A ride on a thrill rollercoaster is the highlight of any visit to an amusement or theme park. Today's rides are at the cutting edge of technology and engineering, but they are but the latest of a long line of rides with humble roots in Russian ice slides and wooden sleigh rides. Seaside historian Martin Easdown describes the great age of these fascinating structures, from the first mass produced rollercoaster, the Switchback Railway, through to the giant wooden coasters of the inter-war period, using historic postcards and photographs to chart their development. The fullest expression of the popularity of rollercoasters was to be found at the great British seaside and popular amusement parks, such as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Southend Kursaal and Margate Dreamland, which were created around the rides. The author also goes beyond rollercoasters to other amusement rides, such as revolving towers, aerial rides, Ferris wheels and water chutes that were produced from the late Victorian era in all manner of fascinating forms. This book is a celebration of how rollercoaster and other amusements enthralled and thrilled and became a much-loved feature of our leisure industry.

Amusement Park Rides (Shire Library)

History

Easdown, Martin

Europe

Shire Publications

Sussex has a good claim to be the birthplace of the seaside pleasure pier, for although Ryde Pier on the Isle of Wight has the earliest origins as a pier, the famous Chain Pier at Brighton was the first to be used as a fashionable promenade. There followed a rich succession of piers, as from the 1860s until around 1910 as they were constructed in Brighton West, Worthing, Bognor, Hastings, and Eastbourne. In their heyday they were the place to be seen. Brighton even boasted a "moving pier," the extraordinary Electric Railway, affectionately known as the "Daddy-long-legs." One of the country’s finest piers, Brighton Pier suffered a decline in popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, enduring a high-profile demise after dereliction from fire and storm damage. Nonetheless there is hope for it yet and the county of Sussex should be proud to have retained six of its piers including three of Britain’s finest.

Piers of Sussex

Americas

The History Press

Grand Old Lady

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

League of Friends of the Royal Victoria Hospital

One of the most evocative reminders of Victorian ingenuity at the British seaside is the much-loved cliff lift. This simple method of transporting people up and down the cliff side has been a feature of our coast, and a few inland towns, for over 150 years and has recently undergone a renaissance at places as varied as the National Coal Mining Museum, Legoland and the Centre for Alternative Technology.The cliff lift, otherwise termed the cliff railway or tramway, is also known as a funicular railway. The word 'funicular' is defined as 'of rope or tension', in other words a cable-hauled railway or tramway. The lifts were directly descended from cable-hauled railways, prevalent in mines and quarries, but also early passenger lines, where an engine or winding gear hauled loads up steep slopes. The term 'cliff lift' also generally encompasses the elevator-type lifts that were erected at some resorts.This book illustrates, mainly in colour, all the principal cliff lifts and railways that have been built in the British Isles, along with associated cable tramways, since their inception in the Victorian age. In addition to featuring all the surviving lifts, this book includes others which are long gone, and serves as a fine record of these charming and unique structures.

Cliff Railways, Lifts and Funiculars

Engineering & Transportation

Transportation

Amberley Publishing

The unique, but sadly short-lived, Brighton & Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway must have presented quite an amazing spectacle, even during those late Victorian days of engineering excellence. Affectionately known as the 'Daddy-Long-Legs', 'spider car' or 'sea car', the railway resembled a piece of seaside pier that had broken away and was moving by itself through the sea. Although closed over a hundred years ago, interest in the Daddy-Long-Legs Railway remains strong and it has become a Brighton icon.The book details the history of the Daddy-Long-Legs and features the best collection of photographs of it so far assembled, along with plans, timetables and posters and associated features such as Volk's Electric Railway and the piers assembled as a landing stage for the Daddy-Long-Legs. This will be the first book to concentrate solely on this unique and fascinating piece of British seaside history.

The Extraordinary Daddy-Long-Legs Railway of Brighton

Lancashire's Seaside Piers

Sage, Linda

Wharncliffe Books

Wales is known for its green hills and valleys, narrow gauge steam railways and medieval castles, but not, it appears, for its pleasure piers. This is a shame, as the country has some of the finest surviving piers in England and Wales, with three particularly fine examples. Llandudno, 'Queen of the Welsh Resorts', has an elegant pier to match that title. The pier is Grade II listed and has retained much of its Victorian ambience. It is often used for film and television work requiring a Victorian pier setting. It is without doubt one of the finest surviving piers in the United Kingdom. The pier at Bangor is equally impressive. Stretching into the Menai Straits, the pier looks almost exactly as it did when built in 1896. As an example of a Victorian promenade pier, Bangor is second to none. Penarth is another fine Welsh pier: a neat structure with good ironwork and an attractive Art Deco pavilion. Alone amongst the Welsh piers, it remains in use as a landing stage. Aberystwyth was the first Welsh resort to erect a purpose-built promenade and pleasure pier. Six pleasure piers remain in Wales, of which Llandudno, Bangor and Penarth are indeed the jewels in the crown. Of the others, Aberystwyth is now little more than a pavilion over the sea. Mumbles is a fine pier, retaining much of its attractive ironwork, but sadly large sections of the pier head remain closed off to the public, awaiting restoration. The outlook for Colwyn Bay is uncertain: the pier remains closed as battles rage between its private owner and the council over its future. The piers of Wales were at the forefront of the country's coastal leisure development and continue to give the opportunity for the enjoyment of a walk over the waves - long may that be so.

Piers of Wales

Thomas, Darlah

Piers of Disaster: The Sad Story of the Seaside Pleasure Piers of the Yorkshire Coast

Hutton Press

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