In the days before cheap flights and package holidays, UK families and friends packed up the car and descended en masse to seaside resorts like Southport to have a brilliant time.
A bucket and spade, deckchair, bag of chips and a ride on a donkey and folk were in paradise. Not to mention a stroll on the pier and, if you were lucky, a visit to the Pleasureland funfair.
Southport continues to undergo a huge regeneration, including a £73m Marine Lake project to help ‘revitalise’ the town, but here we take a trip down memory lane to those heady days of summer holidays in the 1970s.
1. Southport 1970s
Children sail their boats on the lake. Photo: archive
2. Southport 1970s
A family enjoys some al fresco dining in the good sea air. Photo: archive
3. Southport 1970s
A couple pose in their swimwear after taking the plunge. Photo: Archive
4. Southport 1970s
Making a splash in the pool at Southport. Photo: archive