Our love affair with the coast remembered: 'Lost' days of the great British seaside holiday are revealed in rare vintage photographs

  • For many, a trip to the seaside, with donkey rides and a bucket and spade used to be the highlight of the summer
  • This precious era is being celebrated in a nostalgic book dedicated to the nation's love affair with the coast
  • Author Sarah Freeman's book, Beside the Sea: Britain's Lost Seaside Heritage, shows resorts in their heyday

Advertisement

Once upon a time holidays were not about Instagramming from First Class on a plane or boasting about luxurious infinity pools.  

For many, a trip to the humble British seaside, with donkey rides, a bucket and spade and loved ones was the highlight of the summer.  

These precious 'lost' days are being celebrated in a nostalgic new book dedicated to the nation's love affair with the coast.

Simpler times: Holiday makers at Jaywick Sands, Essex, enjoy resting in deckchairs, with beach huts in the background

Simpler times: Holiday makers at Jaywick Sands, Essex, enjoy resting in deckchairs, with beach huts in the background

The social hotspot of Britain: Vintage photographs show a beauty contest being held at a lido sun-terrace in Margate 

The social hotspot of Britain: Vintage photographs show a beauty contest being held at a lido sun-terrace in Margate 

Author Sarah Freeman's work harks back to the heyday of seaside resorts like Blackpool, Margate, Scarborough and Morecambe, a time when summer saw a mass exodus to the beach.

Sarah has charted the demise of the grand hotels, ballrooms, holiday camps, piers and amusements that characterised seaside towns in their halcyon years from the 1800s through to the mid 20th century.

The Victorians paved the way for coastal towns to develop into celebrated resorts when they built the railways, making it easy for those living and working in inland towns and cities to escape them for seaside breaks.

Long before air travel made holidays abroad a possibility, a trip to the beach meant fish and chips, donkey rides, Punch and Judy shows and bathing suits rather than white sands, bikinis and palm trees.

Forget private jets, take a donkey! Holiday makers have a ball at Jaywick Sands, Essex. Author Sarah Freeman's work showcases photographs from the 1800s through to the mid 20th century

Forget private jets, take a donkey! Holiday makers have a ball at Jaywick Sands, Essex. Author Sarah Freeman's work showcases photographs from the 1800s through to the mid 20th century

Soaking up the rays: Holiday makers at Jaywick Sands, Essex. Freeman's work harks back to the heyday of seaside resorts like Blackpool, Margate, Scarborough and Morecambe, a time when summer saw a mass exodus to the beach

Soaking up the rays: Holiday makers at Jaywick Sands, Essex. Freeman's work harks back to the heyday of seaside resorts like Blackpool, Margate, Scarborough and Morecambe, a time when summer saw a mass exodus to the beach

Towns like Redcar, North Yorks, Cleethorpes in Lincs, Hastings in East Sussex and Hornsea in East Yorks used to be prime destinations but now the public favour Benidorm, Corfu and Mallorca.

Each one boasted a pier, an outdoor lido for swimming, amusement arcades, ballrooms and bingo halls.

But by the 1960s the resorts had fallen out of favour and in the years since, many of the classic seaside features have fallen into ruin or disappeared completely.

Beside the Sea: Britain's Lost Seaside Heritage, the product of 18 months of research, celebrates the institution of the seaside holiday through the stories of the individual resorts.

Crowning glory: Blackpool's lavishly decorated Tower Ballroom, which is still celebrated today and has even hosted BBC's Strictly Come Dancing

Crowning glory: Blackpool's lavishly decorated Tower Ballroom, which is still celebrated today and has even hosted BBC's Strictly Come Dancing

Bucket and wade: Holiday makers at Jaywick Sands, Essex. The book has chartered the demise of the grand hotels, ballrooms, holiday camps, piers and amusements that characterised seaside towns in their halcyon years

Bucket and wade: Holiday makers at Jaywick Sands, Essex. The book has chartered the demise of the grand hotels, ballrooms, holiday camps, piers and amusements that characterised seaside towns in their halcyon years

Sarah, 41, from Leeds, West Yorks, said: 'The idea of this book was to tell the story of the great British seaside by telling the stories of individual resorts but also focusing on different aspects that have been lost over the years.

'Despite being close to the sea, all these resorts built open air swimming pools and they were real focal points but very few remain now.

'Similarly they all had piers but over the years they have fallen into ruin. When these features disappeared the resorts themselves went into decline.

'It's not about being all doom and gloom but more about remembering and celebrating how great these resorts once were in their heyday.

A night out by the beach: Couples dancing at a lido in Margate as part of their summer seaside holidays 

A night out by the beach: Couples dancing at a lido in Margate as part of their summer seaside holidays 

The Spanish City, Whitley Bay which was built by entertainer and businessman Charles Elderton and opened in 1910. By the late 1990s the building had fallen into disrepair, and in the early 2000s it was closed to the public. A renovation project was announced in 2011

The Spanish City, Whitley Bay which was built by entertainer and businessman Charles Elderton and opened in 1910. By the late 1990s the building had fallen into disrepair, and in the early 2000s it was closed to the public. A renovation project was announced in 2011

Her book aims to highlight the sudden influx in popularity the resorts faced in the Victorian era particularly with the development of the railway network system. 

Even resorts that had been previously restricted to the wealthier members of society saw an increase in holidaymakers flocking to the beach, and businesses looking to cash in on the visitors. 

'Air travel was the final nail in the coffin but a lot of these resorts had already started to look a bit tired,' Sarah said. 'They didn't offer 20th century people the things they were after any more.

'Seaside resorts are a part of the country's heritage and should be celebrated as such but they are from a bygone era and I don't think we will see them in the same way again.

The Empress Ballroom was added to The Spanish City, Whitley Bay in 1920. The area served as a permanent funfair in North Tyneside, Tyne & Wear and also included a concert hall, restaurant, roof garden and tearoom

The Empress Ballroom was added to The Spanish City, Whitley Bay in 1920. The area served as a permanent funfair in North Tyneside, Tyne & Wear and also included a concert hall, restaurant, roof garden and tearoom

Guests enjoying a performance at the Mablethorpe open air theatre in 1947, with sights of the seaside behind 

Guests enjoying a performance at the Mablethorpe open air theatre in 1947, with sights of the seaside behind 

The truth is the world changed, and, for a while, the seaside stood still.  
Sarah Freeman

'Now many of the people's pleasure palaces of yesteryear are blighted by high unemployment and the boarded-up shops are signs that these once thriving resorts are among some of the most deprived areas in the country.

'The truth is the world changed and, for a while, the seaside stood still.

'In recent years, preservation trusts have successfully fought to save what's left of Britain's seaside golden age, but for some of those piers, theatres and lidos it was too late.

'Many had already been claimed by the elements or fallen victim to the architectural mistakes of the 1960s and 1970s, and now the only thing that remains are the memories.'

Beside the Sea: Britain's Lost Seaside Heritage is published by Aurum and costs £25.

The 'lost' days of the great British seaside holiday are lamented in the nostalgic new book dedicated to Britons' love affair with the coast

The 'lost' days of the great British seaside holiday are lamented in the nostalgic new book dedicated to Britons' love affair with the coast

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.