The great British seaside of a bygone era

[jw5]

Tourists have been visiting British seaside towns since the Victorian era. While none can really compare with those found on the Mediterranean or elsewhere in Southern Europe, the British seaside is a strangely nostalgic place. These destinations are often wrapped in oddly quirky but endearing childhood memories, of building sandcastles perhaps, or taking donkey rides. Go back further and towns like Brighton, Bournemouth, and Scarborough owe a good part of their foundation to beachfront tourism. And while times change, we still like to be beside the seaside, don't we?

 

[jw5]

Bournemouth -

A premier south coast holiday destination, Bournemouth, seen here in 1880, is celebrated for its Victorian and Edwardian architecture. The town has two landmark piers and five beaches.

 

[jw5]

Cowes -

Cowes, a coastal town on the Isle of Wight, is forever associated with yachting. In fact, it gives its name to arguably the world's oldest regular regatta, Cowes Week, which occurs annually in the first week of August. The town's esplanade is pictured in 1880.

 

[jw5]

Weymouth -

During the Second World War, Weymouth was an important mustering for Allied troops preparing for D-Day. The town is pictured here in more peaceful times, around 1890.

 

[jw5]

Blackpool -

When it was built in 1894, Blackpool Tower was the tallest building in the British Empire. The iconic structure, still standing today, is pictured in its inaugural year.

 

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Torquay -

Genteel Torquay is the centerpiece of the English Riviera. It found favor with Victorian society and remains a destination of choice for those seeking a fashionable resort getaway. The town is pictured in 1895, viewed from Waldron Hill.

 

[syed putra]

Brighton?

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

back when MuSLIME and Black scum are all still in the shitholes where they came from............

 

[syed putra]

back when MuSLIME and Black scum are all still in the shitholes where they came from............

It cannot be so bad when english, Scottish and Irish leaders are all descendant from induan subcontinent. Sinkie should follow suit.

 

[jw5]

Brighton?

Brighton -

One of the most popular seaside resorts in Great Britain, Brighton was a fashionable Victorian-era vacation destination. Many of the town's major visitor attractions were built during this period, including the West Pier (pictured here in 1900).

 

[jw5]

Hastings -

Hastings, on England's south coast, is known for the Battle of Hastings, which took place on October 14, 1066. Centuries later with the arrival of the railway, the town was again invaded, this time by Victorian sunseekers, seen here in 1899 on the beach with a collection of bathing machines—devices that allowed people to change out of their usual clothes into swimwear while protecting their modesty.

 

[jw5]

Margate -

Crowds of smartly dressed people line the pier at Margate for their traditional afternoon seaside stroll. Completed in 1856, the pier collapsed in 1978 during a severe storm. It was never rebuilt.

 

[jw5]

Scarborough -

Scarborough is the largest holiday resort on the Yorkshire Coast and deserves its reputation as one of England's most famous seaside towns. This evocative image from 1911 includes the town's Grand Hotel, while on the hill in the distance is the ruins of Scarborough Castle.

 

[jw5]

Newquay -

Fistral Beach in Newquay is today a world-class surfing destination. One hundred years ago, however, it was the haunt of well-dressed tourists seeking a spot of sun before a cup of tea. Newquay remains one of Cornwall's top vacation options.

 

[jw5]

Southsea -

Four women on the beach at Southsea in 1929 are all eyes at sea as they watch the Schneider Trophy air race take place over The Solent.

 

[jw5]

Morecambe -

Morecambe in Lancashire is known for its vast bay—the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom. The seaside town is pictured in its thriving heyday, around 1930.

 

[maxxi]

Lyme Regis

 

[jw5]

Southend-on-Sea -

The unusual beach attire of a pair of young ladies, strolling arm in arm along the promenade at Thorpe Bay in Southend-on-Sea in Essex, turns the heads of passers-by in this candid 1932 photograph.

 

[jw5]

Shanklin -

Girls from the Russell Road London County Council Girls' School are seen in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight in September 1936 receiving tuition on the beach during a fortnight's holiday under the auspices of the School Journeys Association.

 

[jw5]

Eastbourne -

A Victorina-era seaside town in East Sussex, Eastbourne derives a large and increasing income from tourism, as it has done since the 19th century. Walking the beach at low tide is a favorite pastime, as these children pictured in 1948 delightfully demonstrate.