Author and railway historian Andrew Martin will headline the annual conference day of the Seaside Heritage Network (SHN) organisation at The Grand Hotel next month.

Established in 2022, the SHN is a nationwide confederation whose aim is to coordinate individuals and groups who share a common interest in the vibrant culture and history of Britain’s coastal resorts.

The organisation’s focus being primarily on heritage which is linked with mass tourism from the 19th Century era to the present day.

A registered charity (since 2025), coincidentally, an earlier iteration of the SHN began in 2016 which held its first conference in Scarborough in April 2017.

Andrew Martin, and cover of To The Sea By Train.

placeholder image — Andrew Martin, and cover of To The Sea By Train.

Andrew Martin’s most recent book ‘To The Sea By Train – The Golden Age of Railway Travel’, a Sunday Times best seller, is an entertaining exploration of the heyday of holidaymaking at the coast conducted via rail, its rise in popularity and gradual decline over the subsequent decades outlining also the development of resorts such as Scarborough and Brighton.

The conference events are open to the public to attend with an admission charge.

The itinerary comprises:

11am Guided architectural walk and tours of the Rotunda Museum

1.30pm Conference Event opens at The Grand Hotel

2.00pm Welcome by the Seaside Heritage Network Team

2.05pm Introduction by John Oxley from Big Ideas By The Sea

2.20pm Toby Hyam from This Is Scarborough outlines proposals

for a micro-museum of Scarborough’s seaside heritage

2.30pm Q & A with Andrew Martin

3.10pm Refreshments and book signing

3.30pm Presentation of the SHN Bucket and Spade awards

4.10pm Guided tours of The Grand Hotel

The SHN’s annual awards scheme has seen the town’s Central Tramway Company funicular railway commended in the top ten seaside places and experiences as voted by the public last year, followed by the Harbour Bar having been nominated for 2026.

This year sees a collaboration with Big Ideas By The Sea who are staging a related event the day after on Saturday September 19, at St Mary’s Church.

Historian Dr Allan Brodie of Bournemouth University will present a talk 'Scarborough in the 1730's - Spa, Sea and Sex' – an exploration into the origins of the seaside holiday at Scarborough during the Georgian era.

Included is a presentation illustrating the latest a excavations at Paradise with ‘Digging in Paradise: The Big Dig at 5’ accompanying an exhibition.

Conference and Big Ideas co-organiser John Oxley MBE stated: “We are really excited to work with the Seaside Heritage Network to bring their 2026 Big Day Out to Scarborough as part of the Scarborough 400 celebrations.

"Scarborough is where the seaside holiday was invented; it is fantastic that this heritage is both recognised and celebrated”.

The Seaside Heritage Network Conference at The Grand Hotel Scarborough on Friday September 18, from 1.30pm.

Conference Day tickets are priced at £15.

Visit seasideheritage.org.uk for further details.

Big Ideas By The Sea presents ‘Scarborough in the 1730’s – Spa, Sea and Sex’ by Dr Allan Brodie at St Mary's Church on Saturday September 19, from 3pm.

Admission is free.