0:00:41 > 0:00:46Lowestoft is the most easterly point of our islands.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Every morning the sun hits this bit of the country first.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55And when you actually get out here, you want to go out and greet the sun!
0:00:56 > 0:01:04Being at the seaside, the easiest way of getting that little bit closer is by going to the end of a pier.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11For the last 150 years, they have been a vital part of our seaside architecture.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16But we're losing them fast.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21Since the 1970s, 11 piers have been lost completely.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27While others, like Lowestoft's Claremont pier, still struggle on.
0:01:27 > 0:01:33To find out exactly what state it's in, the owner, David Scott, offered to give me a guided tour.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Hello, David! Can we go inside your pier?
0:01:36 > 0:01:39How many generations has it been in your family?
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Three generations, Mark, actually.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45- A real responsibility! - Huge responsibility!
0:01:45 > 0:01:49- Surely these machines make sackloads of money?- Not bags of money, Mark.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51It used to be bags of money!
0:01:51 > 0:01:52Was it?!
0:01:52 > 0:02:00While David's arcade is still open for business, the pier itself has been closed to the public since 1982.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07- It's so wonderful to be out here! - It's an unusual experience, isn't it?
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Having the sea below you like this.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12What was this pier like in its Edwardian heyday?
0:02:12 > 0:02:13Absolutely wonderful.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I mean, obviously a sense of occasion coming on to a pier.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Everyone dressed smartly. There were theatres.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22- Punters promenading up and down? - Yes, absolutely packed!
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- Coming down to take the steamer off the end there.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Obviously it used to be a lot longer than it is now.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31With a T-piece on the end as well to moor up against.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35I can show you some old archive photographs.
0:02:35 > 0:02:36Oh look, there it is!
0:02:36 > 0:02:40The steamer would stop off on the way to London and ferry people back.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43It wasn't just a pleasure pier? It had a commercial function?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46- Absolutely. - What happened to the T-piece? - Time and tide have taken it away.
0:02:47 > 0:02:55Seeing Claremont like this, it's easy to forget that it, like many of our piers, had a real working past.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Like the Victorian equivalent of an airport.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04They were arrival points for passengers visiting the seaside.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08But unlike an airport, piers combined function with fun!
0:03:11 > 0:03:17The saucy shows and funfairs meant that they soon became leisure destinations in themselves.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22No self-respecting seaside resort could be without one.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28In the 50 years between 1860 and 1910,
0:03:28 > 0:03:3278 piers were built around the country.
0:03:32 > 0:03:39But today, many of the 54 that still stand are in as bad or worse condition than Claremont.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44The end of David's pier is now just too dangerous to walk on.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50So architect and National Pier Society member Tim Phillips has offered to give me
0:03:50 > 0:03:53a different perspective on the state of Britain's piers.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Well, a pier like this, for example,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00where all the amusements are at the landward end,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03there's not much incentive for the owner perhaps to spend money.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06If it's a dangerous structure,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09you can't get even the fishermen on there paying you money.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15- Are they not protected, or listed or anything?- Not in this case. - No statutory protection?- No, no.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20From this angle, it's obvious to see the problems
0:04:20 > 0:04:23that pier owners like David Scott face.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Without the revenue from paddle steamers and their passengers,
0:04:27 > 0:04:33many piers ended up as endangered buildings housing arcade games and little else.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36But there are glimmers of hope.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Just down the coast in Southwold,
0:04:39 > 0:04:44over a million pounds has been spent renovating their pier -
0:04:44 > 0:04:47and the visitors are coming back.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd