Morecambe

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Morecambe Template:IPA is a resort town in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England. As of 2003 it has a resident population of about 45,000. It faces into Morecambe Bay.

The town is in the Morecambe and Lunesdale parliamentary constituency and is governed by Lancaster City Council.


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History

Image:Morecambe-beach.jpgIn 1889 the small towns of Bare, Poulton-le-Sands and Torrisholme collectively became known as Morecambe, and those areas of Morecambe are still known by their original names.

Morecambe has had a proud history as a thriving seaside resort in the mid-twentieth century. Whilst Blackpool attracted holiday-makers predominantly from the Lancashire mill towns, Morecambe had more visitors from Yorkshire and Scotland. Between 1956 and 1989 it was the home of the Miss Great Britain beauty contest.

However, Morecambe has suffered a decline in recent years. It once had two piers - Central Pier and West End Pier, but both are now gone. In 1994, The World of Crinkley Bottom attraction in Happy Mount Park closed only 13 weeks after its opening. The ensuing 'Blobbygate' scandal led to a legal battle between Lancaster City Council and TV star Noel Edmonds. The closures of Bubbles, Morecambe's indoor waterworld, and Frontierland, its Pleasure Beach, soon followed. The west end of Morecambe became an extremely run-down slum area with severe heroin and alcoholism problems. However, there are signs of revival. The Daily Telegraph in March 2006 had a two page feature on Morecambe's revival. And, after falling into abeyance in the mid-1980s, the Miss Morecambe beauty contest is being revived in 2006 by Margee, a local fashion store, founded in 1933 - the same year that the Midland Hotel opened it's doors.


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Landmarks

Image:Eric Morecambe statue.jpgOne of Morecambe's most famous landmarks is a statue commemorating one of its most famous sons Eric Morecambe.

Morecambe is home to the Midland hotel, an important art deco luxury hotel which still contains pieces by luminaries such as Eric Gill. It is currently undergoing a £7m restoration, headed by Manchester company Urban Splash. The company intends to restore the hotel to its former glory and open it for business in 2006. This would include new additions such an outdoor swimming pool as shown in the buildings new design.

Another famous landmark is the partially renovated Victoria Pavilion otherwise popularly known as Morecambe Winter Gardens which was once a venue for swimming baths, grand theatre, restaurant and ballroom and even became a training camp at various times in it's life.


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Transport

Morecambe railway station, which serves the town is the terminus of the Morecambe Branch Line from Lancaster. Occasional trains reverse at Morecambe, continuing to Heysham, where they connect with the ferry service to the Isle of Man. There is another station at Bare Lane, serving the suburb of Bare. Services are operated by Northern Rail.

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Geography

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Famous People From Morecambe

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Trivia

  • Recent tourism initiatives have made Morecambe a centre for bird watchers with the Tern Project enhancing the resorts heritage linked to the extensive natural landscape of the Morecambe Bay and diverse wildlife.
  • The resort gained the dubious distinction of being placed third in the October 2003 book Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK.
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External links

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