| Day 25 - Brighton |
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| Copyright Famocon Tours 2001 |
| We left Portsmouth on our way to Brighton. You may be tempted to take the more coastal route via Chichester, Bognor Regis, Worthing, Southwick and Hove but we consider that these areas are so built up and congested with traffic that you would simply crawl along with nothing to see except humdrum suburbia. You certainly will not catch any glimpse of the coast. So we made our way along the A27 direct to Brighton and arrived in less than an hour. After unloading at our B&B and then parking our car for the day we headed down the hill to Marine Parade and the beach. If you have the time, a visit to the Brighton Marina is worth while. It is claimed to be the largest marina in the UK and is an integration of a modern shopping centre with a fishing village. There are miles of quayside to explore. We did a leisurely stroll along the promenade past the heritage Volks railway line and the large aquariums at the Sea Life Centre before taking a turn up Old Steine for the short distance to the Royal Pavilion. This royal residence, originally a farmhouse, was built for George IV from 1787 to 1822 in an oriental style that is all over the place but is primarily Chinese with external Indian influences. It was also used by George's brother, William IV and their niece, Queen Victoria. The buildings have been beautifully recreated and are a stand out attraction. Rooms are lavish and intricately detailed. The huge kitchen and adjoining banqueting room and the music rooms were our favourites. This really is a spectacular place to visit and should be on everyone's itinerary. There are examples of sheer decadence that will have the revolutionaries muttering, and examples of ordinary life, like Queen Victoria's "other throne" - her toilet. Most of the furniture and furnishings, on loan from Queen Elizabeth, is from the Pavilion and the interiors have been beautifully restored. The grounds and gardens have been recreated in Regency style. The Museum and Art Gallery are said to contain a large number of Regency items on display as well as an interesting mix of world art. They were not open on the day of our visit due to refurbishment. We then found our way to The Lanes - a large shopping complex full of new and heritage buildings built around a city block of cobbled laneways, passageways and streets. This was a good area to pick up local souvenirs and have lunch. Every second shop seemed to be a jewellery or bric-a-brac store, which must result in some good competitive pricing. If you don't have lunch here you will probably have to settle for the hot dog and chips type of cuisine or try your luck in one of the glitzy, modern and loud establishments along the waterfront, such as Troggs. We passed the very old Church of St Nicholas on our way back to the waterfront. We then proceeded down Kings Road, left the promenade and made the difficult "walk" over the beach - no sand, just large very large pebbles. We were glad to finally reach a solid pathway. One of the great attractions of Brighton is the unique soulful sound of the sea washing over the pebbles. The West Pier is still derelict and unloved and is a distinct blight on the waterfront - there are plans to rescue this pier, or so people keep telling you. We suspect that people have been saying this for the last 100 years. Further down we ventured out on to the restored Palace Pier, with its gaudy arcades of gambling machines, blaring sideshow music, souvenir shops and fast food outlets. Its a noisy lively fairground on stilts. After dabbling at some of the less exciting attractions (there are age limits) we had an early dinner at a surprisingly very good seafood restaurant in the middle of the Pier. In the early evening, we strolled back to our B&B quite content. Brighton is a huge, showy place and the haunt of many well known people. It is hard to imagine it started out as a base for a herring fishing fleet. |
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