A girl cover her face while riding a motorcycle as haze shrouds a street near Tanjung Siapi Api port in Palembang, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, September 19, 2015. Indonesia will take 30 days to bring smouldering forest fires under control, the national disaster management agency said on Friday, as smog from the fires pushes pollution in Southeast Asia to record highs. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)

A couple hugs while standing near a Christmas tree made out of plastic bins and plastic hampers outside the Museum of History in Monterrey, Mexico, December 4, 2015. The humble Christmas tree has a rich history, from evergreen trees used to symbolise eternal life in Ancient Egypt to tree worship among pagan Europeans. The modern version has its origins in Germany, where the song “O Tannenbaum” is still a festive favourite. Today the traditional tree with lights and decorations appears in cities including Washington, Moscow and Beirut. Alternative constructions range from recycled rubbish in Mexico City to old window frames in Rakvere, Estonia. Whatever the shape or size, the message is the same: Merry Christmas. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)

“A Snail's Life”. Photographer Vyacheslav Mischenko captures gorgeous macro photographs of snails near his hometown of Berdichev, Ukraine. After being taught to hunt for mushrooms as a child, Vyacheslav has grown up with a keen eye for spotting critters on the forest floor. Here, a snail takes shelter while perching on a leaf. (Photo by Vyacheslav Mischenko/Caters News)

5-year-old Rina Kumari rubs her eye while cracking stones on the banks of Mahananda river in Siliguri, northeast India, March 5, 2005. Over 400 million people in India live below the internationally agreed poverty line (living on less than US $1 per day). According to estimates, several hundred thousand children work as labourers and beg on the streets in India. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

Keith Haubrich of Seattle, Wash., reacts to the crowd while competing in the Dali Moustache division during the fourth annual Just For Men National Beard and Moustache Championships Saturday, September 7, 2013 in New Orleans. Haubrich went on to win the gold medal for the Dali division.Contestants competed in 18 different categories including Dali, full beard natural and sideburns.(Photo by Susan Poag/AP Photo)

A dancer poses with a new installation of art by British graffiti artist Banksy painted on the front door of the Hustler Club in New York, October 24, 2013. Known for his anti-authoritarian black-and-white stenciled images, which have sold at auction for upwards of $2 million, the British street artist is treating New Yorkers to a daily dose of spray-painted art – while eluding the police and incurring the wrath of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Reuters)

Villagers from the Porto Novo community load into their canoes arapaima or pirarucu, the largest freshwater fish species in South America and one of the largest in the world, while fishing in Poco Fundo lake along a branch of the Solimoes river, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon, in the Mamiraua nature reserve near Fonte Boa about 600 km (373 miles) west of Manaus, November 26, 2013. Catching the arapaima, a fish that is sought after for its meat and is considered by biologists to be a living fossil, is only allowed once a year by Brazil's environmental protection agency. The minimum size allowed for a fisherman to keep an arapaima is 1.5 meters (4.9 feet). (Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

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”)