The sweet and salty memories of a day at the seaside
From hot days of fun to the pain of getting into the freezing sea, Scots are being urged to share their memories,
They were those glorious days on the beach where the sea and sky went on forever and, if you were lucky, the sun beat down and the windbreak held firm.
Scotland’s summers might not always be something to write home about but a day by the seaside has long been treasured, along with the sandy sandwiches, the 99 cones and running into the sea that was surely too cold to be good for you. But that was the beach, a place of freedom and different rules where even dad took off his shoes for a paddle in the water. Mum would get a snooze by the shelter of the dunes and inevitably be ready with the calamine lotion as evening came and that pink skin started to sting.
Now, Scots are being asked to share their memories of the beach as we reconnect with it once again during times that make us want to stay closer to home.
The memories shared will help influence a nationwide arts project that aims to capture all that is great about the Scottish seaside. It is hoped to take the results on tour around the coast next year in a Victorian-style bathing station, like those once found in Aberdeen and St Andrews, which was used to discreetly transport people into the water and protect their modesty, sometimes with the help of a ‘dipper’ who would stand in the sea and help lower the bathers in.
Sarah Longfield, producer at arts organisation See Think Make, said the Splash Back! project had been launched to coincide with Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters and was timely given more people were rediscovering their local beaches once again.
She said: “We really wanted to do a project that had that fun, whimsy, seaside feeling but one that also allowed people to connect to their heritage. And what we really wanted to do was take that exhibition to the seaside.”
Ms Longfield added: “We really want to start a conversation about people’s memories of the seaside and hope to spark the imagination. People seem to really engage with it. I think it taps into something in the core. People are connecting again with local coasts and waters. “Unlike a Caribbean holiday, no one visits the Scottish seaside and expects perfection.
“It’s more about fun mixed with adversity; laughter combined with bracingly cold waters where only the brave venture.
“Jumping into the sea can be a wonderful, painful experience...it takes a bit of grit.”
While Scotland and its islands rack up around 10,000 miles of coastline, a long tradition of seawater pools and lidos brought the ocean a little closer.
From Dunoon to Dunbar, Portobello, Stonehaven and Macduff, outdoor swimming became increasingly common in the early 20th Century. Seawater was often drawn into the pools, some of them cleaned out and refreshed naturally by the tide. Some were just simple walled areas on the waterfront that provided a safe bathing space. At St Andrews, the Step Rock tidal pool opened in 1902 with a kiosk serving teas and coffees and long days spent on hired deckchairs.
More sophisticated pools later emerged, particularly during the 20s and 30s, such as the Tarlair Pool near Macduff, a Grade A listed building. The community is working hard to restore the abandoned pool, which sits tucked under a towering sea cliff.
At Portobello, the Art Deco outdoor pool opened in 1936 and was the first in the country to feature a wave machine. It was hugely popular, with a ‘one in, one out’ policy operated during the 1970s.
At Helensburgh, a pool which filled at high tide was gifted to the town by a former Provost who survived a food poisoning outbreak. A central feature of the town, it was long said the water was warmer once it had rained.
To share your Scottish seaside memories, please visit @seethinkmakeart on Twitter.