Our archives are full of hot weather photos. These photos are a selection of those images which tap into the most memorable heatwaves of 1976, 2003 and 2019 – the summers which broke records. They also feature fabulous open air pools, which are all closed now, but back in the day provided the perfect alternative to a dip in the sea.
2. Scorching Blackpool
Nurses made the most of the evening heat in 1976 washing cars to raise funds for the hospital league of friends Photo: submit
3. Heatwaves
Bath time was never like this... and what a sneaky way these grown-ups have of keeping us clean! Children of the Hartington Road Day Nursery, Preston, don't know anything about centigrade and fahrenheit but they reckon that clothes are just a waste of time when the sun is beating down and there's a paddling pool outside. But never mind the heatwave... | National World
4. Blackpool in the Heat
A scene of Blackpool beach in the middle of the most memorable heatwave on record in 1976 Photo: Submit
5. Scorching Blackpool
Four-year-old Connor Nelson and his brother Ciaran (7) from South Shore, cooling down with their ice creams in 2003. Blackpool basked in unusually hot temperatures in early August of that year. In fact nationally the highest recorded temperature was on August 10th in Kent when the mercury peaked at a record breaking 38.5C Photo: Bill Johnson
6. Heatwaves
Making the most of the hot weather in Preston Town Centre in 1976 | National World