With Weymouth and Portland hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games sailing events, the profile of the area will be raised considerably in the years leading up to the Games. Weymouth's seaside history and heritage will be a focus of attention and will contribute significantly to the regeneration of the town in the coming years. Weymouth has been a popular seaside resort for over 250 years. Likened to Montpelier and Naples for its natural beauty and healthy climate, it received the endorsement of King George III. His presence helped the town to expand rapidly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, resulting in a stunning legacy of seafront terraces that continue to provide accommodation for thousands of holidaymakers each year. Weymouth boasts an eclectic mix of medieval town planning, harbour-side industry and former military sites that have had an impact on the town's development as a seaside resort. Many of the buildings associated with declining brewing and maritime industries have now been redeveloped and serve as amenities and accommodation for residents and visitors. An English Heritage opinion poll in 2007 found that seventy-five per cent of respondents felt that 'the historic character of seaside towns is what makes them beautiful and enjoyable'. This book describes the colourful story of Weymouth's seaside history and the buildings and open spaces that survive to tell this story. It also demonstrates how the historic environment can play an important part in the future development of the town.

Blackpool is Britain's favourite seaside resort. Each year millions of visitors come to walk on its three piers, ride donkeys, enjoy shows at the Winter Gardens, scream on the thrilling rides at the Pleasure Beach and ride the lift to the top of the Tower. Generations of holidaymakers have stayed in its hotels, lodging houses and bed and breakfasts and all have succumbed to its delectable fish and chips. Two centuries of tourism has left behind a rich heritage, but Blackpool has also inherited a legacy of social and economic problems, as well as the need for comprehensive new sea defences to protect the heart of the town. In recent years this has led to the transformation of its seafront and to regeneration programmes to try to improve the town, for its visitors and residents. This book celebrates Blackpool's rich heritage and examines how its colourful past is playing a key part in guaranteeing that it has a bright future.

Discover the rich history and cultural heritage of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis through this detailed and engaging book. From the town's humble origins as a small fishing village, to its growth into a bustling port and fashionable seaside resort, this book explores the stories of the people who have shaped Weymouth's history. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

As an island nation, Britain is quick to celebrate its maritime history and heritage, but for most of us our relationship with the sea is through the seaside resort. We share more or less fond memories of building sand castles, splashing around in the sea and eating fish and chips, sometimes with a light sprinkle of sand as an accompaniment. However, the vast majority of holidaymakers will never have seen a seaside resort from the air, unless they have gone up in the balloon in the centre of Bournemouth or indulged in a pleasure flight over a resort such as Weston-super-Mare. This collection of aerial photographs, produced by Aerofilms Ltd mostly between 1920 and 1953, tells the story of England's seaside resorts as holiday destinations, but also as working towns, blessed with the sea as their backdrop. It also illustrates the type of entertainments available for holidaymakers and highlights how the seaside holiday at some resorts became big business with industrial-scale facilities and infrastructure.

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.

The seaside holiday and the seaside resort are two of England's greatest exports to the world. Since the early 18th century, when some of the wealthiest people first sought improved health by bathing in saltwater, the lure of the sea has been a fundamental part of the British way of life, and millions of people still head to the coast each year. Margate has an important place in the story of seaside holidays. It vies with Scarborough, Whitby and Brighton for the title of England's first seaside resort, and it was the first to offer sea-water baths to visitors. Margate can also claim other firsts, including the first Georgian square built at a seaside resort (Cecil Square), the first substantial seaside development outside the footprint of an historic coastal town, the site of the world's first sea-bathing hospital, and, as a result of its location along the Thames from London, the first popular resort frequented by middle- and lower-middle-class holidaymakers. It is unlikely that Margate will ever attract the vast numbers of visitors that flocked there in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, with growing concerns about the environmental effects of air travel and a continuing awareness of the threat of excessive exposure to the sun, the English seaside holiday may enjoy some form of revival. If Margate finds ways to renew itself while retaining its historic identity, it may once again become a vibrant destination for holidays, as well as being an attractive place for people to live and work.

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 3: Seaside Holidays Over the course of the seventeenth century, medical writers and practitioners came to realise the health-giving properties of the seaside environment. By the early eighteenth century, this scientific interest was spreading to wealthy people in search of a rest cure. Bathing in the sea, drinking the waters and spending time in the bracing air became a widespread activity, and by the nineteenth century this had expanded thanks to extensive advertising and publicity about its beneficial effects. Specific forms of entertainment also developed, such as piers, aquaria, winter gardens and cinemas.