The History of Morecambe and Heysham Past and Present

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Starting again from London, on a more leisurely journey, Portillo disembarks at Welwyn Garden City to visit Rothamsted Manor to learn about fertilisers. He descends into Honister Slate Mine (now the only operational slate mine in England) and sees the miniature railway previously used to carry the slate to the surface. A hand coloured postcard from the mid-20th century showing the Grosvenor Hotel, recently demolished, and the promenade to Sandylands, refurbished in 2007.

He experiences Victorian entertainment, hears how the railways took Welsh textiles into even the most exclusive households and unleashes the power of a 19th-century engineering triumph. In Retford, at the Northern Rubber Factory, Portillo learns about Victorian rubber technology before travelling to Thirsk. Portillo finds out about Torquay's micro-climate, takes a ride on a steam-hauled train to Dartmouth, goes salmon fishing on the Dart estuary and spends some of Totnes's local currency, the Totnes pound. Beginning in the port of Dover, Portillo takes a plunge into the English Channel, inspired by the example of the first person to swim the Channel. Morecambe once boasted two fairgrounds: a small one to the north of the railway station, which closed down in the 1980s, and a larger one to the south of the station, which ultimately became Frontierland and closed in 1999.

In the ancient capital of Scotland, Perth, he learns what it takes to make a sporran before catching the Highland Main Line to Pitlochry and one of Queen Victoria's favourite haunts. In these episodes, Portillo travels along the route of the Great Eastern Line, which goes from the east coast of England to the centre of the country's financial capital, London.

The town still hosts a rugby league team, with Heysham Atoms playing from their Trimpell Sports and Social Club base.

In 1894, the Urban District Council was formed, thus freeing Morecambe completely from its governance by the Borough of Lancaster until 1974 when Lancaster again took charge.