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its a nice place
] and ] can be seen in the upper part of the photo and ] and ] are visible in the lower left-hand corner of the photo.</center>]]
'''Morecambe Bay''' is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the ]. It is the largest expanse of intertidal ]s and ] in the ], covering a total area of {{convert|310|km2|abbr=on}}. In 1974, the second largest gas field in the UK was discovered {{convert|25|mi|km}} west of Blackpool, with original reserves of over 7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) (200 billion cubic metres). At its peak, 15% of Britain's gas supply came from the bay but production is now in decline and the main field was mothballed in 2011.

==Natural features==
]
The rivers ], ], ], ] and ] drain into the Bay, with their various estuaries making a number of ]s within the bay. Much of the land around the bay is reclaimed, forming ]es used in ]. Morecambe Bay is also an important wildlife site, with abundant bird life and varied marine habitats, and there is a ] at ]. The bay has rich ] beds, which have been fished by locals for generations.

There are ] in the bay, all to the north; ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Walney is substantially larger than the others, with its southern tip marking the north-western corner of the Bay. Sheep, Piel, Chapel and Foulney Islands are tidal and can be walked to at low tide with appropriate care. Local guidance should be sought if walking to Chapel or Piel islands as fast tides and quicksand can be extremely dangerous. Roa Island is linked to the mainland by a causeway, while Barrow Island has been connected to the mainland as part of the docks system at ].<ref>"No Boat Required – Exploring Tidal Islands", Peter Caton, 2011, Troubador Publishing, ISBN 978-1848767-010</ref>

==History==
There have been royally appointed local guides (holding the post of ]) for crossing the bay for centuries. This difficulty of crossing the bay added to the isolation of the land to its north which, due to the presence of the mountains of the Lake District, could only be reached by crossing these sands or by ferry, until the ] was built in 1857. This skirts the edge of the bay, crossing the various estuaries. The ]-] railway also briefly runs alongside the bay - the only place where the ] actually runs alongside the coast.
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The bay is notorious for its ] and fast moving ]s (it is said that the tide can come in "as fast as a horse can run"). ], 23 ] immigrant ] pickers drowned after being cut off by the tides.<ref>Channel 4 documentary-drama 'Ghosts'</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/8710611.Coroner_records_unlawful_killing_verdict_on_Morecambe_Bay_cockler/?ref=mr |title=Coroner records unlawful killing verdict on Morecambe Bay cockler (From The Westmorland Gazette) |publisher=Thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2011-11-07}}</ref> This tragedy led some commentators to suggest that the cockle beds should be closed until improved safety measures could be introduced.

Morecambe Bay was featured on the television programme '']'' (BBC) as one of the wonders of the North.

Morecambe Bay is so called because historian ] suggested in 1771 that it was the Morikámbē tidal flat described by Greek geographer Claudius ] (died c170 AD).<ref>Eilert Ekwall, ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names'', Oxford University Press.</ref>

===Settlements===
Some 319,100 people live along the coastline of Morecambe Bay,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=789906&c=LA14+3LD&d=13&e=13&g=431749&i=1x1003x1004&o=198&m=0&r=0&s=1203112377671&enc=1&dsFamilyId=1812|title=Check Browser Settings|work=statistics.gov.uk}}</ref> with many of these people residing in the towns listed in the table below. The largest town on the bay is Barrow-in-Furness located to the north-west of it, whilst the town which adopted its name from the bay (] was previously called ]) closely follows. Morecambe relied on the bay for many years, as a popular seaside holiday destination, whilst Barrow still relies on the seas for a large percentage of its economy - ].
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Town
! County
! Population
|-
| ]
| ]
| 59,256
|-
| ]
| ]
| 45,000
|-
| ]
| Lancashire
| 26,840
|-
| ]
| Cumbria
| 11,210
|-
| ]
| Lancashire
| 6,500
|-
| ]
| Cumbria
| 4,000
|}

==Natural gas==
]]]
]
{{see also|Rampside Gas Terminal}}
The bay has Britain's second-largest natural gas field,<ref name=UKOOGIA>{{Cite web | url=http://www.oilandgasuk.co.uk/publications/Geological_Settings/Oil_and_Gas_from_the_Western_Basins.cfm | title= Oil and Gas from the Western Basins | publisher=United Kingdom Offshore Oil and Gas Industry Association | date=2012}}</ref> in the Triassic ] with a seal of Mercian Mudstone<ref name=StuartCowan>{{citation | url=http://mem.lyellcollection.org/content/14/1/527.abstract | title=The South Morecambe Field, Blocks 110/2a, 110/3a, 110/8a, UK East Irish Sea | first1=I. A. | last1=Stuart | first2=G. | last2=Cowan | doi=10.1144/GSL.MEM.1991.014.01.66 | journal=Memoirs of the Geological Society, London | date=1 January 1991 | volume=14 | pages=527–541}}</ref> and a Carboniferous source.<ref name=UKOOGIA /> The South Morecambe Field, covering an area of {{convert|32|mi2|km2}}, was discovered in 1974 and the first gas came ashore in 1985.<ref name=ES06>{{cite web | url=http://og.decc.gov.uk/assets/og/environment/ospar-2006/centrica-hrl-ems.pdf | format=pdf | title=Hydrocarbon Resources Limited Morecambe Bay Environmental Statement 2006 | publisher=Department for Energy and Climate Change}}</ref> The North Morecambe Field, found in 1976 {{convert|8|mi|km}} to the north, is {{convert|11|mi2|km2}} and started production in 1994.<ref name=ES06 /> Both are operated by ] Energy.<ref name=ES06 /> They are {{convert|25|mi}} west of Blackpool in 30 metres of water;<ref name=ES06 /> the top of the gas reservoir is at a depth of just {{convert|900|m|ft}}, necessitating slant drilling for the first time in European waters.<ref name=StuartCowan /> The combined gas reserves on discovery were estimated at 179 billion cubic meters (6.45 tcf).<ref name=ES06 /> A further 0.65tcf is recognised in the satellite fields of Bains, Calder (Rivers), Dalton, Millom East and Millom West, and a number of smaller fields have been identified.<ref name=ES06 />

