The British led the way in holidaymaking. This four-volume primary resource collection brings together a diverse range of texts on the various forms of transport used by tourists, the destinations they visited, the role of entertainments and accommodation and how these affected the way that tourism evolved over two centuries.Volume 1: Travel and Destinations Texts in this volume draw on accounts by early travellers, from short factual lists to longer subjective descriptions. Documents show how eagerly new forms of transport were adopted and how they gave rise to different leisure activities and new destinations. Methods of travel covered include: early road travel by horse or wagon, river travel via sail and steamships, railways, the safety bicycle, motorized transport (charabancs, coaches, buses, cars and bicycles) and finally, air travel.

Starting with an introduction about discovering the coal-burning paddle steamers of the Humber in the early 1970s the book continues with a brief history of the ferries of the Humber Estuary, the coming of the first paddle steamer, the Caledonia, in 1814 and the rapid expansion of steamers operating on the estuary. It includes personal memories of those who worked on, used and loved the Humber ferries. It especially looks at the paddle steamers, Tattershall Castle, Wingfield Castle and Lincoln Castle, which became the last coal-burning paddle steamers operating a regular service in the United Kingdom. An appendix lists over 80 paddle steamers from the Caledonia of 1814 to the last of the line the Lincoln Castle identified as working on the Humber Estuary from published and archive sources. It includes the diesel powered paddle vessel Farringford which saw out the service in 1981 and also other vessels associated with the Hull to New Holland ferry.

The British led the way in holidaymaking. This four-volume primary resource collection brings together a diverse range of texts on the various forms of transport used by tourists, the destinations they visited, the role of entertainments and accommodation and how these affected the way that tourism evolved over two centuries. Volume 4: Seaside Resorts The final volume presents case studies of four major seaside resorts: Scarborough, Margate, Brighton and Blackpool. Scarborough evolved from a spa town to a seaside resort. Margate became a coastal resort from scratch and became one of the earliest sites of mass tourism. Brighton had sea bathers by the 1730s and its early development followed a similar path to that of Margate, but its royal connections allowed its rapid growth into a large town with high quality accommodation. When the railway arrived at Blackpool in 1846 it was a large village. Thirty years later it had two piers and a large hotel. Its steady growth was due to the stream of working class visitors from the local hinterland of major industrial towns and cities.