Hara it's a performance not to miss.

And The Nib Crib itself is always looking to attract new members.

The latest phase of an arts project which has seen the creation of 120 silk pennants, each depicting a story for every mile of Morecambe Bay has concluded.

The project which began this spring has seen over a hundred people get involved to record their stories as part of an epic artwork telling the story of the Bay through the people who live, work or visit the area.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend thousands of people on Walney, Grange over Sands, Arnside and Morecambe saw the physical results of the project; the digital version - pictures, stories and poems - can be seen here.

120 pennants, each depicting a story for every mile of Morecambe Bay have been produced.

The epic artwork has been seen by thousands of people on Walney, Grange over Sands, Arnside and Morecambe.

In a trail for a new podcast about the project, artist Ali Pretty explains how the project called Bay Lines Beach of Dreams has made an impact on her:

120 miles and many, many stories have been brought together about Morecambe Bay in a brand new piece of work.

From designs that depict special views in memory of loved ones to the area's world class wildlife, Bay Lines Beach of Dreams is now live and shows off the variety of life and the communities around the Bay as never before. Commissioned by the Morecambe Bay Partnership it's the idea of artist Ali Pretty and Kendal-based Rosa Productions.

Today (Friday 25th August) the first installation of pennants was shared on Walney. Grange (Sat), Arnside (Sun) and Morecambe (Bank Holiday Monday) will each host the pennants created locally alongside another 500 which date from an earlier project in the south east.

But wherever you are the images and stories which sparked the silk pennants can be read and enjoyed here: https://www.waysaroundthebay.org.uk/enjoy-your-visit/bay-lines-beach-of-dreams