A couple of end-of-term days off when I imagine I can't miss too much and won't be missed. The plan had originally been Pathfinder's 'Cwm and Go' to South Wales - but with that postponed a while back, switched plans in order to attend the West Coast Railway Company open day at the former Steamtown site at Carnforth. This meant an opportunity to travel up today and stay in the area - and to cover a bit of track I need, given that technically the routes to Heysham Port and Morecambe work as separate lines from Bare Lane. I also wanted the opportunity to wander around a bit without needing to worry about others being entertained, which my last visit to Morecambe didn't achieve.

So, set off on my usual commuter train and switched to 1E39 at Weston for a nice, quiet ride up to Birmingham. Felt hot and bothered and a little distracted at first, but enjoyed the ride nonetheless. A swift change at New Street onto the 11:03 to Glasgow Central. Not for the first time, cursed the idea of ending direct services from the South West to the North West. Again, a quick ride up with the tilting mechanism very obviously working hard as we negotiated the twists and turns of the West Coast Mainline.

Arrived at Lancaster, sorted out my hotel and headed back to the station to get a train to Morecambe. Having missed a few key freight workings which passed us (including the legendary 'Malcolm's') delighted to see 66176 creeping around the curve on a departmental working. Ironically, once onboard the Morecambe unit with doors closed, 57313 crept by with the log train from the West Highland Line! Amazed to have once again managed to completely miss this train (having documented previous attempts). Consoled myself with a trip to Morecambe, covering the bit of track I needed.

My previous visit to Morecambe wasn't a success. In fact, it occurred in surreal circumstances and didn't fill me with a great liking for the place. However, I did get a glimpse of the Midland Hotel and the former Promenade station buildings, which I wanted to see more of today. Arrived at the rather bleak, windswept island platform in Morrisons car park. There was a ticket office with a symmetrically arranged Tourist Information Centre in a similar building on the other side of the road. They achieved further similarity by both being closed. Trekked to the prom to get my pictures, feeling uncharitable towards the surprisingly few holidaymakers who had parked in the huge empty swathe of former railway land cutting the Promenade station off from it's lines.

I couldn't get the pristine artistic aspect of the hotel I wanted. Real life got in the way in the form of people, cars, seagulls. I suppose that life isn't like books of art - but this hotel is like a huge modernist artwork on the seafront of an otherwise unassuming coastal town. Its' demise, regeneration and protection a story that developers nearer to my home could learn lessons from. Having given up on that perfect shot, I turned my attention to the abandoned fairground buildings nearby, totally unregenerated. A little pretentious and 'artschool' maybe, these abandoned seaside relics - but interesting pictures nonetheless. Perhaps I'll dump the lot into a gallery on here soon?

Back to Lancaster to find the station in disarray. An earlier fatality between Lockerbie and Carlisle had caused a few problems, and huge numbers of travellers were trying to fit onto late running services. A strange signalling decision - sending a 185 up the mainline to set back into the apparently rarely used platform 1 - caused it's own problems too. Left to find beer in the pleasant little city of Lancaster. Somewhere else I'd seen in a new light today, having finally had a chance to make my way around on foot. After all, you never really get to understand a town by getting a taxi to the driver's favourite Chinese restaurant.