Brighton Your Day

Quite spontaneously one week, Jeordy and I decided to visit Brighton. It is a place I have visited often and Jeordy was very curious to see. For me Brighton has always been somewhere to escape from London's sometimes overwhelming rush and business to. Due to the complexity of our online ticketing system, Jeordy, quite by accident, managed to purchase an extra two train tickets. Not wanting them to go to waste we invited two friends, Mark and Brittany, to come along and visit the seaside with us. We set off from King's Cross station around 10:00 in the morning and embarked on our hour long train journey to the coast. After arriving in Brighton we left the rather impressive station and stood on top of the hill which overlooks the narrow streets that stretched out all the way to the turquoise ocean.

The weather was predictably grey and heavy, with a possibility of rain and winds which blew at us as we descended the hill. We eventually reached the main stretch of road which runs alongside the beach. We paused as we stood atop the promenade and inhaled the fresh salty air while looking out over the sea.

I was keen to show off Brighton's main sites and attractions to my party of newcomers, so we naturally headed straight along the beach to the East pier, which is renowned for its arcades, rollercoasters, fish and chips and huge array of seagulls. We walked all the way to the end marvelling all the while at how green and beautiful the sea appeared between the wooden boards of the pier beneath us.

~ Fun Fact: Brighton actually has two famous piers, an East and a west. The Western Pier opened in 1866 during a boom in pleasure beach tourism. In 1916 a large concert hall was added at its end, which after WWII was made into a theme park. This closed due to bankruptcy in 1975. Disuse led to structural decline, and two fires in May 2003 left only the skeleton of what it once was. This has been preserved as a point of historical interest and is visible from the shore. ~

After exploring the pier we all sat down on striped blue sun loungers to enjoy the packed lunches we had prepared, while looking out over the ocean. As we sat we decided what our next move would be; Mark and Brittany chose to head along the shore to see the white cliffs that stood on the horizon, which despite the walk would be worth it for the view. Jeordy and I decided we would explore more of the beach before heading inland as there were many more places I wished to show her. We agreed to meet up again in a few hours for dinner, and parted.

Jeordy and I couldn't resist the smell and look of the doughnuts being made on the pier, so we acquiesced and bought a small bag of them which were made before of our eyes. These doughy miracles were still piping hot when we bit into them on our way down onto the beach. They were quite simply divine, and didn't make it off the pier.

Author Henry James once stated that 'The Brighton air used of old to make...pretty girls prettier still.' As we sat on the pebbled shore listening to the cry of seagulls in the fresh sea air, I took photos of Jeordy and found it quite hard to disagree.

Sometime later we left the shore and headed into Brighton proper. We headed directly for a spot I had wanted to show Jeordy for some time, and on the way we passed Brighton's famous Royal Pavilion. Built in 1787 in a Indo-Saracenic style mirroring such indian temples as the Taj Mahal, it is the definition of out of place in this small sea side town. It was patronised by George IV as a royal retreat. Queen Victoria disliked Brighton and the Pavilion, as by 1841 Brighton had become accessible by rail from London and invited huge crowds causing the Queen to state 'The people here are very indiscreet and troublesome.' It was purchased by the town of Brighton in 1850, used as a military hospital in the First World War, and has since been renovated to serve as a museum.

We finally reached the area in Brighton known as 'the Lanes', a series of small streets filled with vintage and retro shops and interesting bars and cafes. I had brought Jeordy here to show her one shop in particular: 'Snoopers Paradise.' It is by far the largest single vintage and antique shop I have ever seen and is filled with room after room of more antiques. It sells everything and nothing. Clothes, cameras and cricket bats, suitcases, shoes and silly hats, even books, blazers and a battle-axe. After passing a few hours attempting to look at every item, I for the first time since being shown the shop myself managed miraculously not to by a single item. Jeordy however, fell under the spell of this paradise and purchased a beautiful black vintage handbag, something she had been searching for for some time.

After a wander around the lanes we had tea and cake in a small cafe, while we sat outside and watched the weird and wacky array of life around us. There is a myth that Brighton is a quiet place full of pensioners, which is quite clearly a rumour started by the huge variety of youngsters who walk the streets in technicolored indie clothing, in an attempt to keep Brighton a secret.

Eventually we decided it was dinner time, we began to walk through Brighton's town centre and passed its impressive and imposing gothic inspired church, toward the seafront to meet Mark and Brittany.

We met at The Regency Restaurant and ordered two sea food platters and two bottles of red wine to be shared in our couples. This was more than enough, as a huge colourful plate of freshly caught and cooked sea life arrived in front of us. The plate contained an entire lobster covered in a garlic and melted cheese sauce, various prawns and shrimp, oysters, limpets and clams, and in the middle was a large bucket of fresh mussels. Jeordy and I also (somewhat ambitiously) ordered a side of chips.

Since the restaurant was on the sea front, we sat outside despite the wind and looked out over the ocean as a thick layer of cold fog descended upon us. Within half an hour we could no longer see the piers and soon we could not even see the coastline. We were not at all bothered by the chill which accompanied the fog as we were kept warm by our full bellies and wine glasses. We finished our meal and, full and a little tipsy, we rushed through Brighton's cold and wet centre up the hill to the station. We only just caught our train in time and relaxed with a small glass of dessert wine which Mark and Brittany brought with them and generously shared.

Brighton remains one of my favourite tranquil escapes from London, and I would recommend it for anyone looking to see a huge part of the English tradition and history that is the pleasure beach, or simply looking to get away from it all for a moment.