On the weekend we traveled, the last rays of the September sunshine came out and there was much talk of buying a cooler box to store our catch so that it would stay fresh on the train home. Sadly, no fish was actually caught and Mei got over any romantic notion that deep sea boat fishing was actually an enjoyable activity. The rough choppy sea resulted in several bruises, a good soaking and a new appreciation for the skill of baiting a line with semi-defrosted worms. Squishy.
Travelling to Brighton
The train journey to Brighton took just over an hour, with most of the scenery being quite familiar as the route to Gatwick Airport from London Bridge station.
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| Last flowers of the season |
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| Goodbye blue sky, see you next year |
Brighton and Hove Autumn Harvest Festival
It was coincidence that our weekend in Brighton was timed with the Brighton and Hove Autumn Harvest festival where we tucked into a tasty lamb burger and wrap, and blackcurrant cider from the fellow Sussex town of Battle
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| The crowds at the Brighton and Hove Autumn Harvest festival |
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| Warm enough for gelati |
Brighton Seaside
Aside from its party reputation as a popular destination for stag and hen nights, Brighton is also known for the small number of fishing huts along the esplanade selling small tubs of cockles, crayfish tails or mixed seafood - good for a quick snack and similar to the mix that you can buy frozen and use for seafood marinara.
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| Strolling down the esplanade |
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| Pot of mixed seafood |
English's of Brighton
We headed for a well recommended seafood restaurant for dinner- English's of Brighton. According to the history page on the menu, the restaurant was established in three neighbouring fisherman's cottages. As a result, the dining rooms were quite small and narrow that both ourselves and fellow patrons were forced to sit side-by-side and watch complete strangers eat, perhaps judging them on their ability to gracefully devour an oyster without any briny residue dripping all over the table.
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| At the restaurant where we had to sit side-by-side due to the lack of dining room space |
Seafood Dinner
We ordered half a dozen Poole (a town in Dorset, UK) farmed natives, however they lacked the taste of other oysters that we had enjoyed in Whitstable and Weymouth - quite disappointing. The next course was a seafood sampler containing dips and cured fish, neatly presented in a long shallow platter. For mains, Mei had simple but tasty dish of half a dozen scallops gently cooked with a chili ginger sauce; whilst Olie had sea bass with gnocchi.
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| Seafood sampler |
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| Juicy scallops |
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| Sea bass with gnocchi |
Dessert - Yum
The standout dish of the night was dessert. A sampler for one person was more than enough to meet our recommended quota of sugar for a week- a mix of peach melba, trifle, chocolate fondant, lemon curd.
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| All this was dessert for 1 person |
Fishing Trip
Sunday morning kicked off with finding breakfast at 6am, with the best available option at the Brighton Marina being McDonalds. We met up with the rest of the fishing party along the quay, and the Captain soon appeared and gave us a short introduction to the boat, the equipment and how to skewer a worm or some squid onto the hook.
As the morning progressed (and the waves increased to rock the boat), only one person managed to land a fish whilst the rest of us were busy making sure the seagulls didn't steal our bait. Olie soon became a bit restless with the lack of success and started trying to hook a gull instead.
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| Grey Viking II - the fishing charter boat |
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| Fishing and riding the waves |
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| The bait table - worms and squid |
The West Quay
By lunchtime, the Captain announced that it was time to call it a day and we headed back to the Marina empty handed but starving for lunch. We headed to the local pub - The West Quay and although we spent a considerable time scrubbing our hands; it was of little use as the smell of squashed squid and worms hung about as we ate our Sunday roasts.
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| The West Quay pub for lunch |
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| Sunday roast |
Brighton Pier
A short bus trip took us back to the centre of Brighton where we headed for the amusement area on the Pier - a mini Luna Park swarming with seagulls.
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| Brighton and the pebble beach |
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| The pier and plenty of seagulls |
Prize winning performances
Fun park games came naturally to Olie and pretty soon he earned a small blue and yellow rhino for his archery skills popping coloured balloons suspended in the air. Next up, we entered a dolphin race where you had to roll colour balls up a ramp to drive your numbered dolphin puppet against a dozen others. In this activity, Mei actually won a game and was rewarded with a stuffed purple walrus. Cheap entertainment to finish up a weekend away from the hustle of central London.
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| Racing dolphins |
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| Happy with her prizes |
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