Morecambe Bay Cocklers

Cocklers on the tidal sands of Morecambe Bay early 20th Century

There are 120 square miles of sands in Morecambe Bay and shellfish have been collected here for centuries on the intertidal sand-flats, in the places where the cockles are not disturbed by waves or currents. I think this card captures the early morning misty light and  the flat shining sands perfectly. All the things  needed for collecting cockles are in the photo. There are both women and men, perhaps a family group, although women sometimes collected cockles to supplement a households income in these times.