Brighton

With the forecast promising the first non-rainy weekend in ages we decided it was now or never for this English 'summer' - we had to check out their beach. Brighton is just over an hour on the train from our place, so it was perfect for a day trip.

Sarah and Stephen on the pebbly beach - sorry about the self-take...

Of course, once we got there, we started to understand a few things about why Bondi and Coogee seem so fantastic to the English.
1) Australian beaches have sand, rather than pebbles
2) Australian beaches have proper waves, not dumpers
3) Australian beaches tend to at least have a road and some grass between the pubs/clubs/tacky tourist shops and the water

A taste of Brighton Beach's 'natural' landscape

Brighton did have its own unique charm, mostly revolving around its feel as somewhere where time hasn't moved very quickly - it is a snapshot of a sea-side holiday of yesteryear. There is still the Brighton Pier, filled with old-style opportunities to waste your money in pursuit of soft toys; a sideshow alley and some rickety roller coasters (plus bumper cars), and you can still rent a deck-chair (which probably makes sense given the pebbles)

Every child wins a prize - there were certainly enough to go around!

My personal highlight from Brighton was actually a little away from the beach, where the Prince Regent (who was to become King George IV) had built his pleasure palace. He (like many people of the time) had a fascination with the Orient, but had never been there himself. He had his architect create a facade of an Oriental building, with no expense spared to configure the interior for parties and just plain showing off - truly spectacular.

Sarah outside Brighton Palace

Brighton was a fun day trip, but we enjoyed the Palace far more than the beach - maybe it is just the Aussie coming out in us, but somehow it just isn't the same thing as what we think of as a beach - as Sarah said, a beach is supposed to be a bit wild and untamed and natural - words that could never be used to describe Brighton...