Natural England - The Lune Deep, Morecambe Bay

Cutting edge techniques and seabed mapping data provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have been used to create a three dimensional model of the North Wests undersea grand canyon, helping to identify its special habitats that are vital for marine life and explore the mysterious landscape which exists underwater off the Lancashire Coast as never before! The Lune Deep is a relic from the last Ice Age, a natural channel scoured into Morecambe Bay by melting glaciers over 20,000 years ago, as long as a half-marathon and at points as deep as Nelsons column. Due to the depth, turbulent currents and muddy water, it has been previously impossible to see what the Lune Deep looks like. The film shows the rocky reefs, cliffs and steep slopes of boulders tumbling down to the bottom of the channel and the home these provide for weird and wonderful creatures such as squat lobsters, dead mans fingers and the peacock worm. The Lune Deep is an important feature of our coastal heritage, and this film provides a fantastic opportunity for the public to be able to explore it with us. Natural England will be proposing the site as a Special Area of Conservation to the UK Government as part of the Marine Protected Area network later on this year.