Vintage SEASIDE

Take a look at your old family photo albums and they will invariably contain pictures of your forebears enjoying themselves at the seaside. Ever since the 18th century, we have been creating a distinct leisure landscape around the coast to provide us with holiday treats in designated resorts.

Though the lure of the sea was the catalyst to attract visitors, the full seaside experience soon came to encompass much more. It was with good reason that the lyrics of famous Edwardian music hall ditty ‘Oh I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside’ emphasised the delights of the promenade, with its brass-band soundtrack echoed by the refrain ‘tiddly om pom pom’.

Each successive generation has added its own stamp to the seaside package, but the fundamentals have remained reassuringly