The People's Liners: Britain's Lost Pleasure Fleets

Once upon a time - for a century and a half at least - the British coastline was chock-full of pleasure boats offering holidaymakers the chance to travel from one part of the country to another, or to take day-trips on ships offering the kind of luxury normally associated with ocean-going liners such as the Queen Elizabeth. Companies thrived on providing people of all socio-economic backgrounds with tasty meals, luxury goods and top-class entertainment. Shirley Bassey and Sabrina were among the stars appearing on the liners.

THE PEOPLE'S LINERS took a nostalgic look at a vanished form of entertainment, arguing as it did so that it was one of the few occasions when class-differences did not matter. Everyone - up to 500 or 1000 people on each ship - enjoyed the experience of traveling on paddle-steamers and savoring (if briefly) the experience of being treated like royalty.