Robin Lidster – författare

Famous as a seaside holiday resort, Scarborough was believed to have been established by Norsemen around AD 966. The town and its castle changed hands seven times between Royalists and Parliamentarians during the English Civil War of the 1640s, enduring two lengthy and violent sieges. Following this war, much of the town lay in ruins. In the seventeenth century the discovery of a stream of acidic water running from one of the cliffs to the south of the town gave birth to Scarborough Spa and soon visitors flooded to the town. Scarborough Spa became Britain’s first seaside resort and a popular getaway destination for the wealthy of London. The coming of the Scarborough–York railway in 1845 increased the tide of visitors and in the same year Scarborough’s first hotel, the Crown, was opened, followed shortly after by the Grand Hotel, soon to be Europe’s largest. In this fascinating collection of images, local author Robin Lidster shows Scarborough’s history, from its Victorian heyday as a major spa resort through its continued popularity as one of Britain’s main domestic holiday destinations. Scarborough: From Old Photographs provides something for everyone, be they long-time residents or first-time visitors

The Scarborough & Whitby Railway was opened in July 1885. The 21 miles of line traversed the picturesque coast between the two towns for eighty years. There were eight stations on the line all with their own distinctive character and serving the different needs of visitors and local people. All of the stations along the route are fully illustrated in this book. The line closed in March 1965 and the buildings were later sold into private ownership and have been put to a variety of uses since that time. The aim of this book is to illustrate the changes both before and after closure along this fascinating and historical railway which has become a very popular walking and cycling trail that passes through the spectacular and varied scenery of the North Yorkshire coast.

The Scarborough & Pickering Railway line was opened on 16 July 1885. Having first been mooted 1848, it arrived three years after the opening of the York-Scarborough line, which branched out at Rillington and joined the hitherto independent Whitby-Pickering line. The line, however, closed in 1965, a victim of 'The Beeching Axe' and the Government's plan to substantially cut running costs and reshape the British railway system, at a time when the country's road network was growing rapidly. With its collection of 180 photographs, Scarborough & Pickering Railway Through Time brings the once busy days of the line back to life, when many thousands of holidaymakers would visit this part of the Yorkshire coast.