A photo has been shared online giving a glimpse into 1940s Edinburgh at the Portobello Baths.
The Baths opened in 1901 on the promenade overlooking the beach. The baths, now known as Portobello Swim Centre, are now home to one of only three remaining operational Turkish baths in Scotland still open to the public. They were wildly popular for locals heading for a swim and a bathe as many tenements didn't have the showers and baths we have today.
Instead, along with an outside toilet, there would be a tin bath that would be placed in front of a fire.
READ NEXT: Crackdown on illegal streaming as Edinburgh police raid provider and make arrest
The photo shared by Living Memory Association shows a group of women posing by the poolside in the style of a 'bathing beauties' contest.
The women are lined up, posing, each with a different swimming costume, surrounded by onlookers. But in the background, one young girl can be seen covering her face 'as if mortified by her mother showing off!', Living Memory Association adds.
The charity also notes that at the front is a woman named Mrs Catherine Sutherland. She was one of only three people in the UK who held a Life-Saving Badge.
Now the Victorian baths in Portobello are still in use but known as the Turkish baths. There are three hot chambers to choose from - Tepidarium (warm), Calidarium (hot) and Laconium (hottest) - and then you can cool down in the Frigidarium or relax in the Steam Room.
Before package holidays and cheap flights were accessible, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Portobello attracted families from all over the Lothians and even further afield. The pier and houses across the promenade is an echo of its bustling past.
It is a common scene in summer to see hundreds of people flock of Porty beach on a hot day and back in the 1800s and 1900s, it was no different. Although, women used special carriages called 'bathing machines' pulled by horses to preserve their modesty when going for a swim.
Do you remember visiting Portobello Baths or recognise anyone in the photo? Let us know in the comments.
READ NEXT-
Edinburgh snow and ice weather warning issued by Met Office as temperatures plummet
Inside the abandoned Edinburgh tunnel stretching right under the city centre
East Lothian woman uncovers ‘hidden note’ from the 1960s under her wallpaper
The three-tonne Edinburgh statue that was accidentally dropped from a crane
When is Mother's Day in 2023 and why does the date change every year?
