Figure 1.--A British reader tells us that this looks like a group photograph of a coach tour to a holiday camp. the portait is umdated, but looks like the 1950s to us. Notice that even on their vacation almost all of the boys the boys are wearing their school uniforms, including ties.

Summer vacations beame possible in Brtain with the advent of the railroad (1850s). At firt it was just afordable for the middle-class, the first country to develop this convention. Britain is ann island. And with the rail systen, no spot in Briatin is more than a few hours from the coast and seaside resorts. By the turn of the century the working class had begun to enjoy family summer taking advantage of the rail system. A new wrinkle was added--the coach (bus) trip. This meant both coach tours and bus transit to vaction spots. Seaside resorts are probably the most popular domestic enues, but there are many other attractions such as the scenic Lake District smack in the middle of Britain. This became popular during the inter-War era. There were both coach trips and holiday camps. All of these options were available in the 1950s. Vacactions were available in all price ranges. There were luxury hotels as well as low-cost boarding houses in tourist locations. Seafront locations were especially popular. There were also holiday camps. By the 1950s car ownership was becoming more common. We see holiday camps accomodating camper vans. There were also cabins for those arriving in cars and coaches. We begin to see some vacations to the Continent in the 1950s, mostly France. Until the 50s,however, it was rare for ordinary Brits to travel on the Continet. It would not be until the 1960s, when low-cost air travel became available, that European travel began to take off.

Created: 2:41 AM 3/2/2019
Last updated: 2:41 AM 3/2/2019