PHOTOS: Hundreds of miles and smiles as man tours the UK to promote his dream for Morecambe

Friday, 30 August 2024 10:39

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

Nick Smith outside Glasgow Central Station during his tour of the UK

A champion of Morecambe has been on a unique tour of the UK making people smile while promoting his vision for a revolutionary project in the town.

Nick Smith, owner of the Queen's Market in Morecambe, has travelled the length and breadth of the country speaking to people on the streets, in cafes, in shopping centres and at famous landmarks.

Mr Smith has been trying for several years to raise funds to reopen the 19th century former market hall, Palladium Cinema, Crystal T's nightclub and Concorde Squash Club as a community building.

His vision is for the Queen's Market to have a wide range of areas for offices, training centres, bars, live venues, recording studios, youth areas, art galleries, food hall, live venues and exhibition spaces.

But his bid to raise £1m to fund the project has raised only a fraction of its target.

So wearing an attention-grabbing hat with a bee on top, and a green shirt emblazoned with 'Queens Market Morecambe', he set off in July on a whistle-stop tour of the entire country.

His simple aim was to meet as many people as he could, and get them to smile, in the hope of generating goodwill and publicity for his plans.

At times he travelled with his son Christopher and wife Susan in their Land Rover or motorhome, and at others by himself by bike, bus or train.

Here is Nick pictured in Edinburgh during his tour.

His tour has taken him to Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester, Weston-Super-Mare, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Newport, Lichfield, Coventry, Leamington Spa, Knutsford, Altrincham, Wigan, Chorley, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Penrith, Gretna, Dumfries, Ayr, Blackpool, Salford, Carlisle and Newcastle, to name just a few places.

Before he set off, Nick told Beyond Radio he hoped to convince kind strangers to donate just one pound each towards the Queen's Market project, to raise £1m.

This has proven difficult, but Nick still said the tour has been "the best summer I've ever had".

"It's been really interesting," he said.

"Everybody was smiling and chatting with me because of the hat I was wearing.

"I tried to make as many people smile as I could, in towns and cities across the country, with the hope that somewhere, I might end up on the (TV) news."

Nick is pictured below near the BBC building at Media City, Salford Quays.

Nick said he'd spoken to people from all walks of life, from rough sleepers to an opera singer who he met in Bath.

"The people who had time to speak to me, seemed quite happy, but busy people don't seem to have time," he said.

"I've had lots of people taking selfies with me, I spoke to people from Iraq and China who were on holiday, I've been going into art galleries and talking about the artwork I'm trying to create at the Queen's Market."

Here is Nick pictured near Blackpool Tower during his tour.

Nick wants to continue his tour by visiting the east of England and eventually end up in London, but needs to raise more money to continue his trip.

He will be holding a fundraising sale this weekend at the Queen's Market (pictured below), of vintage and architectural items.

"I'm totally broke and I've got a collection of architectural antiques I've collected over 30 years," he said on a video clip on the Queen's Market Facebook page.

"There's 110 doors, there's 57 fireplaces, 50-odd pieces of coloured glass, there's a massive selection of everything you can imagine."

The Queen's Market had been closed for years until former Morecambe High School pupil Nick bought it at auction for £50,000 in 2015.

He then began the painstaking process of clearing the derelict building of 200 tonnes of rubbish, restoring original features, and transforming the look of the interior and exterior - all by himself.

Mr Smith's vision for Queens Market is a community hub where local people can go to develop skills in art, performance, science, technology and much more, creating jobs and opportunities to stop young people from leaving Morecambe to seek employment elsewhere.

But he has struggled to raise the money he needs to kickstart the project.

"I need to get into the TV news, so all the people I've met around the country will say 'oh look, there's that guy'," he said.

"It just needs that one spark and then hopefully I can get the investment I need."

His vintage fair, antiques sale and open day will be held on Saturday August 31 and Sunday September 1 from 10am to 4pm at the Queen's Market building on Victoria Street in Morecambe town centre.

Here are more photos from Nick's UK tour.