Brighton
Recommended Tours
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TOUR 1: Seafront Stroll
This walk will take you along the seafront from Brighton Pier to the King Alfred Leisure Centre in Hove. The distance is about two miles and will take about half an hour. The terrain is totally flat and suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. There are plenty of places to stop for refreshments along the way.
Starting at Brighton Pier, make your way along the seafront to the west. Down below, you will see The Boardwalk, a restaurant/bar situated right on the beach. There can never be too many al fresco establishments in Brighton, whose residents have completely embraced European cafe culture. Over to your right is Pool Valley Coach Station and access into The Lanes where you can hunt for gifts and souvenirs. Don't get lost in there, it's like a labyrinth of tiny passageways and streets. It can get very crowded in the summer so try to come early in the day or midweek. There are some fine restaurants such as <Havana and Terre a Terre and exclusive shops like Jeremy Hoye Jewellery.
Moving along the seafront you will pass the Brighton Thistle Hotel on your right, a popular choice for business people attending conferences in the Brighton Centre which is just along from it. The Grand and the Hilton Metropole also occupy commanding positions a litle further along this seafront stretch as do the cheaper options of the Palace Hotel and Kings Hotel. Also on your right you will pass the Odeon cinema on the corner of the junction with West Street. This takes you past several clubs including Event II on your way into the center of town.
On the sea side of the road, which is far more interesting, you can see the Artists' Quarter; a row of tiny arches under the promenade from which local artists and craftspeople sell their wares. Various sculptural pieces have been commissioned to line this part of the seafront. See if you can spot which one is known locally as The Doughnut. There are a string of clubs and bars on the beach: Gemini Beach Bar, The Beach, and The Zap, to name a few. It can get very lively on a Saturday night - you have been warned.
Further on you pass a volleyball court, The Ellipse - an area where live bands perform and other events take place - and on to the West Pier. Next to the pier in the summer is a small market with stalls selling ethnic clothes and jewellery, second hand books and art. There is also the restaurant with the finest view in Brighton - Alfresco. It looks like an ocean liner and has panoramic views out to sea. The children's pool and play area comes next. Keep on going and you come to another local institution, The Meeting Place, an outdoor cafe which is open all year round, rain or shine.
Here you also begin to see the beach huts outside. Once past the Peace Statue, you will be in Hove; a much more genteel and conservative place than Brighton. On the right, pass two impressive squares: Brunswick and Palmeira, with their stunning architecture and central gardens. Leaving the seafront to venture inland will take you into the shopping area of Hove and its many more cafes and restaurants.
Past the beach huts and Hove Lawns you will come to the King Alfred Leisure Centre. You can either turn around and go back or carry on to Hove Lagoon with its windsurfing school and paddling pool. This is another 20 minutes or so, past tennis courts, bowling greens, a putting green and a couple more cafes.
Brighton seafront is such a lovely place for a stroll; on a pleasant evening the promenade is full of rollerbladers, kids on bikes and people on their way to dinner or just walking the dog. It feels as though the whole town is out making the most of where they live.
Photo by: JP Oakar
TOUR 2: The Guide Friday Bus Tour
This Company offers a sightseeing tour of Brighton in an open top double decker bus. The complete tour takes about an hour but you can get on and off all day with the same ticket. The tour operates from the end of March to the end of September and buses run every 30 minutes or every 20 in the peak season (June - September). There is a general commentary in English.
Make your way to Brighton Pier and pick up the bus on the west side. The bus moves off along Kings Road towards Hove and passes some of the finest and oldest hotels in the town such as the Hilton Metropole and The Grand. These are two excellent examples of architecture from the British Regency period. On the other side is the West Pier, the first seaside pier in England. Turning right into Preston Street and right again into Western Road, next stop is Churchill Square. Get off here if you want to shop till you drop. Just around the corner is the Clock Tower and from here the bus heads north along Queens Road to the railway station. A brief train journey will take you to Preston Park station, a few minutes walk to Preston Park and Preston Manor, an Edwardian gentry home.
Cutting down through the center of Brighton's North Laine, the bus takes you along Grand Parade to the Old Steine. The North Laine area brings together fashion and craft boutiques, bric-a-brac shops, cafes and pubs in a colorful bohemian environment. Grand Parade and the Old Steine comprise several open spaces and public gardens as well as the Royal Pavilion to the south. First built in 1787, the Pavilion has developed through time to become the extraordinary palace it is now. It is open daily and your Guide Friday ticket will give you a discount on the admission fee.
