A TRIP around the south Cumbria coast will double up as a trip down memory lane next month, when train passengers will be treated to a special audio experience.
Trains running around Morecambe Bay and along the Furness line this September will conjure up times long past by playing out a specially commissioned “soundscape” reflecting the sounds, music and memories of the area’s fishing heritage and communities. Every Sunday throughout September, Northern Rail will host Fleeting - magical mini-broadcasts on trains between Barrow and Lancaster.
Memories of those involved in the fishing industry, mixed with the natural sounds of the bay, will allow people to learn about and reflect on the landscape passing by their window. The train broadcasts will be accompanied by related activities and talks at several stations along the line.
The Fleeting sound art installation is inspired by a rich archive of materials which have been collected and recorded by volunteers working on local organisation Morecambe Bay Partnership’s fishing heritage project since 2015. The archive captures the personal memories of those involved in the Bay’s fishing communities, past and present.
Michelle Cooper, community and heritage training officer at Morecambe Bay Partnership said: “It’s wonderful that Fleeting will enable the Bay’s unique fishing heritage to be shared in such a dynamic way as people journey to and fro, looking out over the very land and seascapes worked by the fishing community. It’s a really exciting and innovative used of our archives and will be a very moving experience.”
Fleeting is designed and produced by writer Alexandra O’Toole of Fable Arts, in partnership with Northern Rail. It is part of Catching Tales, Morecambe Bay Partnership’s programme of community-based art commissions that celebrate the unique fishing heritage of Morecambe Bay.
Alex O’Toole, lead artist and director of Fable Arts, said: “When the soundscape goes live, I hope it will attract visitors from all Morecambe Bay’s communities interested in listening to a little bit of their shared history.”
Fleeting will be playing between Barrow and Lancaster on Sunday September 17 and Sunday September 24.
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