Artworks celebrating the history and landscapes of Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is famous for its stunning landscapes, inspiring numerous books and artworks over the years. Thanks to the wonderful work of Morecambe Bay Partnership through their Landscape Art Commissions and the Headlands to Headspace project, the history and heritage of this unique area has been brought to life through diverse art installations. Whether it's looking at the ever-changing conditions of the sea and coastline, exploring the area's rich Viking heritage, or celebrating the variety of Morecambe Bay's seabirds!
SHIP, Anna Gillespie
Half Moon Bay
Anna Gillespie’s permanent sculpture for Morecambe Bay becomes simultaneously a welcoming beacon and a symbol of fond farewell at a traditional point of departure and arrival. Purposely crafted to be of no clear historic reference, yet making overt reference to the Viking longboats of former Bay dwellers, the evidently seafaring structure marks the boundary of land and sea. The two, accompanying ‘boatmen’ figures look forward and back, a reference to both the nature of any journey and the inevitable changes in Morecambe Bay’s landscape, population and industrial heritage, where fishing and shipping sit side-by-side with the contemporary influence of nuclear power. The sculpture will offer viewers the chance to stop and reflect, continuing the Bay’s ancient traditions as a place of retreat, spiritual reflection and pilgrimage.
Horizon Line Chamber, Chris Drury
Sunderland Point
Internationally-renowned land artist Chris Drury brings Horizon Line Chamber to Sunderland Point. A conical stone chamber remade from hundreds of reclaimed building stones unearthed at the former port settlement of Sunderland Point, Horizon Line Chamber recalls an upturned boat and holds a surprise for visitors who venture inside. A self-contained projector inverts the outside world onto the chamber’s lime-plastered walls, capturing the sea and its changing conditions, our rich bird life and the unique light of the Bay in a transformed perspective and meditation on Morecambe Bay’s evolving environment.
As Sunderland Point sometimes becomes inaccessible due to the tides, please don't forget to check tide times before visiting!
The TERN project
Morecambe Promenade (Stone Jetty area)
Celebrating the birds and other diverse wildlife of Morecambe Bay, the TERN project is a stunning series of various award-winning sculptures situated along Morecambe’s seafront and promenade. Steel cormorants, gannets and razorbills sit proudly on the roundabouts on Central Drive and on the top of bollards in the sea railings.
On the Stone Jetty, behind the Midland Hotel, you can find a huge compass, work out various wordy puzzles, and discover a strange mythical bird. The trail extends towards the Festival Market where you can follow a path made up of poems, jokes and quotes by famous authors, musicians, entertainers and artists.
