Beside the Seaside: A Celebration of the Beach - Hardcover

Petrie, Ruth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0852651376 ISBN 13: 9780852651377

Publisher: Guardian Books, 2005

Synopsis

Who doesn't love to be beside the seaside? Whether we're building sandcastles, exploring rockpools, strolling along windswept beaches or skimming stones across the waves, we Brits never seem happier than when we're enjoying our coastline. This entrancing companion gathers together writings on every aspect of the British seaside, from the changes to the landscape wrought by natural erosion and man-made development to the astonishing variety of animals, birds and plants that make their homes by the seafront. Not to mention the precipitous rise, sudden decline and current resurgence of the traditional British seaside holiday, complete with donkey rides, beach huts and Brighton rock. But as fond as we are of our beaches, the British seaside is more than just a holiday destination. It also gives vital clues to the history of this island nation. Whether it's the fossils to be found along the Dinosaur coast, the lighthouses that saw some of Michael Faraday's earliest experiments with electricity, or even the Martello towers that were built to defend the Empire, the evidence of our past is there for all to see. A beguiling collection of articles drawn from the paper's extensive archive, "I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside" is the perfect bedside companion for anyone who loves the feeling of sand between their toes.

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Petrie is a freelance editor. She selected articles for Cuttings: A Year in the Garden with Christopher Lloyd (2007), The Guardian Book of the Countryside (2008) and Notes from the Garden (2009).

From the Back Cover

Those people who cut the crust off their bread are missing out on the best bit - the goodness. It's the same with Britain: the best bits are round the edges.

From the Inside Flap

Who doesn't love to be beside the seaside? Building sandcastles, exploring rockpools, strolling along windswept beaches, skimming stones across the waves - we Brits are never happier than when we're enjoying everything our coast has to offer.

This enticing anthology brings together over a hundred years' worth of jottings and thoughs on every aspect of the British seaside, from a Victorian reporter bewailing the 'indiscriminate bathing' at Blackpool to descriptions of the astonishing selection of animals, birds and plants to be found along the seafront. Not to mention observations on donkey rides, beach huts, ice creams and Brighton rock.

But the collection also goes beyond the traditional British seaside holiday to explore our coastal heritage. Fossils along the Dinosaur coast, for example, Grace Darling's lighthouse, Martello towers built to defend the Empire - wherever you turn the eviddence of our past is there to see.

Beside the Seaside is the perfect holiday companion for anyone who loves the smell of a sea breeze and the feeling of sand between their toes.

Edition details

• Publisher: Guardian Books
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0852651376
• ISBN 13: 9780852651377
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288