The Sea, the Sea … Historical and Sociological Perspectives on the Shaping of Seaside Leisure in Rural Wales

Abstract

The chapter illustrates the interplay of economic, social, cultural and technological development on a short stretch of mid-Wales coast and its hinterland, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Following the establishment of a rail link (1862) between the crowded industrial Midlands and a remote Welsh village (Borth), precariously positioned on a shingle spit, wedged between ocean, salt flats and marshland—and a larger town (Aberystwyth) on similarly swampy ground, these two rural coastal communities were slowly transformed. Dependence on seasonal fishing and, later, small-scale ship-building was gradually replaced by a now-burgeoning tourist industry. The impact of this new technology (the steam railway) was, however, socially, ecologically and culturally differentiated, giving rise to a spectrum of new occupations, and changed relationships with the environment, new ideas about work, non-work and the use of time, the development of outdoor entertainment and activities and increased preoccupation with health and lifestyle. The chapter comments on the emergence and evolution of mass tourism, consumerism and the socio-cultural construction of leisure.