Relating the development of Devon’s seaside resorts to the wider processes of social and economic change, this study explains why early tourists were drawn to the remote Devon coast and shows how fishing villages were transformed into fashionable watering places. Themes covered include bathing rituals and sea-water drinking, health cures and cholera epidemics, sophisticated amusements and improving recreations, paddle-steamers and excursion trains. The study is intended for students and scholars of social history; secondary school and further education students, particularly in Devon; and general readers.