History: 'Wish you were here’ – a history of holidays through the ages

Are you desperate to get away on holiday this year? Holidays were originally ‘Holy Days’, a chance once the religious ceremonies were over to let your hair down but they didn’t involve going away from home. During the 17th century wealthy people might take a ‘holiday’ break to a spa or seaside town for health reasons and there were opportunities in the years to come to take a grand tour of Europe to broadening the mind! The 19th century sees the advent of holiday day trips were that were within the reach of ordinary people. A big change happens with the advent of paid holidays for ordinary people which for many gives them an opportunity often for the first time to get away for a week, and this is the start of the heyday of the British seaside holiday and the holiday camp. Within the last 50 years overseas holidays and worldwide trips have become very popular and we will look at this change Using sources from the time, we can put ourselves in these holidaymaker’s shoes and consider how it felt to go on holiday then. How might social and environment changes affect our holiday choices in the future?