“THEY are big, brightly coloured and much more interesting to see than a Ford Mondeo on the motorway.”

Andrew Gladwell’s latest book – By Steamer to the South Coast – explores the history of these magnificent machines, which so frequently toured the shores of Dorset with elegance and style less than a century ago.

Paddle steamers were not just a favourite mode of transport for tourists, they were iconic and grand – a beacon of ornate extravagance and mechanics allowing for escapism during the often hardworking and smoky times of the industrial revolution.

Andrew’s voice lights up as he describes the influence they had on seaside culture and how the development of the piers we still see at Bournemouth and Swanage today was moulded by the growth of the pleasure steamer.

His quip about the Ford Mondeo is just the start – he speaks about the romance and nostalgia of these crafts in misty-eyed tones.

“They are just beautiful,” he enthuses. “People loved the steam engines and it really was the only way to see the coast.

“The piers were built in Bournemouth and Swanage and with them came the steamers.”

By the time of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, paddle steamers were at their height.

The competition between producers meant they kept being made bigger and better, which resulted in the piers being expanded too – with more theatres and entertainment introduced to satisfy the demand of the burgeoning passenger lists.

“They were quite luxurious by that time,” says Andrew.

Lavish interiors with mahogany furniture and sumptuous facilities raised steamers to new levels – providing a way of domestic holidaying that has never been repeated in quite such a majestic way.

One such example was the 200ft Bournemouth Queen, which entered service during the glorious summer of 1908 as part of the Bournemouth-Swanage service.

It went on to be a participant during the most significant cross-section of history in modern times – utilised during both world wars before returning to service in July 1947.

However, advancing technologies and societal shifts saw these spectacular cruisers begin to fade in the years after the war. “The car became more popular in the 1950s and 1960s,” Andrew laments. “People could get to the seaside and stay as long as they wanted.”

With trains, planes and boats with screw propellers and other more efficient functionality, the paddle steamers went into decline.

The Bournemouth Queen was a victim of this in 1957 when it was decommissioned and tugged to Ghent ship breakers yard on December 18, 1957.

Things have not been the same since.

Andrew’s book is bursting with photographs – piers packed with people queuing for their place on board, plumes of steam decorating coastal landscapes accompanied with a plethora of the engines cutting their way through the waves. They paint a vivid picture.

And it is something which is being re-discovered now, according to Andrew – and there is no better place to be to do it than in the south.

The Waverley and Balmoral still operate today, with the Waverley offering customers the chance to cruise along the Jurassic Coast just like at the beginning of the last century.

Andrew hopes these relics can remain a little longer and that their place in history will never be forgotten.

  • The book, By Steamer to the South Coast, by Andrew Gladwell, costs £14.99 from Amberley Publishing.