Product Description

Beach huts have become seaside icons. They may be small structures with basic facilities but we still love them. They feel quintessentially British, combining a shelter from our changeable weather with a place to brew a mug of tea. They're nostalgic and trendy at the same time, a phenomenon which has turned into surprisingly hot property. Behind these colourful buildings is a history stretching back to the invention of the seaside and the first wheeled bathing machines of the mid-eighteenth century. "Sheds on the Seashore" is based on two journeys: one into the past, and the other a contemporary tour around the English coast. Together they tell the story of how beach huts came into being and why they remain so beloved by their twenty-first century owners. This title is presented with a forward by Wayne Hemingway.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16445 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-25
• Binding: Paperback
• 314 pages

Customer Reviews

Educational and entertaining!
Sheds on a Seashore documents the history of the iconic beach hut. Alongside informative, historical detail regarding the origins of the modern day beach hut, the author takes her reader on an expressive and enlightening journey around the British coast visiting as many different beach huts (and their owners) as possible. This book is a brilliant mix of education and entertainment written with flair and wit in abundance - an absolute must for any seaside enthusiast!

A Great Seaside Read
This is a beautifully written, eminently readable account of the author's travels around the coast visiting as many beach huts as possible. The travelogue chapters are interspersed with those tracing the history of the bathing machine - which morphed into the beach hut - and the story of the development of the seaside holiday in general. If you are interested in any of these things I thoroughly recommend this book to you. A great holiday read!

Compelling reading
A delightful book. The author combines a serious history of sea bathing, bathing machines and beach huts with a travelogue describing her coastal tour visiting several thousand beach huts. The great variety of huts is matched by the fascinating people she met who own or rent the huts. Sea bathing has changed from its original purely medicinal purpose (see the draconian 'dippers') to the present day pleasure for young and old. But beach huts have become quite a cult with prices to match. Compelling reading and brilliantly written.