I visited Morecambe as a child and remember going to Frontierland theme park and it being a real seaside town; not on the same scale as Blackpool but still a good day out....

18 years later I returned as an adult as my boyfriend's family lived in the area and what a surprise driving along the Morecambe seafront. The place is derelict !!! Boarded up shops, the Frontierland theme park is long gone, and it's a sad reminder of what was once a thriving seaside town!!

In recent years there has been some money spent on redeveloping the local area. The "iconic" Midland Hotel has been renovated... it looks great but being honest I'm not sure why anyone would stay here except for nostalgia as there is nothing to do in the surrounding area!!!

The prom along the sea front has also had some development, new children's play areas, new pavements. This area is clean but is overshadowed by the run down town centre.

Morecambe town centre is very run down. The shops on the seafront are mainly charity or discount stores. The Arndale Centre is the indoor shopping area.... It has a Boots, a Superdrug, a Tesco Express, a small New Look and generally lots of other smaller shops. Nothing to attract people here.

The pubs are not the nicest and have a certain reputation. Even during the day there is a slightly hostile atmosphere. I quote my boyfriends family telling me "If you want a night out go to Lancaster and Morecambe is just rough"

I'm not a fan of Blackpool but if I had to have a comparison between the seaside towns... I would have to say it's a down market Blackpool.