Overlooking the Irish Sea and Morecambe Bay, Barrow boasts 60km of coastline dotted with sandy beaches.

From the late 19th century, Walney’s beaches in particular attracted plenty of day trippers from Barrow.

Whilst Cumbria doesn't have many 'bucket and spade' style beaches, Earnse Bay, Sandy Gap and Biggar Bank form almost a continuous stretch of eight miles of coastline.

READ MORE: Barrow's worst disasters of the last century captured by the Sankeys

Whilst perhaps not being able to beat rivals Blackpool and Morecambe for visitors, Barrow beaches are unparalleled when it comes to their panoramic views of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man and the Lake District.

Thanks to the development of the railways from the 1840s onwards, people were able to be whisked at speed to seaside towns around the coast.

Coupled with the Victorian belief that 'sea air' was a cure for major diseases like tuberculosis, days out to beach increased from the mid 19th century.

(Image: Sankey online archive) The middle classes were the first to take advantage of the new fangled rail technology, however many aimed for the more popular and established seaside resorts with beaches in Cumbria remaining a lot quieter.  

When the Holiday Pay Act 1938 came into force, which was the the introduction of annual paid leave after WWII, lots of working-class people could enjoy their holidays properly for the first time.

Many industrial towns such as Barrow had local holiday weeks and the local factory or plant would shut down for maintenance and all the workers would take their annual leave at the same time.

Whatever the weather, you would find families sheltering behind windbreaks on the beach.

(Image: Sankey online archive) Pictures contained in the Barrow photographers by the Sankeys show adults relaxing in deckchairs with children playing ball, digging sandcastles, rock pooling and paddling in the sea.

Some families can be seen by rented beach huts as these were great places to shelter from the rain and  changing into swimming costumes.

The Bikini wasn't invented until 1946 so some of the fascinating photos in the Sankey online archive show just how impractical some of the beach wear used to be in the early 20th century.

(Image: Sankey online archive) Take a look at our gallery, which images date as far back as 1908, to see just how much days out at the beach in Barrow has changed.

Anyone wanting to use the Sankey photos in a book, online or in an exhibition need to ask permission to use the photos from Cumbria Archives and there may be a charge.

Downloading images for personal use is fine however.  The full details on copyright are here: https://www.sankeyphotoarchive.uk/contact/.