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To the Sea by Train

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Andrew Martin author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Profile Books Ltd

Published:31st Jul '25

Should be back in stock very soon

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To the Sea by Train cover

A lively history of the seaside holiday by train from Britain's 'Bard of the Buffer'

THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Vividly conjures a lost age' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Hugely entertaining' EVENING STANDARD 'A feast of anecdotage' SUNDAY TIMES Throughout the twentieth century, the seaside service posters of Britain's railways promised fresh air and frivolity to millions of urban dwellers with the phrase: 'To the sea by train'. A staple of modern British life, the seaside getaway was intertwined with the train, in whose compartments holidaymakers were shunted from smog-choked cities to sandy coves. With his signature wit and anecdotal style, Andrew Martin captures an era defined by its railways: from the development of Brighton and Scarborough into pleasure resorts, and the introduction of bank holidays and two-day weekends, to the advent of cheap flights and the British coast's subsequent decline. Humorous and evocative, To the Sea by Train takes a charming tour through Britain's most beloved pastime. 'A standalone classic' COUNTRY LIFE 'Infectious' SPECTATOR

Evocatively describes the long-bygone age of travelling by train to seaside resorts. You can almost smell the sea' * Observer *
Vividly conjures a lost age * Financial Times *
Charming and unashamedly trainspotterish ... infectiously enthusiastic * Spectator *
Martin's whimsical little book, a feast of anecdotage, represents a memorial to the past that was not always an idyll * Sunday Times *
Beautifully and amusingly written and prodigiously well-informed, * Evening Standard *
Martin... has a nudgingly humorous style, occasionally breaking out into the outright comedic, and a novelist's ear for dialogue. Facts are lightly applied, the quirkier the better. [His] account of travelling through Euston and Birmingham New Street and on to the Cambrian Coast Line to Pwllheli is a standalone classic of observational comedy - I couldn't stop laughing. * Country Life *
Fascinating... There's a pleasant undercurrent of nostalgia in this clever book.... Martin has a journalistic eye * The Oldie *
Praise for Andrew Martin: 'Andrew Martin is the railway wizard * Telegraph *
Andrew Martin has cornered the train market. He is the Bard of the Buffer, the Balladeer of the Blue Train, the Laureate of Lost Property ... the best sort of travel-writer: inquisitive, knowledgeable, lively, congenial * Mail on Sunday *
Martin is entertaining company, alive to the history of his route ... Leaves you with renewed confidence that trains can still be the most civilised way to travel * Financial Times *

ISBN: 9781805221555

Dimensions: 226mm x 146mm x 42mm

Weight: 424g

304 pages

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