While the lido was described as bringing “modernism to the masses” on the British coast it was just the latest example of a trend that had been developing since Victorian times – transforming seaside towns into resorts for leisure and entertainment. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the fashion was for local authorities to build great piers stretching from the promenade out into the sea. The Eastbourne Pier, pictured here in May 1931, was erected between 1866 and 1870 to an ingenious design by Eugenius Birch, which saw the structure sitting on special cups allowing the supporting struts to “move” in bad weather. Arranged on the pier's 1,000-foot length were kiosks, a theatre, a ballroom and a camera obscura. 1931. (Photo by Aerofilms Collection via “A History of Britain From Above”)

LAPD chopper flies in a foregraund of the Super Moon in Los Angeles, California on May 05, 2012. Tonight's moon is set to appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter from our perspective on Earth. The Supermoon lines up much closely with perigee – the moon's closest point to Earth. The 2012 May full moon falls some six minutes after perigee, the moon's closest point to Earth for this month. At perigee, the moon lies only 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers ) away. Later this month, on May 19, the moon will swing out to apogee – its farthest point for the month – at 252,555 miles (406,448 kilometers) distant. (Photo by AFP/File, Joe Klamar)

Bat seller Sukarwati shows a skinned bat on July 30, 2009 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Sukarwati and her family have hunted bats in the Imogiri region for generations, capturing more than 800 bats per month. The Sukarwati family believe that the meat from the bat heals asthma and respiratory problems and it is a great honour for them knowing that the meat that they provide will help ease people's health ailments. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti)

Catwalks hang over a section of the newly constructed eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during a media tour of the self-anchored suspension span tower on August 29, 2011 in Oakland, California. Contruction crews have erected twelve foot wide catwalks that connect to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge self-anchored suspension span's tower and crews will begin to lay the nearly one mile of main cable beginning in early 2012. The bridge has been under constrution since 2002 with an estimated price tag of $6.3 billion and will have the world's tallest Self-Anchored Suspension (SAS) tower once completed. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller talks about the display on the new iPad during an Apple product launch event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on March 7, 2012 in San Francisco, California. In the first product release following the death of Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. introduced the third version of the iPad (iOS 5.1; Processor is an Apple A5X ARM-based unit; Display 2048 x 1536 pixels; Camera is set at 5 megapixels and has a 5-element lens plus auto face-detection, auto focus lock and image stabilisation for video; Wi-Fi + 4G) and an updated Apple TV. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Two Teddy Bears from the 1920's sit on display in the museum section of the Merrythought Teddy Bear shop on April 5, 2011 in Ironbridge, England. Established in 1930, Merrythought has been hand-making Teddy Bears for over 80 years in Shropshire. The family-run company is the last remaining British teddy bear factory and is launching its latest limited edition bear to mark the royal wedding. The Commemorative Royal Wedding bear is limited to 75 and comes after its popular Prince William and Catherine Middleton bears completely sold out. Merrythought has also been selected by the London Olympic Games organisers to produce the official teddy bears of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A preparatory model of the Imperial State Crown of India worn in 1911 by King George V stands next to original ledgers dating from 1735 in Garrard's flagship store in Mayfair on April 6, 2011 in London, England. Garrard is the world's oldest jewellers having been founded by George Wickes in 1735 and soon after appointed as goldsmith to the Prince of Wales. For over 160 years Garrard held the title of Crown Jeweller, bestowed by Queen Victoria in 1843, Garrard have served six successive monarchs. They have produced several royal crowns as well as the engagement ring presented to Kate Middleton by Prince William and formerly Princess Diana's engagement ring. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Two De Brazza's monkeys stand together at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park on June 21, 2011 in Hythe, England. Port Lympne has welcomed a host of new arrivals this year with wildebeest, colobus monkeys, gorillas and rhinos all adding to the current stock. Port Lympne and Howletts Wild Animal parks were set up by the late John Aspinall to protect and breed rare and endangered species and, where possible, return them to safe areas in the wild. The Aspinall Foundation which runs the parks also manages two gorilla rescue and rehabilitation projects in the central African countries of Gabon and Congo where they have successfully reintroduced over 50 gorillas to the wild. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)