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To the Sea by Train
Throughout the summer months of the twentieth century, the seaside service posters of the London & North Eastern Railway promised fresh air and frivolity to millions with the phrase: 'To the sea by train'. The British seaside holiday is both a staple of modern life and a charming pillar of history.
It is also intertwined with the railways, in whose compartments holidaymakers were shunted from gloomy inner cities to the sandy beaches of Yorkshire and Sussex - some of whom had never seen the sea before. With his signature wit and ear for anecdote, Andrew Martin captures an era defined by its railways: the development of supposedly health-giving spas like Brighton and Scarborough into pleasure resorts; Bank Holidays from 1871; the 48-hour weekend in the 1930s; the Beeching cuts of the 1960s and the coming of cheap flights and the decline of the seaside. Wayward, witty and atmospheric, To the Sea by Train is a joyful history of Britain's most iconic past-time.
It is also intertwined with the railways, in whose compartments holidaymakers were shunted from gloomy inner cities to the sandy beaches of Yorkshire and Sussex - some of whom had never seen the sea before. With his signature wit and ear for anecdote, Andrew Martin captures an era defined by its railways: the development of supposedly health-giving spas like Brighton and Scarborough into pleasure resorts; Bank Holidays from 1871; the 48-hour weekend in the 1930s; the Beeching cuts of the 1960s and the coming of cheap flights and the decline of the seaside. Wayward, witty and atmospheric, To the Sea by Train is a joyful history of Britain's most iconic past-time.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published July 31, 2025
About the author
Andrew Martin
190 books107 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Andrew Martin (born 6 July 1962) is an English novelist and journalist.
Martin was brought up in Yorkshire, studied at the University of Oxford and qualified as a barrister. He has since worked as a freelance journalist for a number of publications while writing novels, starting with Bilton, a comic novel about journalists, and The Bobby Dazzlers, a comic novel set in the North of England, for which he was named Spectator Young Writer of the Year. His series of detective novels about Jim Stringer, a railwayman reassigned to the North Eastern Railway Police in Edwardian England, includes The Necropolis Railway, The Blackpool Highflyer, The Lost Luggage Porter, Murder at Deviation Junction and Death on a Branch Line. He has also written the non-fiction book; How to Get Things Really Flat: A Man's Guide to Ironing, Dusting and Other Household Arts.
Andrew Martin (born 6 July 1962) is an English novelist and journalist.
Martin was brought up in Yorkshire, studied at the University of Oxford and qualified as a barrister. He has since worked as a freelance journalist for a number of publications while writing novels, starting with Bilton, a comic novel about journalists, and The Bobby Dazzlers, a comic novel set in the North of England, for which he was named Spectator Young Writer of the Year. His series of detective novels about Jim Stringer, a railwayman reassigned to the North Eastern Railway Police in Edwardian England, includes The Necropolis Railway, The Blackpool Highflyer, The Lost Luggage Porter, Murder at Deviation Junction and Death on a Branch Line. He has also written the non-fiction book; How to Get Things Really Flat: A Man's Guide to Ironing, Dusting and Other Household Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 8, 2026
Andrew Martin brings his usual laconic wit and well-informed insight to his latest book on the highways and byways (or should that be sidings and marshalling yards?) of British railway history. This time his subject is the close - in some cases, symbiotic - relationship between a railway line and the growth, or even very existence, of a seaside resort. It’s a story of stiff competition and occasional skullduggery on the part of the big Victorian and Edwardian railway companies, the buccaneer capitalists of their day, with smaller, ramshackle local companies feeding on the crumbs dropped from the table, putting out single track spur lines served by second- or third-hand engines and rolling stock. Unsurprisingly, the story is richly populated with larger than life characters.
Martin is also good at winkling out the stories of the people who used the railways for day trips or their annual week at the seaside. His extensive knowledge of the experiences of those who worked on and used the railways are what make his Railway Detective series of crime novels so good and this book is brought to life by the real life stories of rail travel and of holidaying by the seaside that he has uncovered.
