Whatever unofficial rivalry existed between Bradford and Leeds in the world of commerce, when it came to holiday destinations or a day by the sea, they each had their preferences. If you lived in Bradford, you favoured Morecambe, and if you lived in Leeds, it was Scarborough or, at a pinch, Bridlington; and, of course, it was the railway that took you there, originally the Midland and North Eastern systems respectively. So popular did Morecambe become with Bradfordians, both as a holiday resort and as a place of residence for the well-to-do, that it acquired the epithet ‘Bradford-by-the-Sea.’
My family was no exception and when my parents settled in Bradford, our summer holidays were automatically a week in Morecambe, my father forsaking his east coast allegiance. We travelled by train,…