Returning to the seafront, the bus then stops opposite the Sealife Centre. Get out here if you want to visit the world's oldest aquarium. Highlights include touchpools, feeding demonstrations and underwater tunnels. Remember to show your bus ticket for discounted admission. Rejoin the bus here and it will take you along the East cliffs towards Brighton Marina. The Royal Crescent on your left, followed by Sussex Square and Lewes Crescent, are grand developments in the Regency style and in the distance you can see the beginning of the South Downs.
Descending to sea level, next stop is Brighton Marina, an exclusive waterfront development comprising the UGC Cinema complex, Bowlplex bowling alley, a factory shopping centre and an Asda supermarket as well as a sheltered harbour with over 2000 moorings and several pubs and restaurants including the Brighton Pagoda. From here you can also take the Undercliff Path and walk along the sea wall to Rottingdean. Leave yourself a whole afternoon for the round trip.
Take the bus from the Marina back to town and you will pass Volks Railway named after its designer Magnus Volk. After a brief pause at Brighton Pier east side, the tour continues into Church Street, passing Brighton Museum & Art Gallery on your left and then turns into New Road. This is home to The Dome, Corn Exchange and the Theatre Royal, Brighton's major theatre and concert venues. Get off here to book tickets, visit the Royal Pavilion or walk in the Pavilion Gardens. Entering North Street, the bus takes you into Ship Street and into The Lanes. Get out in East Street for good shopping and eating, especially if you wish to sample some of the local seafood at English's oyster bar and seafood restaurant. From here the bus takes you back to Grand Junction and the seafront promenade where you got on.
TOUR 3: The South Downs Way
This long distance walk is part of the National Trails network of footpaths and bridleways that cover all areas of the UK. This walk is 161km long and stretches from Winchester, north of Southampton to Eastbourne in East Sussex. It follows the paths and tracks used by ancient man along the chalk escarpments and ridge ways of the South Downs.
Man has traversed these trails for at least 5,000 years and evidence of past eras can be seen along the route. Traces of Bronze Age farmsteads and round burial barrows are visible, as are Iron Age hillforts. These buildings were constructed to protect people from wild animals as much as from human enemies and can be seen from Devil's Dyke to Old Winchester Hill. The sheep and scarp foot corn farming of the Middle Ages produced the landscape that now exists in this area. The area has always been sparsely populated away from the coast and remains a wild and peaceful place today.
Although the South Downs Way passes close to many towns and villages, it remains home to many species of wildlife and is as isolated a place as one can get in the urban sprawl of South East England. Wild flowers, salad burnet, cowslip and several species of orchid proliferate. Skylarks, corn bunting and even kestrels and ospreys have been spotted in the skies. On the ground there are live foxes, rabbits, fallow, roe deer and badgers.
The first part of the trail goes from Winchester to Queen Elizabeth Country Park. This section is 38km long and follows firm tracks although there is some on-road walking. Winchester is the ancient capital of Wessex (old England) and was a popular destination for pilgrimage. The present cathedral, of Saxon origin, is the second longest in Europe.
The second section is made up of 29.3km of mainly wooded pathways from Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Upwaltham. This is the most rural and isolated area of the walk and involves walking along prominent escarpment, away from any towns or villages.
From Upwaltham to Upper Beeding is 35km of open downland offering panoramic views over The Weald and the English Channel. The tracks are firm and dry and cross into Sussex and the rolling open landscape associated with this part of South East England.
The next part of the route, a 34km stretch, from Upper Beeding to Rodmell, is close to the coastal towns of Worthing and Brighton and the historic East Sussex town of Lewes. The route crosses the high and exposed Ditchling Beacon.
The final piece of the route moves to the coast past The Long Man of Wilmington; a chalk figure etched into the landscape. It is the largest representation of the human form in the world but little is known of its origin, as the earliest record of its existence was not until the late 18th century. The path follows the coast around Beachy Head and its high chalk cliffs before ending in the sedate and pristine seaside resort of Eastbourne.
The South Downs Way is easily accessible by car and public transport from all points. From Brighton, walkers can join the trail at Devil's Dyke, which can be reached by bus from the town center daily during the summer.