Martin is also good at winkling out the stories of the people who used the railways for day trips or their annual week at the seaside. His extensive knowledge of the experiences of those who worked on and used the railways are what make his Railway Detective series of crime novels so good and this book is brought to life by the real life stories of rail travel and of holidaying by the seaside that he has uncovered.
August 20, 2025
Before the 19th century few people ever travelled further than the next town or village. The coming of the railways, along with legally mandated holidays for workers, ushered in a new era of mass tourism and by the outbreak of the first world war over 200 British coastal towns were served by rail. This also created a boom in creative and often hyperbolic advertising – ‘Grange-Over-Sands the Naples of the North’ really? - as the railway companies sought to entice people to the coastal resorts in their territories.
The relationship between railways and resorts was sometimes symbiotic, sometimes fractious, with some towns embracing the economic opportunities while others distanced themselves for fear of attracting the ‘wrong sort’. Martin charts the development of these lines, interspersed with modern day visits to some of the towns which grew in the railway age, many of which are now in decline.
The style is friendly with a sprinkling of humour. A clever touch is the use of references from contemporary literature to show how these places and lines were viewed and portrayed in their heyday. Even if you’re not especially interested in railways it’s a fascinating bit of social history.
The relationship between railways and resorts was sometimes symbiotic, sometimes fractious, with some towns embracing the economic opportunities while others distanced themselves for fear of attracting the ‘wrong sort’. Martin charts the development of these lines, interspersed with modern day visits to some of the towns which grew in the railway age, many of which are now in decline.
The style is friendly with a sprinkling of humour. A clever touch is the use of references from contemporary literature to show how these places and lines were viewed and portrayed in their heyday. Even if you’re not especially interested in railways it’s a fascinating bit of social history.
January 17, 2026
An absolute delight of a book, trains and seaside resorts and their connection
May 9, 2026
This is one for the trainspotters rather than the intrepid travellers.
The title of Andrew Martin’s “To The Sea By Train” is fairly self-explanatory; it is a travelogue - by train, naturally - journeying to the far-flung coastal towns of the U.K. to examine the golden ages of the British Seaside and British Rail Travel.
Martin’s strengths lie in the nerdy train research and in relating the history of how Britain’s labyrinthine railway network developed in the 19th century through the creation - and eventual amalgamation - of various regional rail companies … before being decimated by the dreaded Dr. Beeching during the 1960s.
Where “To The Sea By Train” fails is as a travel book. When Andrew Martin finally arrives at his seaside destinations, he doesn’t seem to do anything hugely interesting or to have anything of much interest to say about them (other than regurgitating potted histories of those towns). To paraphrase the Julius Caesar maxim: He came, he saw, he buggered off again.
Nige Tassell attempted something similar (an exploration of Britain’s terminus towns by train) in his recent “Final Destination” book, and he carried it off with much greater verve and charm than Andrew Martin demonstrates here.
If you need to select one travelogue about the British railway network, pull the emergency cord and give “To The Sea By Train” a swerve, and alight on “Final Destination” instead.
The title of Andrew Martin’s “To The Sea By Train” is fairly self-explanatory; it is a travelogue - by train, naturally - journeying to the far-flung coastal towns of the U.K. to examine the golden ages of the British Seaside and British Rail Travel.
Martin’s strengths lie in the nerdy train research and in relating the history of how Britain’s labyrinthine railway network developed in the 19th century through the creation - and eventual amalgamation - of various regional rail companies … before being decimated by the dreaded Dr. Beeching during the 1960s.
Where “To The Sea By Train” fails is as a travel book. When Andrew Martin finally arrives at his seaside destinations, he doesn’t seem to do anything hugely interesting or to have anything of much interest to say about them (other than regurgitating potted histories of those towns). To paraphrase the Julius Caesar maxim: He came, he saw, he buggered off again.
Nige Tassell attempted something similar (an exploration of Britain’s terminus towns by train) in his recent “Final Destination” book, and he carried it off with much greater verve and charm than Andrew Martin demonstrates here.
If you need to select one travelogue about the British railway network, pull the emergency cord and give “To The Sea By Train” a swerve, and alight on “Final Destination” instead.
