Brighton smells of sea and fish
With the somewhat greasy taste still on the palate, we headed for the sea with a walk of about twenty minutes in a straight line. We pass the Brighton Dome (a large cultural center) on our right and the eastern profile of the Royal Pavillion, the royal palace built by the future King George IV in 1787 to spend his summers. We’ll visit them, but not before soaking up the sea air and attractions in Brighton Beach.
We arrive at the beach, right at the point where the Brighton Palace Pier, the most iconic pier in the United Kingdom, is located. It juts 525 meters into the sea and is like an amusement park for children and adults nostalgic for childhood. A roller coaster awaits us (the Turbo Coaster); The Palace of Fun, temple of videogames, from arcade classics to novelties; the Palace Play, where children get lost for hours; shows for all ages, games for adults, and restaurants and stalls (not just fish
Built in 1823, Brighton Pier traversed the 19th century between destruction by storms and fleeting reconstructions. In 1889 it was acquired by the Brighton Marine Palace.
There is another famous pier, but it is a skeleton: what remains of the West Pier, barely a shell, juts out of the water a few hundred meters to the west of its lush cousin. It was built in 1866 and came to have a concert hall, opened in 1912, which burned down in 2003 (in an apparently intentional fire), long after the closure of the pier, in 1975. There is no trace of the walkway that linked the construction to Earth; the ruin, which continues to diminish piece by piece, creates a melancholy picture, sometimes enlivened by the flights of starlings.
In the place where the old West Pier began, the Brighton i360 tower, 162 meters high, has risen since August 2015. It has a glassed-in viewpoint 18 meters in diameter and 4.7 meters high that can hold 200 people; It goes up like an elevator up to 138 meters high. All of Brighton, Sussex County and the English Channel can be enjoyed from up there. And there are more things to do than observe: walk outside the viewpoint (suitably tied up), descend the tower secured with harnesses and in the company of an expert, climb to the top of the construction, practice yoga, taste Sussex wines, eat and… marry.
The UFO-shaped lookout-elevator crossed by the tower takes us back to the beach of small pebbles and gravel, nine kilometers long. Going through it is a pleasure, although you have to take courage to bathe, even in summer, because we are not in the Mediterranean. The walks are not long: between the beauty of the sea and the wide range of bars, restaurants, ice cream parlors, sports activities and various attractions, no one gets bored.
On the seafront, next to Brighton Palace Pier, we find the Sea Life Brighton, an aquarium opened in 1872 (and renovated several times). Those who have seen Quadrophenia, the 1979 British film based on The Who’s rock opera of the same name, will remember the brawls between mods and rockers that the story reflected. Well, in the 1950s and 1960s, the aquarium had a concert venue, The Florida Rooms, where The Who played often, which was a favorite see-and-be-seen spot for local mods.
If we get tired of walking, we can take the Volk’s Electric Railway, active since 1883 and which claims to be the oldest electric railway in the world. It runs along the beachfront between Aquarium Station, near the Palace Pier, to Black Rock Station, in the bustling Brighton Marina. If we get off the train created by the engineer Magnus Volk there, we will have reached the nudist beach of the city.
The short-reigned George IV of the United Kingdom (1820-1830) put Brighton on the map. In his youth there was no shortage of alcohol, women and expensive whims, such as the Royal Pavillion, which the then Prince of Wales ordered to be built in the city in 1787. What began as a holiday villa, evolved with the architect’s reforms John Nash to a sumptuous palace fit for a maharajah. With its Indian-style domes and decorative spires, it’s a little Taj Mahal set in very British gardens, ideal for picnics and long Sunday afternoons.
The luxurious interior, decorated in a mix of the Regency style with oriental elements, most of them Chinese, oscillates between the kitsch and the refined. The monarch equipped it with the latest technological advances of the time, and its rooms trigger fantasy. Not to be missed is the room where George IV’s niece, the future Queen Victoria, slept, nor its fairytale kitchen or decadent dining room. It is a fantasy palace where you want to have been a party companion to that king so fond of the good life.
A five minute walk from the Royal Pavillion we have two buildings with which it is related. One is the Brighton Dome: commissioned by our skull prince to function as a luxurious stable, it also imitates the Mughal architecture of India. It was a Victorian skating rink, a military hospital during World War I, the scene of sports competitions and, now, a cultural center that programs concerts, plays, ballets, monologues, circus shows, conferences and what not.
Right next door, the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery completes the trio of exotic buildings promoted by George IV, which formed an Indian-style architectural ensemble in the gardens of the Royal Pavillion. Its permanent collection stands out for being eclectic and entertaining: pieces from ancient Egypt, objects related to the history of the city, ancient and modern art, design pieces from the 20th century, costumes…
Brighton’s street life is vibrant in the warmer months, and doesn’t fizzle out in winter, thanks to the vibrancy of the locals and its proximity to London. You just have to walk with your eyes wide open and let yourself be surprised, something that will undoubtedly happen in North Laine, a colourful, small and central neighborhood where you lose count of the shops. It is reminiscent of London’s Camden Town, saving the differences in size, and is a paradise for seekers of retro clothing and the most extravagant rarities.
A prime example of what you’ll find here is Snoopers Paradise, an indoor bazaar whose 7,000m2 can accommodate anything: vintage clothing and furniture, dusty unfindable comics, rare vinyl, unlikely antiques, iconic toys, hats, jewelry and glassware… An Aladdin’s cave for peculiar buyers. Complete the offer at Snoopers Attic: go up the stairs and you will discover this space with clothes from local designers.
In Brighton in general, and in North Laine in particular, you can’t take a step without coming across a pub, a cafe, a pastry shop, an ice cream parlor or a restaurant. The culinary offer covers cuisines from half the world, for all palates and (almost) all pockets. Oysters with champagne by the sea? Riddle and Finns. Top Indian food? The Chilli Pickle. The biggest variety of sausages you’ve ever seen in your life? Shakespeare’s Head. A beer Valhalla? Hand in Hand. And this is just a small sample.
North Laine is a street art hot spot, ubiquitous in the city, one of the country’s graffiti meccas. One of the walls of the small building that houses The Prince Albert Pub (Trafalgar Street) is covered by a spectacular and colorful mural that portrays music stars such as Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury or Amy Winehouse, among others. It shares a wall with a replica of one of the most praised works by Banksy, the most famous anonymous graffiti artist in the world: Kissing coppers (Policemen kissing) has been there since 2004, but the original was transferred to a canvas in 2008 due to vandalism. Their presence fits in a town dubbed “the LGBTQ capital of the UK.” Brighton’s Gay Pride celebration has been gathering crowds for years.
Between North Laine and the seafront there is a cluster of small streets, squares and alleys. This is The Lanes, a neighborhood whose history dates back to the 15th century, when Brighton was a fishing village called Brighthelmstone. There the old and the modern go hand in hand. The oldest pub in the city, The Cricketers Arms, opened in 1547, brightens up Sundays with a typically British dish: the Sunday roast, a roast of meat and potatoes served with vegetables, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. If we enter Hanningtons Lane we will discover a mosaic of shops, boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops and street art that will hook trend hunters.
In summer, The Lanes is a hive of open-air venues and terraces where street musicians roam: many Brighton pubs host concerts of all styles, the music of a vibrant, rhythmic city that teaches us to enjoy the “English†beach.
