Visit to #Lytham and #LythamStAnnes

​With a sudden improvement in the weather, we decided to venture out to Lytham for the day,  away from the local area. Our first stop was Lowther Park where we went for a coffee. This was quite busy but we found somewhere to sit on a bench outside.
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After the drink, we decided to walk along the seafront into town. As an artist I appreciate certain scenes and this lone boat on the estuary was impressive. I'm not sure it would work as a painting but who knows!

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  With the present situation and schools etc. being reopened, we didn't expect it to be too busy. To our surprise the shopping area was crowded and bars and restaurants full. Social distancing was hard and masks were only required in shops. 

A couple of years ago I was involved in the Lytham arts festival and I was interested to see how the art scene had progressed in the area. 

The only artwork on show on the main street was upstairs in a gift shop. Here, there were a range of original artwork from local artists, some prints from a northern artist and some generic work from other artists. The other gallery off a side street had been turned into a hairdressers and the local art shop had disappeared. This was a shame, as we had had a lovely talk, on a previous visit, with the owner who was trying hard to make a go of it.

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Moving on to St Anne's, we parked near Ashton Gardens. The reason for this was two fold. As well as being a pretty park, there was an exhibition in the Pavilion Café by #StevieBruce. He is  a local artist I follow on Facebook. His paintings  really capture the local area, some of a bygone age and are always worth viewing.
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​Being a very hot day, the queue to get into the Pavilion Café, was slow moving as people tended to linger over their drinks. Whilst waiting in the queue, there was a medical problem where an old gentleman was overcome with the heat and a local lifeguard volunteer had to look after him. I did get a chair for the gentleman though!

After refreshments, we decided to have a walk along the seafront. Again, this was quite busy with nearly every bench being taken. Everyone was social distancing on the beach, although that wasn't hard as the sea is so far out!

Eventually, the heat got to us and we drove back to Lytham for a fish and chip evening meal.

A really nice day with a little respite from the problems and stresses in the world today. At times, you wouldn't have known that there was a pandemic, as people were enjoying the sudden hot spell, and life was carrying on.

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