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The beach may have been home to bathing machines by day, but at night there were other things going on - in 1853 a raid by customs men revealed 153 casks of smuggled rum and brandy.

In an effort to keep out the riff-raff, local children were banned from the beach, although they have presumably been allowed back since.

From early Victorian times, Punch and Judy shows moved away from the fairgrounds and streets and on to the beach in pursuit of lucrative new audiences.

Styled as the English Riviera, its beaches are in fact somewhat smaller than might be imagined. This crowded scene looks south along Torbay towards Paignton.

Buildings facing seawards from above the beach include the Victorian Custom House, the Coastguard Watch House, the Old Bonded Store - built as a boarding house in 1832 - and clapper-boarded Wings.

The pebble and sandy beach provides views along the coast to Worthing pier; just a short distance inland are the grassy slopes of Highdown Hill, which has long been a popular recreational

Cliff lifts became a popular solution to the problems of beach access in the later years of the Victorian period, and were used at a number of seaside resorts.

Pleasure boats were still available from the beach; these competed for trade with the paddle steamers that had been introduced in the 1880s, after their initial function had been superseded by the railways

Beyond the trees are sandy but dangerous beaches, where the tide comes in faster than a man can run.

Children play on the beach below the sea wall.

There is no beach here, but the Victorians were determined to make the most of the warm waters. The bathing machine, sunk to its axles in the shallows, allowed decorum to be preserved.

Behind is a typical ramshackle scene: a heap of firewood, a tumbling-down boarded building advertising 'good stabling' to visiting riders, and a trio of beached row-boats for hire.

There is no beach here, but the Victorians were determined to make the most of the warm waters. The bathing machine, sunk to its axles in the shallows, allowed decorum to be preserved.

The small beach to the left is at Prechers Rock.

small village had a café, the Dolybont Café (centre), whose sign was visible from the road between Talybont and Borth – the proprietors hoped that holidaymakers would stop on their way to or from the beach

There is no harbour at Beer, so the boats are drawn up on the beach at the end of each fishing trip. The BP garage (right) no longer exists.

In fact changing on the beach was officially forbidden until 1948, although, by that time, the regulation had long been ignored.

Rows of bathing huts line the beach, with bathing costumes (which could be hired) drying in the wind on lines behind them beside the newly-built promenade.

The peak of Criffel in Dumfries can easily be seen across the Solway Firth from the stony beach-front. The spire of the parish church of Christ Church punctuates this photograph.

Further south, on the beach, there was an older thatched Watch House which became Old Watchouse Cafe.

Weymouth's beach has gently sloping sands and is mostly sheltered from the storms and swells of the English Channel, making it suitable for the youngest and most inexperienced of bathers.

The shingle beach here is showing the beginnings of a tourist industry, but in the late 19th century fishing was still important.

Disturbed water at the cliff base indicates the power and force of the seas as they surge into the bay and crash against the beach.

In this early view of the beach, there are already signs of local businesses capitalising on the new influx of visitors, with terraces of newly-built lodging houses and cheap hotels.