21st June 2026
Welcome back to all my dedicated readers! This is our last full day here in Lancaster. The weather forecast is the best since we arrived, so we hope it’s accurate!
If you’ve just joined the conversation, here’s a quick recap… We arrived in Lancaster on Thursday – our first visit ever – and part of our UK-centric holidays for 2026.
Why Lancaster? It’s a town we knew nothing about, and in a part of the UK that we’ve always tended to pass through when travelling north. Ann tracked down a great little Pub/Hotel – The Borough Lancaster Hotel – so that was our accommodation sorted!
The Hotel has been great in every respect, and because of its location in the city, has allowed us to walk everywhere we’ve needed to go. We haven’t needed the car at all! Technologically speaking, it’s also provided the best WiFi we’ve ever seen in a UK Hotel – 95 up and 95 down – Perfect! 😁 – so, it’s certainly made my blogging easier!
For us, it’s a cultural holiday, where we’re learning about the city and its people, plus the wider area and its rich history. We’d done our homework before we left Kettering and created a shortlist of everywhere we wanted to see.
We’ve pretty much completed the list. The only places we didn’t get to was the Town Hall (closed on weekends), Williamson Park (we ran out of time) and although we wandered down to the Canal on our first night here, it didn’t really turn into a proper ‘walk’. Instead, as a bonus, we discovered the Lancaster Maritime Museum, which wasn’t originally on our list – but what a find that was!! (see yesterday’s Post)
Missed a Post?
Saturday’s – Day 3
Friday’s – Day 2
Thursday’s – Day 1
Today…
We strayed a little today and took the short train journey to Morecambe – and its glorious sandy beaches. We’ve got Lunch booked at the famous Midland Hotel in all its Art Deco glory, and we’re also heading to the Promenade to find the statue of Eric Morecambe.
Tough life, ehh!?!? 😁
The Train
From Lancaster it was only a short journey – just two stops – and where we took the rather leisurely 10.30 (they run every hour on a Sunday). Great value too, costing us just over a fiver return, in total.
It turned out that we caught the last train out of Lancaster to Morecambe today, due to track maintenance – and it’ll be a bus coming back! 😕
Morecambe Station looked very sleepy when we arrived. There wasn’t a soul in sight (and that’s how it would stay for the rest of the day).
Welcome to Morecambe Bay! Did you know that the Bay is in the Guinness Book of Records for “the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom” – some 120 sq. miles! Just imagine me at parties!! 😂😂😂😂😂
The Eric Morecambe Statue
The statue, sculpted from bronze, was made by Graham Ibbeson and unveiled by the Queen in July 1999. It shows one of the UK’s best-loved comedians in full ‘Bring me Sunshine’ mode – and that seemed wholly appropriate for today!
A Look out to Sea (1)
Itvwas turning into a beautiful day with the temperature already in the mid-20s. We wondered why there were a lot of ‘big boy’ lenses out today! 🤔
It’s Armed Forces Day today with a flypast by a solitary Hurricane!
Is that the time? It’s ice-cream o’clock of course! 😉. Thanks for asking… it’s Strawberry and Chocolate plus the obligatory flake!
A Look out to Sea (2)
The deep blue sky and golden beaches continued to impress us! 👍
The Midland Hotel
We’d only ever seen this Hotel on TV. It’s served as a filming location for several prominent productions, including the classic 1960 film The Entertainer and the 1990 Agatha Christie’s Poirot episode “Double Sin“.
It’s been around a while and certainly has a striking appearance – even from a distance! 👍
History of the Hotel in 100 Words!
Well, 115! 🤔
It was opened on 5 September 1903 at a cost of £1m (about £115m in 2026 money) and was built by the Midland Railway to serve Manchester Central station for its rail services to London St Pancras.
One of the lesser-known facts is that Hitler took a shine to it as a possible Nazi HQ for Britain! It was bought by the Paramount Hotel Group in 2004, and upgraded in a £12m renovation and then transferred to Hotels, Paramount’s sister company.
The hotel was sold in 2018 to a partnership between the Swedish firm Pandox and the Israeli firm Fattal Hotels, which undertook a second £14 million renovation. From 2023, the Midland Hotel has operated as a Leonardo Royal Hotel.
Inside…
Outside…
Lunch
Shall we say, Lunch was an interesting experience! I think we both had an image in our minds of what the four-star dining experience would be like – Sadly, today wasn’t it! ☹️☹️
First and foremost, this is a four-star establishment and so NOT to have any Waiters at all to take your food order was a bit of a surprise. Instead, the once majestic Midland Hotel now required us to choose from the menu, walk to the Bar, queue with the rest of mankind, place and pay for our order – this was no better than your below-average Pub! 😮
Desserts demanded an identical process requiring us to queue again! Err, no thanks! Any offer of mustard or horseradish with the Beef? Nope! A similar shortfall with the Turkey and the absence of Cranberry Sauce too. Well, at least they’re consistent. A filthy wine glass completed the lacklustre experience. This was going downhill fast.
The signs of cost-cutting were everywhere. No water for the table, paper napkins, and ‘help yourself’ cutlery because they can’t be asked to lay the table! So, no chance of a tip then! In fact, by having to pay up front at the Bar, before the meal began, completely removed any opportunity for tipping! A missed opportunity!
Conclusion? The Midland has become a pale shadow of its former self, and one venue that we’ll never see the inside of again! Thankfully! 😠
We headed back to the Station on the lookout for the replacement bus service – hoping that it hadn’t been organised by the Midland Hotel!
Fortunately, it hadn’t! A shiny luxury coach arrived just up the road from the station, and we climbed aboard.
That didn’t take long! Within 40 minutes, we were sipping tea back at the Hotel.
Tomorrow
After four nights here, we head home after Breakfast. Lancaster began as a complete mystery to us, but ended up being in our ‘top five’ of ‘Cities to explore’. What a great few days away!
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!
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