Travel and Tourism in Britain, 1700–1914 Vol 2

Book excerpt: The British led the way in holidaymaking. This four-volume primary resource collection brings together a diverse range of texts on the various forms of transport used by tourists, the destinations they visited, the role of entertainments and accommodation and how these affected the way that tourism evolved over two centuries. Volume 2: Spa Tourism This volume traces the development of the spa from modest arrangements that emerged in the early modern period, to the large, thriving spa towns that existed in the nineteenth century. Documents show how spas evolved as well as the treatments they offered. Specific case studies of key spas - Bath, Tunbridge Wells and Cheltenham - are used to illustrate this process. Bath's popularity as a tourist destination grew throughout the eighteenth century. In the eighteenth century it was one of the most popular destinations in Britain. Royal Tunbridge Wells was its greatest rival, and both towns benefited from the patronage of celebrated dandy, Beau Nash. Cheltenham's fashionable status was ensured by a visit from George III and his court in 1788.