Beside the Sea: Britain's Lost Seaside Heritage

Fromÿthe Victorian era to theÿearly years of the 1960s,ÿSummer in Britainÿmeant a massÿexodus, as millions of Britons boarded steam locomotives and charabancsÿto swapÿthe drudgery ofÿlife in the country's industrial heartlandsÿfor the fleeting pleasures of the coast.Through the stories ofÿthe most popularÿdestinations -ÿfrom Brighton and Margate to Scarborough and Blackpool - Beside the Seaÿsteps back in time toÿreliveÿthe heyday of the Great British seaside.What it discovers is a cultural andÿarchitectural golden age.ÿA time whenÿtheÿgrand hotels, ballrooms,ÿholiday camps, piersÿandÿamusements were thronged withÿvisitorsÿduring high season. An era when theÿvariety actsÿwho packed out the theatres andÿmusicÿhallsÿwere among the most famous names in the land. And a world in which the beach meant fish and chips, donkey rides and bathing suits,ÿnot palm trees, bikinisÿand white sands.Combiningÿstunning archive photographyÿwith memoriesÿfromÿpeopleÿwho worked, orÿholidayed, at these resorts,ÿWish You WereÿHere celebrates a forgottenÿtime and place in British life, and offers a lament forÿtheÿmagical beachfrontsÿthat have since fallen into decay, or been wiped away by developers.