It is amazing that I have got to around the seventieth cartoon on the site, and only now just remembered Cockleshell Bay. This cartoon had a stupendously long run of 104 epsidoes over six seasons and was made by Cosgrove Hall, who also brought us such gems as DangerMouse and Count Duckula to name a few. Watching the cartoon (or should I say stop-animation, rather than cartoon) now it is of an incredibly high quality - whether it be the script, the narration, the quality of the set and the characters themsleves it has all been put together to a very high polished finish and is a real pleasure to watch again. I think perhaps one of the reasons that I have taken this long to remember the series is probably due to its very gentle and unassuming nature, the series follows the lives of the Cockle family in their new home at Cockle Shell Bay, where Mr and Mrs Cockle run a bed and breakfast called the Bucket & Spade. It is set in an idyllic town, where everyone is friendly, everywhere is clean and there is an idealised magic childhood for the two key characters, Robin and Rosie to enjoy. In comparison to the zanier antics of DangerMouse etc. it is easy to see how a child's mind could forget this cartoon quite quickly, but after watching it again, it is definitely up there as one of my favourite shows from the period, reminding me for some reason of Bagpuss and the Flumps in terms of its gentle story lines.
The show began life as a story segment on the very popular UK kids tv show of the time called Rainbow, from there it spawned its own series, which at present I don't think has been released on DVD (as of Mar. 2010). Interestingly I've just noticed that the director was Jackie Cockle, I'm not sure but I think is just a coincidence, but if you know differently let me know at webmaster@cartoonarchive.com
Robin and Rosie Cockle
Robin and Rosie are the heroes of the series, we follow their adventures in CockleShell Bay. During the series their family expands and they are joined by a baby sister called Holly.
Helen Cockle
Helen Cockle (a.k.a. mum) has her hands full looking after both the Bucket and Spade and the two kids. Next door to her Bed and Breakfast we learn there is another guest house called 'Pine Villa'. The othjer main character that I couldn't get a picture of - (sorry) is Granny Routy. Mrs Routy isn't actually the kids granny, but as they don't have one, and she is used to looking after kids, having eleven of her own, she assumes the role.
Christopher Cockle
We learn in the first series that the reason the Cockles have moved to Cockleshell Bay is that Mr Cockle no longer wants to work in a factory andthat Mrs Cockle doesnt like city life, so they move here to Cockleshell Bay to start a new life and raise the family.
Mr Shipham
The kids call him Mr Ship, but his full name is Mr Shipham. Mr Ship is a friendly neighbour, that is kind to the kids, he also owns a boat and likes to say nautical stuff, such as 'Shiver me Timbers' etc!
Ben Gunn the Sea-Gull
We first meet Ben Gunn in the episdoe 'The Pirate Sea-Gull', he remains a friend of the kids as he has a broken wing and can't fly far. He isa very big bird, about half the size of the kids!
Fury the Donkey
Fury actually belongs to Mr Arthur Fingham, who gives childen Donkey Rides on the beach. However Rosie and Robin get to see him lots as he lives in Mr Ship's back-yard, as it's close to the beach!
Rainbow Fan Site (the tv show where Cockleshell bay was first aired)
Cockleshell Bay:Lyrics
Voice-over says the below:
Cockleshell Bay is a town near the sea,
With sunshine and seagulls that screech.
There are shops that sell ices and buckets and spades,
So that children can play on the beach.
There are white painted houses along the sea front,
Where folk come for a quiet holiday.
Where the sky is bright and the winds are light,
And two children stay.
So meet, Robin and Rosie of Cockleshell Bay.
Cockleshell Bay: Episode Guide
There was a stupendous 104 episodes of Cockleshell Bay made overits six year life-span. The link below provides an episode guide for these:
