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By the late 1920s, not a bathing machine graces the water's edge in this view of the crowded Margate Sands, looking towards the Harbour with the Pierhead Lighthouse.

The well stands in a tranquil spot on Gallows Hill overlooking the valley. The little building is probably not that old — 19th-century seems to be the local consensus.

Slough dates back to the 12th century, when it was a hamlet on the London to Bath road. The settlement later spread to the neighbouring parish of Stoke Poges.

The suspension bridge across to a house on the Island is still a feature of Newquay's Towan Beach. Note the bathing machines down by the water's edge on the extreme left.

Bathing machines are lined up near the sea wall. They would be towed down to the sea, possibly by the horse in the picture.

The high Street used to be the main Norwich to London road. Here is a foretaste of the traffic problems that were to come.

In Victorian times, the preservation of modesty was paramount, so tents and bathing machines were very much the order of the day to allow bathers to change.

There is a small Garden of Remembrance here, together with one of the town's wells. The Bath House is behind, with its chalybeate spring producing water at a constant temperature.

This view of the donkeys and their handlers, the 'donkey boys', also includes, on the right, the portable darkroom used by Frith's photographer. Behind is a row of bathing machines.

The remains of a Roman hypercaust, the heating system for a Roman bath, were discovered in Bridge Street in 1863 and subsequently relocated to the gardens by the Water Tower.

The Lewes Road used to be the main route out of town, but this is now along the east bank of the Ouse towards Lewes. This peaceful scene is now barely recognisable.

A fine study of the Ladies' Bathing Place, which seems a popular venue for both the women and menfolk of Portrush. A yacht can be seen out towards the Skerries.

This superb picture shows the magnificent sweep of Nayland Crescent at the western end of town, close to the Royal Sea-Bathing Hospital and the infamous Nayland Rocks.

The Pier 1897 Bathing was permitted from Swanage pier on weekdays from 6-8am and on Sundays from 7-9am. A modest charge was made to anyone who wished to indulge.

By the last year of Victoria's reign Bournemouth had become an established seaside resort.

Lepe remains an attractive hamlet offering safe bathing in the waters of the Solent. In Roman times a road ran west from here across the present ground of the New Forest to Ringwood.

It was intended to link New Radnor with Old Radnor, two miles distant, to form a major city to be the capital of Radnorshire. The project faltered, confirming Welsh antipathy to large settlements.

This splendid view shows part of the fishing fleet and a spritsail sailing barge beached in the shallow waters at low tide. White painted bathing machines are visible behind the barge.

The well stands in a tranquil spot on Gallows Hill overlooking the valley. The little building is probably not that old — 19th-century seems to be the local consensus.

The well stands in a tranquil spot on Gallows Hill overlooking the valley. The little building is probably not that old — 19th-century seems to be the local consensus.

This view of Coney Beach shows ladies wearing long dresses, the men wearing suits and the children fully dressed - there is not a bathing costume in sight.

This picture taken ten years later shows a holiday crowd thronging the sandy beach. The bathing tents are obviously busy and have multiplied beneath the cliffs.

This view of the Heights of Abraham above Matlock Bath shows the Prospect, or Victoria, Tower.

The town eventually got its open-air swimming baths. They look so freshly painted and the onlookers are so numerous that we might suspect that this picture was shot on the opening day.