The Morecambe Bay Podcast

Living in Fleetwood has presented the town's artist in residence with a wealth of inspiration.

For 12 months, Tina Dempsey is based at The Mount and is looking forward to spreading the word about the town. After living here for 18 years she says the community is Fleetwood's strength and is determined to do her bit to publicise the area through her art.

As well as the town's rich history, the outstanding beach, Site of Special Scientific Interest and geology of the area are aspects which aren't as well known.

During a walk along the prom close to The Mount she told me more about why the area means so much to her.

120 miles and many, many conversations later, artist Ali Pretty has concluded her week-long walk around Morecambe Bay.

From Fleetwood in the south to Walney in the north, she passed through Glasson Dock, Lancaster, Sunderland Point, Heysham, Morecambe, Silverdale, Arnside, Grange, Ulverston and Barrow.

The purpose of the walk was to encourage people living around the Bay to adopt a mile and take part in Bay Lines, Beach of Dreams which will see 120 silk pennants created. These will be exhibited on the coast at Walney, Grange, Arnside and Morecambe over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The walk resulted in some surprise reunions for Ali with people who have played a part in her life; Morecambe-based musician Pete Moser and art innovator John Fox who established the Welfare State International and now lives on the coast near Ulverston.

However it also resulted in people suggesting sometimes very personal reasons for wanting to take part and make their mark on the coast.

Recorded as we walked along the final mile around north Walney, Ali told me about the week and her plans now for Bay Lines Beach of Dreams.

Morecambe Bay is home to a wide variety of communities and a new project could well uncover whole new stories and issues that are relevant around the Bay.

That's one of the aims of Bay Lines, Beach of Dreams which begins a new phase this week.

Artist Ali Pretty whose previous work includes flag making at the Morecambe WOMAD festivals is leading a series of walks around the Bay, all 120 miles. The aim is to create a series of pennants, one for each mile, which will represent that part of the Bay. The project has been commissioned by Morecambe Bay Partnership as part of the Ways Around The Bay programme.

Flora growing around the area will be used to dye silk which will make the pennants. All 120 will go on show on seafront sites in Walney, Grange, Arnside and Walney over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Speaking on the beach at Rossall Point Ali shared her vision at the start of the story gathering expedition.

A three year project to document the fishing industry around Morecambe Bay through pictures has gone on display in a setting just a stones throw from one of the area's best known but most remote locations.

The Mission Heritage Centre at Sunderland Point is home to a stunning collection of images taken by photographer Tessa Bunney.

Called Going to the Sand, it 's a record of an industry that's fast changing.

The podcast was invited to a preview event attended by some of those pictured in the exhibition.

Going to the Sand will be held during the summer but check the tide times before going !

The Seagull Cafe based at More Music, Devonshire Road in Morecambe has become a welcome addition to events aimed at the over 60's in the town.

Originally set up under the Singing for Health project it's now appealing to a wider audience whose reasons for attending the weekly sessions vary widely.

Each Tuesday musicians lead the singing and whether you can hold a note or - like me - can just about clap along, it's a guaranteed feel good vibe which leaves a lasting impression on all who attend.

Morecambe Bay is known for it's stunning birdlife including the regular return to the area by a pair of breeding ospreys.

In winter they are in west Africa but each spring the pair independently fly thousands of miles to Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve near Witherslack.

Hopes are high that 2023 will be the tenth year the pair will have raised osprey chicks on the Bay and volunteers at the Cumbria Wildlife Trust reckon three eggs have been laid. The first chicks are expected by the end of May meaning all eyes will be on the live 'osprey cam' for the next few, tense weeks.

But as Alasdair McKee, a Cumbria Wildlife Trust volunteer and the RSPB's local groups officer for the north of England, explains in this edition, there's much more to the raised bog at Foulshaw than the ospreys. As you'll hear, it's home to a wildlife soap opera!

They fly staggering distances and are responsible for helping boost the country's population; a pair of breeding ospreys are home on Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve.

With three eggs now monitored by volunteers from the Cumbria Wildlife Trust it's hoped 2023 will be the 10th year running that osprey chicks have successfully hatched at the wetland nature reserve near Witherslack.

As you'll hear in the next edition of the podcast with Alasdair McKee, a Cumbria Wildlife Trust volunteer and RSPB northern local group officer, the birds are flourishing.

It's one of the region's most famous rivers; the Lune rises in Ravenstonedale and flows over 50 miles to enter the Bay at Sunderland Point.

With much debate about the quality of our water the Lune Rivers Trust, an environmental charity,  works to conserve, protect, rehabilitate and improve the rivers, streams and watercourses of the catchments comprising the River Lune throughout its entire course and all its associated tributaries in Cumbria, Yorkshire and Lancashire.

In this episode hear how Harry Potter is used to inspire the naturalists of the future.

With much debate about the quality of our rivers and lakes, we'll be hearing from a charity who are using innovative ways of working to look after the catchment area of a river that passes through three counties before flowing into the Bay.

Subscribe for free now to hear this and over 70 editions of the Morecambe Bay Podcast.

The clocks may well go forward this weekend but one prominent Morecambe Bay timepiece is missing.

Morecambe's Clock Tower is without its famous faces which are undergoing specialist repair work.

They are being refurbished by the same company that has just carried out a major project on the nation's best known clock.

So how does Morecambe's clock measure up by comparison?

I've been behind the scenes at the Cumbria Clock Company.