Figure 1.--This looks to be the strand od an unidentified English beach. Most English beaches consist of a row of hotels and shops and a street separating these accomodations and shops from the actual beach. On the otherside of the street is the srtand where peopole could walk and enjoy seaside views. People could comfortably walk there in street clothes. It was a non commercial area except vendors like ice cream hand cart peddlers and itinerate photographers. Thee would be steps down to the actual sandy or rocky beach. This photograph looks to be taken in the 1950s.

Very quickly virtully the entire English and Welsh coastline had resorts of different sizes and appeal (early-20th century). There were not as many in Scotland, reflecting both distance from the major British population centers and water temperature. There were over 100 important seaside resorts in Britain. The family seaside summer vacation became a well established tradition. Wigth the turn of the 20th century we see fewer studio portraits and more images actually taken on the strand, piers, and beaches. The beach of course was a major draw which children of all ages could enjoy. Younger children could splash around in the shallows and play in the sand. Youth could swim. And there all kinds of attractions on the piers which the chilfren enjoyed. There were the amusements parks of the day. And expansion of these piers continued with brief interuptions during the the two world wars. Unlike World War I, beaches were closed off during World War II as a German invasion for time was threatened after the fall of France. Barbed wire was llaid down and some of the beaches were even mined. After World War II, as car ownership increased we have new caravan parks appearing. The British resorts had a commercial weakness--the water was cold, evem during the summer. The warm weather Americans associate with a beach vacation, simply did not exist at English beaches. And we see that at countless English beach vacation images from the massive vacation photographic record. This all suddenly changed when cheap air fares opened up inexpensive beach resports in Spain and Portugal and began attracting the British public (1970s). The English resorts which could not compete with the warm climate and water and began to decline. The English might be used to cold water, but that does not mean that warmer beach resort water was nog an instant hit. The prosperity generated by the Thatcher era and market reforms increased the purchasing power of English families and the ability to aford overseas seas-side holidays.

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Created: 3:34 AM 10/29/2019
Last updated: 3:34 AM 10/29/2019