A Day at the Seaside: Part three

Still chatting about how incredible the Royal Pavilion was we exited the gift shop and found ourselves right back in the centre of Brighton – and in the 21st Century! A little past noon, the town had transformed itself from when we arrived a few hours earlier… the major difference being the throngs of people on the streets!

We headed towards a pedestrian area known as The Lanes, which I am assuming is one of the reasons Brighton is known as London’s little, arty sister… full of boutiques… second-hand bookshops and quirky gift stores… the area is a magnet for tourists… and being a tourist myself, it was embraced whole-heartedly!

Several hours and a few pounds later, we headed for the seaside! The beach is not what I would call attractive, crossing the main road, you find yourself on the concrete promenade and then make your way directly on to the pebbly beach. I was a little dubious at first… but what would you know… I actually lay down on the pebbles for an afternoon siesta, and it was surprisingly comfortable – and no sand midges either!

We ended the day at the famous Brighton Pier… it was endlessly interesting, even if, like us, you had no desire to ride on any of the roller coasters/ merry-go-rounds/ helter skelters or play any of the arcade games… you could spend a great deal of time there just people watching. Everyone who passed seemed to be having so much fun! And we were in for a surprise too… in the end pavilion on the pier we came across the 50s/60s band ‘The Drifters’ performing a free concert! It seemed so fitting to be on the pier, which I can imagine had a bit of a hey-day in the 50s/60s and listen to the rock’n’roll/Motown singing Drifters perform their hits like ‘Saturday Night at the Movies’!