One random postcode, and a story you probably haven’t heard before.

Sunderland Point near Morecambe is unique. It’s the only mainland place in the UK which gets cut off twice a day by the tide washing over its only access road. The village has been here since the 1700s – it was the original port in the area before Lancaster was built, and it is steeped in history. There are things about living here which are a step back in time, too. There’s no gas supply – so there’s a culture of competitive drift wood collecting. There are no shops, no pubs, just a public toilet block which the 50 villagers all look after on a rota, and a reading room where they can get together.

But what the village does have is a 15-strong shanty crew – “a raucous rowdy bunch who love a drink… and singing at the tops of our lungs”. When producer Polly arrives in the village to meet the shanty crew, she stumbles into a moment of change. Trevor, the Sunderland Point Sea Shanty Crew’s co-founder, has just moved to the other end of the tidal road, with his wife Margaret. “We almost regard Trevor and Margaret as the mother and father of Sunderland Point” – this is the story of why they decided to leave, and what happens next.

Produced and presented by Polly Weston in Bristol
Editor: Chris Ledgard
A BBC Audio Wales and West Production

Source: BBC Radio 4 – The Patch, Sunderland Point, Morecambe