September 6, 2025
How did we travel before electric trains and the savage decimation of our railway system by Dr Beeching? An interesting potted history of day trips and longer holidays to the seaside; factory workers on their annual outing; families sending their luggage ahead to the station the day before then supervising its loading onto the luggage wagon by a luggage porter and his barrow - for a tip of course! The delights of being the first one to see the sea. Finding your way to your B&B and your lovely, caring landlady for the holiday. Fish and chips in paper on the beach or sea wall (without the gulls trying to pinch them), or in a restaurant with bread and butter, a cuppa and a Knickerbocker Glory for afters.
All this before the days of holiday pay - you went on holiday you didn't get paid! This is only a small book but will bring back memories for some and be an eyeopener for others.
All this before the days of holiday pay - you went on holiday you didn't get paid! This is only a small book but will bring back memories for some and be an eyeopener for others.
April 5, 2026
I am trying to visit and write about all 230 or so UK coastal towns, and my wife bought me this book last birthday. Andrew Martin, as his fans will know, is an Oxford English graduate who became a barrister, but prefers to write novels and nonfiction about railways. And this is an enjoyable and well-researched book that is underpinned by his extensive knowledge of railways, as well as fiction and social history. The railways not only enabled mass seaside tourism in the UK, they effectively created our seaside resorts. There are many good stories here. Well done!
January 13, 2026
What a charming book this is.
Those of you who have seen Martin's railway television documentaries will be familiar with his lugubrious style of delivery which comes over in this book.
It could be, of course, that his tone is merely mirroring the decline of the railways since their 1950s and 1960s heyday when thousands of travellers flocked to the seaside by train.
A sense of melancholy pervades the book, an elegy to what we have lost.
Those of you who have seen Martin's railway television documentaries will be familiar with his lugubrious style of delivery which comes over in this book.
It could be, of course, that his tone is merely mirroring the decline of the railways since their 1950s and 1960s heyday when thousands of travellers flocked to the seaside by train.
A sense of melancholy pervades the book, an elegy to what we have lost.
January 23, 2026
Highly readable and gently amusing historical perspective on British holiday habits and train travel.
The author brings to life the excitement of going on holiday and paints a wistful image of an age gone by, without the instant stimulants of a modern electronic age, and ruefully looks at the community impact of the Beeching railway cuts.
Images of bucket and spade holidays mix happily with the enjoyment of rail travel and humorous observation, making this a highly enjoyable read.
The author brings to life the excitement of going on holiday and paints a wistful image of an age gone by, without the instant stimulants of a modern electronic age, and ruefully looks at the community impact of the Beeching railway cuts.
Images of bucket and spade holidays mix happily with the enjoyment of rail travel and humorous observation, making this a highly enjoyable read.
October 9, 2025
Interesting and engagingly written, but too long for someone with more of an interest in the history of holiday resorts and only a passing interest in railways.
Good selection of illustrations and railway posters.
Unfinished, as I skimmed the second half of the book.
Two stars reflects my interest in the subject matter, rather than the quality of the book.
Good selection of illustrations and railway posters.
Unfinished, as I skimmed the second half of the book.
Two stars reflects my interest in the subject matter, rather than the quality of the book.
Review of advance copy
Parts of this worked better for me than others, but I think ultimately I am not the target audience for a book that seemingly assumes a little more existing knowledge than I have. But it had its moments and I'm sure trainspotters will enjoy
Not sure why it's marked as not yet published though, I bought my copy from Waterstones!
Not sure why it's marked as not yet published though, I bought my copy from Waterstones!
September 12, 2025
Enjoyed this very much, as I always do with Andrew Martin's books. I particularly liked the sections on places I've been and know well, but all of it is interesting and well written.
October 2, 2025
Very well written, about various seaside resorts around Britain and how they lost the train service that transported visitors either for a day trip or a holiday.
October 31, 2025
I dipped into this and picked out the most interesting bits. Generally enjoyable and informative but the author's style is a little idiosyncratic hence 3 stars.
January 10, 2026
review to follow
April 21, 2026
What a great read!
June 1, 2026
3.5 🌟 rounded up! Sometimes got a bit too train-spottery! But the parts on the resorts and the travel itself were a lovely read during the UK’s recent heatwave! ☀️
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews