By Steamer to the Ayrshire Coast

From the dawn of steamer travel, people were taking day trips to the coast. Alistair Deayton tells the story of steamers to the Ayrshire coast. A nostalgic look at trips doon the watter.

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At the turn of the twentieth century new laws introduced paid holidays for the masses and the seaside towns of Scotland saw a huge influx of visitors. From Glasgow, Paisley and the industrial heartland of Scotland, poured holidaymakers on the Fair Holiday trip 'doon the watter'. Some Scottish resorts such as Largs, Fairlie, Troon, Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Millport, Gourock and Wemyss Bay saw their populations double or treble for much of the summer. By the end of the 1960s, the annual Fair Holiday was in decline. No longer was there as great a need to close factories for a week, nor was the holidaymaker so reliant on the pleasure steamers. Cars and aircraft had taken their toll and the resorts began to decline. Alistair Deayton, one of the acknowledged experts on the Clyde pleasure steamers, and author of many books on the subject, shows the Ayrshire and Renfrewshire resorts in their heyday, while exploring their decline, as well as that of the pleasure steamers, only one of which, Waverley, remains today.