Allan Brodie Knihy

This book celebrates the unique survival of military fortifications on the Isles of Scilly and also serves to illustrate the value and vulnerability of the whole country's coastal heritage.

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.

The seafront is ever changing, depending on the time of day, the state of the tides, and the month of the year. At once natural and artificial, it is a place to live, work, and play, a site for commemoration, experimentation, and relaxation. The Seafront examines how this highly complex space has been created, re-created, and adapted over the past three hundred years. It tells the story of seaside holidays and how the arrival of increasing numbers of tourists transformed natural coastline into the manmade environments of modern resorts, and describes along the way the engineering of sea defences, the facilities designed for sea bathing, and the fun factories and fun fairs of the twentieth century. Glitteringly illustrated throughout, the book celebrates the many and diverse aspects of the seafront's history, geography, character, function, and meaning.

Two centuries ago Weston-super-Mare was a small, rarely visited village but its location alongside the Severn Estuary soon made it a convenient bathing place for the wealthy inhabitants of Bristol and Bath. The book celebrates the complex history and colourful heritage of the town. It also looks to the future to examine how its 200-year story might contribute to a prosperous future.