Years ago I used to think Morecambe was something of "an elderly people's resort". Perhaps this was because some elderly neighbours of ours retired there and my uncle always said he would do the same.

I remember going to Morecambe on day trips and it always seemed much quieter and a bit more upmarket than neighbouring Blackpool, which was rowdier and a bit tacky. It must be at least twenty years since I had last been to Morecambe, so when I found myself in Lancashire recently I decided to take another look and see if the resort had changed.

My goodness, they say you should never go back to a place - how I wish I hadn't! The Morecambe I remembered now seems to be full of derelict hotels, barricaded seafronts where building work is taking place, shops selling cheap and nasty goods and the streets not very clean. Even the people looked scruffy and poverty stricken. What happened to all those genteel retirees? Have they all flown off to Spain perhaps!

I drove into Morecambe from the Heysham side of the town - I remember Heysham as being a pleasant place, but even this had changed beyond recognition. But as I approached Morecambe I was so disappointed at how rundown it appeared to be. Even Eric Morecambe would be disgusted with the state it is in at the moment.

To make sure I was not too disillusioned I continued along the seafront. Thankfully as I drove further along it did seem as though Lancashire council are trying to make improvements. Hotels were undergoing major refurbishment, a childrens' play area looked to have new equipment and the further we drove the better it became.

Approaching Happy Mount Park, the area was much as I remembered it, with nice hotels along the seafront and it all looked clean and tidy. Although I did not go into the park itself this visit, I was pleased to see that it still looked as well kept as I remember it.

The beach at Morecambe was always clean and fairly safe in the main area, it was pleasing to see that on this warm sunny afternoon, children were playing on the sands the same as I had done as a child. Perhaps in their eyes Morecambe is still a wonderful place to be. Maybe the council has decided to make it more child friendly instead of being a place for old folk to spend their retirement.

My vision of Morecambe was improving! I then decided to venture back along the seafront towards Heysham. Not such a good idea, but I wanted to make sure I had not imagined how shabby it was. Alas, it still looked very uninviting driving past all the construction sites and boarded up buildings. I am hoping the council are going to smarten up the town and get things ready for the start of the tourist season. I certainly would not want to spend a holiday there with the resort looking as neglected as it does at the moment in the main tourist section.

Leaving Heysham we drove towards another place I remember going to years ago, a few miles outside of Morecambe itself. This is a hamlet which is approached along a road which is cut off by the sea at high tide. I always remember it as being exciting to get over there and back again before the tide came in. My other memories were of an area of sandbanks where boats were stranded until the tide refloated them, and a row of cottages right on the beach.

How wonderful it was to revisit somewhere and find it almost as I remembered it! The stranded boats were still there, the rows of cottages looked the same and nothing seemed to have changed. There was nothing there for tourists to do, except perhaps bird watch or pick their way through the pebbles and go for a stroll. Not an ice cream van or cafe in site, just us and a handful of other people - and what a friendly lot they were too, everyone greeted us as we wandered around. It was wonderful to stroll at our leisure, breathing in the sea air, feeling the breeze on our faces and being away from it all.

You are all probably wondering why I have not mentioned the name of the hamlet, that is because it would not be fair to have it "discovered" by the hordes who would moan "there is nothing to do" and before you know it the cottages would be replaced with bingo halls and pubs. No, let this little part of Morecambe remain unchanged and unspoilt.

To summarise, if you are hoping for a lively holiday in a smart resort then do contact Morecambe tourist board to make sure you are not going to a building site! Even the main shopping area looked like it was undergoing improvements. Hopefully the image I have just had of Morecambe central area is not typical and it will have improved by the time holidaymakers descend in their hoards.

Perhaps if they advertise Morecambe as being a "shabby chic" resort it might do more to restore its image!!!

I would certainly not recommend anyone to spend a holiday in this resort. It is okay to visit for a few hours if you are in the area. Easily accessible via Lancaster and the M6, it is possible to pass through Morecambe on the way to the Lake District perhaps. Or maybe you want to tour the resorts on the west coast, taking in Blackpool and Southport as well as Morecambe.

After my nostalgic return to Morecambe I intend to revisit these other resorts too to see if they have changed and if for the better.

Shortly I am having overseas visitors as guests, one of my reasons for wanting to see Morecambe was because I had thought of taking them there. No chance! I would be thoroughly ashamed to say to them that this is an English seaside holiday resort.

No wonder Brits go abroad for their holidays if this is all we can offer in our home country!