Travel and Leisure - Transport

Travel changed a lot during Victorian times. Some of the changes were the invention of railways, trains and steam power. The changes and improvements in travel made travelling faster, safer and more reliable. In early Victorian times most of the different types of transport were powered by horses.

Early buses were drawn by horses. These horse buses were double-deckers, the staircase was at the back of the bus and the top of the bus had no roof. There were no glass windows on early buses, only curtains, so it could get very cold, wet and dirty if the weather was bad.

Paddle steamers began to replace ships with sails and masts. By the 1840s steamships were being used to transport mail and passengers for long distances because they were reliable.

The paddle steamers became a very popular way of taking daytrips. People would take trips along the water to the coast.

Scheduled steamer services ran from the Broomielaw in the heart of Glasgow, although it had taken years of dredging to deepen the Clyde. On weekend and holidays the scheduled services competed with a host of excursion vessels. This resource shows the scene on Queen Victoria's birthday in May 1896. The steamers jostle for berths - and it wasn't yet 11 am.

Scheduled steamers also ran on the Forth and Tay. Here too excursions were soon added to the regular runs. Even before the rise of the Clyde steamers, the steamer Marion began in 1818 trips around Loch Lomond. The sixty-foot Marion was just the first in a succession of successful cruisers.

Cheap and reliable bicycles were developed at the end of the 19th century. Manufacturers appeared in many towns often switching from other trades, like blacksmithing. There was a near universal craze for cycling clubs that lasted until the rise of the motor car. By the end of the 20th century, cyclists were campaigning for health and other benefits of pedal power to be recognised.

The safety bicycle appeared at a time when more people had more leisure - the six day working week was vanishing to be replaced by 5 ½ or even 5 days. A bicycle was not only a good investment for getting to and from work easily and cheaply it could give many ordinary people the chance to explore further from home than they could before.

Very quickly after the introduction of the safety bicycle designs for women appeared that accommodated their ankle length skirts. Bicycling gave women more personal freedom and they joined cycle clubs in their thousands. Special costume was developed for cycling and the craze helped to drive forward ideas about fashions, health and even politics.

A Clyde Steamer

The picture shows a tram being pulled along rails by horses.

Another Clyde
Paddle Steamer


A Penny Farthing