Brighton

The city of Brighton is a popular seaside escape, particularly with London residents, being only about an hour away by train. Situated on the southern coast, almost immediately due south of London, it has quite a trendy, fun atmosphere (well, it did the day we were there anyway!).

Frequent trains leave from Victoria and London Bridge stations in London with Southern Railway and First Capital Connect. It's probably worth taking the train rather than driving, as the city often gets congested and it's difficult to find parking. Admittedly we drove to Brighton from Eastbourne and managed to find some parking, but not without some difficulty (and expense).

We began the day by walking to the Royal Pavilion, an interesting and impressive royal residence that was built in the 19th Century for the Prince Regent. The architectural structure has a definite Indian flavour and the interior is richly decorated in mainly Chinese styles. There are attractive gardens surrounding the Pavilion and we spent some time walking around these - it helped that the weather was nice and sunny too.

We then headed toward the city's main attraction, Brighton Pier, which has quite a variety of funfair rides and arcade style games, along with numerous food stalls (and even a South African food shop, we're everywhere). We didn't actually partake in any of the rides, but the fun atmosphere prevailed, despite the rain which suddenly set in. Brighton has a pebble beach which, I assume, must get extremely busy during the summer months.

After spending some time on the pier, we visited the shopping area known as The Lanes, the layout of which reflects the original fishing village that once existed there. The narrow alleys are host to many jewellery and antique shops, alongside pubs and restaurants. Vegetarians will be happy to know that there are quite a few restaurants catering to their veggie needs in the area, and we went to an Indian buffet style place, which was alright, but nothing special. North Laine is another colourful shopping and residential area situated north of The Lanes and has an arty, bohemian feel to it, with new-age hippie types seeming to be at home there.

Unfortunately we didn't get to experience the nightlife when we were there, but I am assured by friends that it is a vibrant, happening place with a large choice of clubs and different music scenes. I'm personally not very fond of the clubbing scene in London and think that, perhaps, the scene in Brighton might be friendlier and less intimidating - we'll have to check it out sometime and see how it compares.

Our day trip to Brighton was all too brief, and we decided that we definitely need to go back and spend some more time there. When this shall take place, I have no idea, but it's definitely on our list of places to re-visit in the UK - and it should be on your list too.