What is it about the beach? What is it about the idea of owning a seaside retreat that prompts so many of us to window shop for properties that are a thongÆs throw from the sea? Why is it that the picture of a sandy trail of footsteps up a flight of verandah stairs and a wet beach towel flung over a wooden balustrade move us more than the sight of a slick city penthouse.

There is nothing closer to our hearts than the notion of a great Australian beach house. We may be a nation of urban-dwelling souls but take us out of the cities put an iced drink in our hand and sit us down on the deck of a property overlooking the ocean and watch our expressions change. Winston Churchill put it best when he said: ôWe shape our dwellings and afterwards our dwelling shapes us.ö

Slow Coasting is a celebration of this obsession. It dips a photographic tow into some of the most beautiful seaside hideaways around Australia and offers a place to go when you want to get away. And even when you canÆt.

So sit back brush of the sand clear a space between the towels and prepare to go slow coasting with some of AustraliaÆs most idyllic beach hideaways from æA to SeaÆ.

Written by Janelle McCulloch this soft cover book has 191 pages and measures 26 x 22 x 1.5cm.