Art Deco

Morecambe: Stay on the bay

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Why settle for a day out when you can stay over?

After my successful break on the Fylde Coast, I decided to repeat the feat for Morecambe Bay, a familiar seaside spot in north Lancashire.

I spent a couple of nights in the town’s landmark Art Deco hotel and witnessed some jaw-dropping dawns and sunsets for the first time.

So I didn’t rush back home to Manchester for once. Was it worth the extra effort? CONTINUE READING BELOW.

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Morecambe’s Midland Hotel, a stylish slab of Art Deco concrete close to the beach, had long been on my list of places to spend a night or two.

The building won my heart with its elegant circular staircase, while I was given Room 101 – a large double room on a curve of the property.

It wasn’t a cheap stay, but I was in the perfect place to witness Morecambe Bay’s legendary sunsets. Ample skies, a scattering of cloud and the still waters providing a perfect mirror – I struck gold.

I also rose around 6am to see the sun rise with scarlet ribbons of colour layering the sky and Cumbria’s fells lining the horizon. The sea front was very quiet, settling my inner peace.

The last of the sunlight reflecting on the water of Morecambe Bay in Lancashire.

Dusk beauty awaits Morecambe visitors

There was plenty of time during my extended stay to take a walk to Heysham, a little seaside village I’ve visited on a previous occasion.

I wandered through Morecambe’s West End on the way, through streets full of historical markers but waiting for a good dose of TLC. 

As a regular solo traveller, it was lovely to speak to local people on my walks. They admitted the town needs a boost and whispered that the Midland Hotel has lost a little of its sheen in recent years.

This was a little staycation that proved a success – you can experience so much more if you decide to stay for a night or two. So where’s next?…

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Morecambe: Blue and white

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When summer comes to the UK, you have to visit the coast. On a sunny day recently, I took a train from Manchester to Morecambe, a Lancashire seaside resort.

Have a look at the photographs, then read more below and let me know your impressions of Morecambe.

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The town sits on the edge of Morecambe Bay, a sweeping arm of the Irish Sea that stretches to neighbouring Cumbria.

This coastal setting is a pleasure to wander around – even when the sunshine is accompanied by a brisk, chilly breeze! I also explored the town’s West End area, where some of the buildings could use a little tender loving care.

But my favourite piece of architecture by far is the Midland Hotel, an Art Deco gem opened in 1933 and reopened in 2008. Curvy, elegant and whitewashed, it’s hard to ignore.

The standout Midland, along with fluffy clouds peppering a blue sky, seemed to be inescapably attractive that day.

Do you ever come home with a set of photographs where there is a distinct colour scheme?

The gleaming white Art Deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe against a blue sky

The Midland Hotel gleaming against a blue sky

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Architects’ artchitecture

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Stalinist facade

This daunting Art Deco pile stands in the heart of London close to another – BBC Broadcasting House.

66 Portland Place is the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba). It’s an elegant yet stark building constructed in the 1930s, full of style but with the austere chill of the Soviet era. The organisation’s lion emblem is stamped in details throughout.

It seemed only fitting to present this small collection of shots entirely in monochrome.

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Gallery entrance

Behind London’s doors

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It was Open House London weekend recently, giving ordinary people the chance to see buildings that are not usually accessible. This also meant freedom to photograph some of the city’s hidden architectural gems.

We visited five central London buildings – Unilever House, an older shell containing a very modern atrium, the Art Deco brilliance of the former Express Building at 120 Fleet Street, The Royal Courts of Justice, the imposing Freemasons’ Hall and the grandeur of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office headquarters in Whitehall.

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Art Deco decadence

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120 Fleet Street, London is an address that conceals a piece of glittering architectural detail. It’s a glass office block that used to house Express Newspapers when this city thoroughfare was the heart of Britain’s press.

They moved out in the 1980s, but the stunning 1930s foyer remains in all its glory. Gold and silver friezes adorn the walls, the ceiling is gloriously decorated – even the floor is made to catch a dozen reflections.

And if you walk up the marble plinth past the Art Deco lift, there is a bonus in the shape of a tightly spiralled staircase from which light floods in. This is all in the style of a bygone age, but to see this decades later was a pleasure – and very beautiful to photograph.

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The Express Newspapers building is usually closed to public visitors, but they were recently welcomed – and encouraged to take photographs – as part of the annual Open House London weekend. What a memorable visit.

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