A history of Yorkshire's coastal towns and how they became popular seaside resorts. There's interesting stuff for both the historian and the casual reader.

Really enjoyed this one. Very different from my usual fare of nonfiction- history. The author had a very readable style. Definitely learned a lot. I feel like traveling to these places again after this read. Strongly recommend!

4 Stars.

Lovely book about the history of Yorkshire's seaside resorts. Includes information about bathing machines, drinking spa water, bathing costumes, property development, accommodation and the transformation of the spas from places for invalids seeking cures to holiday destinations for Victorians. For Bronte lovers, there's info about Charlotte's visits to the coast and Anne Bronte died in Scarborough and is buried at St Mary's church.

If you have fond memories of childhood bucket and spade holidays or if you wish you did, you'll enjoy this.

With my parents being from Yorkshire I was excited to learn a little more about the history of places they spent their childhood holidays. Having also visited Scarborough & Whitby myself and heard plenty of stories about Bridlington, I requested a copy of this book.

Well researched and presented you are taken through several time periods, back to the beginnings of spa towns and the creation of the English seaside resort. The efforts to develop land in order to attract first, the upper classes who were the only ones who took long trips away from home. Then later on the influx of the other classes who began to make day trips and shorter trips to the coast. The tragedies of shipwrecks and the doomed efforts to install piers in some towns. The legends and stories in the rich history of others.

While a little heavy in detail on parts, there was plenty I skimmed over. However, the artwork and photographic additions to the book were fabulous and really help you get a glimpse of what life was like for those who visited and played on the Yorkshire shoreline throughout the last 150 years.

Thank you to Netgalley for the complimentary copy, this is my honest review.

A wholly interesting book with a mixture of facts and anecdotes to enjoy. I love the seaside towns of Yorkshire, Whitby being my favourite and it was pleasant to read about the history and development of these seaside resorts. From the 1600's to 2000 there was plenty of information to keep my interest especially regarding the changing fashions of sea bathers and the etiquette surrounding the genders. Also of great interest was the development of accommodation for holiday makers from the grand and expensive hotels to B&B's, camping sites and even Butlins holiday park.

The book was a pleasant read mixing history and anecdotal comments to keep my interest. I'd recommend the book wholeheartedly.

In this book we read about a range of different areas on the east coast of England including Scarborough, Whitby and Saltburn. I adore the seaside personally and after a visit to the charming seaside town of Whitby I wanted to see what else that side of the coast has to offer while learning something! I’ve never had the chance to explore the delights of Scarborough something I hope to change in the next year, the book gave so much great insight to what the past held for these areas beginning in the 1600’s taking us through the Victorian era and ending in present day.

We are transported back in time through various eras from the 1600’s with the discovery of a spring, the story of Dicky the self-proclaimed governor of the Scarborough spaw and his tragic ending, the use of bathing machines, the accommodation through the years, the rise and in some case literal falls of the piers along the shores with a sprinkling of quotes from various sources.

I was pleased to find a well-researched section on how the World Wars affected the area, how they were devastated by bombing and used by the military as bases. The map featured within this section was particularly intriguing showing specifically which areas had been bombed and when including how many people had been injured/killed.

While the pictures are very fascinating, I would have preferred them to be labelled differently with the year, location and photographer so we can tell exactly what we are looking (possibly just me being picky from university days!), the other thing I would have loved to have had was a map at the beginning to show where each town was in relation to each other.

Full of information you wouldn’t find out on a typical trip to the seaside I’d defiantly recommend the book if you are visiting the area and want to know more or if you simply wish to learn more about the fascinating history of the Yorkshire coast.

"Beside the Seaside" describes the development of the Yorkshire coast seaside resorts from their origins to the present day. He talked about Scarborough, Whitby, Filey and Bridlington as well as Redcar, Saltburn, Hornsea, Withernsea, and others. He included some quotes from journals about people's experiences at the resorts throughout the years and some newspaper accounts about notable happenings at the resorts. There were also photos and illustrations of the resorts and some ads for them. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting book to anyone curious about how the Yorkshire coast resorts developed over the years.

He started in 1620 when the first spring was promoted for health-giving properties and followed their development into the early 1900s. After covering several aspects of the early development, he looked at the overall development of the resorts in the 1900s to present day, exploring how the World Wars affected these towns and how they've continued change. The first part of the book was organized topically: the development of the spa buildings around springs; the rise of sea bathing (including information about bathing machines, changing huts, etc.); the changing fashions in bathing suits; where people stayed (hotels, lodging houses, camps, etc., including the names of people offering lodging as listed in a guide book) and the building, updating, and closings of various hotels; how people traveled to these resorts (carriages, trains, cars, and such) and the building of roads, cliff lifts, and bridges to help people get to the beaches; the rise of excursions and day visitors; entertainment options found on the beach; entertainment options in the town (ballrooms, orchestras, etc.); and the building of and accidents involving the pleasure piers.