A Son of the Rock

Leaving Haworth we headed back home through Lancashire, skirting Bolton and Blackburn (plenty signposts but nary a glimpse of it from the M65) on our way to the M6 and north. We came off at junction 33A to detour into Morecambe. Mistake. The road takes you through Lancaster and the traffic was a crawl, if that.

Our destination was Morecambe – we passed the local football ground in the way in. As a seaside town we expected it to be in something of a decline but it looked in good enough nick, thriving even.

The goal was of course the Midland Hotel: designed by Oliver Hill. Its vintage is 1933 and it’s one of Britain’s signature Art Deco buildings. It has of course been featured in the Poirot TV series.

More recently, starting in 2006, it has been restored. It reopened in 2008.

This photo was taken from a distance and shows the curvature of the frontage.

Here is a stitch of three I took from the car park. The stitching seems to have flattened the perspective.

The entrance pillars are nice, too. Could do with a bit of weeding, though.

Closer in to the cylindrical tower. You can see the Eric Gill sea horse sculptures adorning the top. The glazing seems okay on the tower but the room windows look wrong.

The view from the south. Eyes poked out on this side?

The view from the south west, (the promenade, essentially.) To my mind the restoration has put in too much glass here. No doubt it protects the patrons from bracing winds.

The north side. Lovely curved entranceway and canopy – plus the glazing on the doors looks right.

Friends of the Midland Hotel website is here.