The gas is landed at three terminals at Westfield Point in Barrow-in-Furness, collectively referred to as the ].<ref name=ES06 /> The South Morecambe Central Processing Complex is connected via a 36-inch pipeline to the South Morecambe terminal.<ref name=ES06 /> North Morecambe gas has a different composition so the unmanned Drilling and Production Platform is linked by a separate 36" wet sealine to the North Morecambe Terminal, where it is stripped of water, CO2 and nitrogen.<ref name=ES06 /> The Rivers Terminal has a dedicated pipeline for sour gas from the Calder field, which must be stripped of hydrogen sulphide before processing by the North Morecambe Terminal.<ref name=ES06 /> The hydrogen sulphide is converted to sulphuric acid which is sold for industrial use. In 1991 a 229MW CCGT power plant was opened near the terminals, on the site of the former coal-fired ]. There is a support base at ] and personnel are typically moved by helicopter from ].<ref name=ES06 /> Five rig workers and the two pilots of a ] were lost when ] on 27 December 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6213141.stm | title=Six dead in rig helicopter crash | publisher=BBC News | date=28 December 2006}}</ref>

At peak production 15% of UK supply came from the two main fields.<ref name=ES06 /> As of 2006 Centrica reckoned there was about 1.2tcf of economic gas remaining in them, and they planned to operate the fields for another 10–15 years.<ref name=ES06 /> In June 2011 they announced the South Morecambe field would be suspended as a result of tax increases in the ] which meant South Morecambe would be paying a rate of 81% tax; North Morecambe and Rivers would continue in production<ref name="LancGuard20110602">{{cite news |url = http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/business/centrica-mothballs-morecambe-bay-gas-field-1-3441481|title = Centrica mothballs Morecambe Bay gas field|date = 2 June 2011|newspaper = Lancaster Guardian}}</ref> as they are taxed at 62%.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/01/centrica-threatens-shut-morecambe-gas | title=Centrica threatens to shut down Morecambe Bay gas field | first= Richard | last=Wachman | newspaper=The Guardian | date=1 May 2011}}</ref> Production resumed from the South Morecambe field in July 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Centrica restarts mothballed Morecambe Bay gas field|url = http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/news/business/centrica-restarts-mothballed-morecambe-bay-gas-field-1-3546466|website = www.thevisitor.co.uk|accessdate = 2015-10-21}}</ref>

==Bridge proposal==
{{update|type=section|date=February 2012}}
] in Shanghai, China has a similar structure to the proposed Morecambe Bay Bridge.]]

Discussions as to whether to build a road bridge over the bay have been ongoing for decades, particularly in the more isolated north of the bay. The ] was of a "green bridge", flanked by wind turbines and using ] to mitigate the environmental damage of its construction.<ref>{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> The bridge would be {{convert|12|mi}} long making it the ] in ]. It would stretch from ] to ], at the bay's mouth. Feasibility studies are ongoing, though over two years since this version of the bridge was proposed, little progress has been made. In the ], Timothy Bell polled just 1.1% of the votes in the ] ] for the Build Duddon and Morecambe Bay Bridges Party.

A lease has been granted for developing two ] sites in the bay, one at Walney Island and the other at ]. Together these will have around 50 turbines.

The bridge could produce 200&nbsp;MW of renewable energy from a tidal stream system, enough to power over 400,000 homes.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} The results of turbine tests in the Bay, promised for the summer of 2009, have yet to appear in the local press. The marine environment of the Bay is notoriously volatile, and some local opinion has doubted whether turbines could function effectively in such a setting.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

Members of Parliament in West Cumbria have hailed the bridge as a saviour for local industry.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} The project's backers, ''Bridge Across the Bay Ltd.'', have compared the proposed bridge's importance to that of the ] (the Øresund Bridge) near Copenhagen and the ]. Bridge Across the Bay Ltd. intends to seek planning permission in 2010. Subject to approval and the problematic provision of finance, construction could begin around 2011, and the company estimates the bridge could be completed in 2015.<ref> ''nwemail.co.uk''</ref><ref> ''news.bbc.co.uk''</ref><ref> ''nwemail.co.uk''</ref>

==Further reading==
*A brief article on the Morecambe Bay tidal crossing appeared in 2005: Cawley, David : ''Time & Tide: Morecambe Bay'', , 4 (Sept 2005), pp.&nbsp;40–44.

==References==

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{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* - local conservation charity
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{{Coord|54|07|N|3|00|W|region:GB_type:waterbody_scale:500000|display=title}}
* - Local Amateur Radio Society and Training
* -Amateur Radio Group in Morecambe
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* - Lancaster City Council Tourism website
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Revision as of 11:39, 22 May 2016

its a nice place