It was mid-Autumn so we didn't expect London to have a series of 28+ degree Celsius days. We were not complaining as sought out ways to enjoy the perfect blue sky that coincided with a weekend of non-European travel. So we decided to enjoy the sunshine in the UK outdoors, venturing out to Brighton Beach for some sun. The short stint of great weather was perhaps Mother Nature making up for a wet, sulky summer where August didn't really live up to expectations and we spent our European holidays with an umbrella and rain-coat.
AFL Grand Final Day
As this was also the last day in September (AFL Grand Final Day for us Victorians), we had woken up at 5:30am to listen to the AFL match that was being streamed through the internet. However, Mei's Hawthorn had already been knocked out of the final series in the week before, so that meant that our interest in the game had deteriorated to almost indifference. Our support was with the Cats based on the principle that it is always a happy ending when Collingwood lose.
Brighton Beach
When the sun peeks itself out for more than a couple of days, getting out of London is the best option to beat the heat. We, along with 50,000 travel companions opted to escape to Brighton beach. From London, Brighton is about a 1 hour rail journey. By getting ourselves familiar with the National Rail website, it was easy to spot the specials on offer, hunting down a great 2 for 1 ticket deal with South-West trains.
Brighton has a namesake in our home state of Victoria where by no coincidence are both seaside towns with a long esplanade and plenty of bars, restaurants and shops to amuse anyone that needs a break from baking all day on a beach towel. Deck-chairs and parasols are available for hire for a small fee. There are also a number of amusement arcades with slot machines and theme park rides very similar to Luna Park in Melbourne.
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| Carousel - fun for young and old |
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| Is Mei tall enough? |
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| Measuring Olie up |
Pebble Beach
Whilst the ocean looked nice and inviting, only a small percentage of visitors felt brave enough to get their feet wet due to the cold temperature - tested by Olie. Likewise, although the views of the beachfront were quite scenic, the pebble beach (no sand, just rock) was definitely not the most comfortable surface to walk over or lie on.
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| Deck chairs for hire on the pebble beach |
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| Brighton Pier |
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| A beach full of sun-seekers |
Seafood Lunch
Brighton may not have won our personal award for the best 'beach' we had ever been to; but it did have some good points. Our breakfast consisted of fresh seafood from one of the carts set up along the pedestrian way. Shucked oysters, anchovies wrapped around olives and a mixed cup of squid, prawns, cockles and whelks made a very tasty meal.
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| Seafood snacks for sale |
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| Dressed crab - all the hard work has been done for you |
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| Oysters for breakfast |
VW Campervan Exhibition
Walking along the esplanade we found ourselves in the middle of an exhibition of pimped up Volkswagon Campervans and Beetles, all participating in the annual Brighton Breeze cruise from London. Some of the vehicles were quite tastefully decorated, whereas others showed off a fondness for recreating a 1950's diner or the ultimate hippy van.
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| Campervan like an 1950's burger joint |
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| Beetle mania |
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| Pimp my Beetle |
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| Campervan line up - 'Autobots Transform!' |
Brighton Pavilion
After a pub lunch where we enjoyed a refreshing Bulmers cider, some bbq chicken, ribs and fish and chips, we headed to the historic Brighton Pavilion. Built by the Prince of Wales (later George IV), it takes inspiration from the Orient, rather than resembling a traditional English Palace.
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| Royal Pavilion |
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| Royal Pavilion dome |
We lazed around the gardens for a couple of hours, walked around the nearby Brighton craft markets and boutique stalls and cooled ourselves down with some frozen yoghurt, before heading back to the beach to enjoy the remaining hours of sunshine. Unlike in Australia, the sun here is quite mild and with a hat, sunglasses and sun-screen, it is quite easy to sit outside for hours on end without feeling that your flesh is burning off.
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Won't see this in an IKEA catalogue
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Thai Dinner
Dinner was at a Thai restaurant where the green mango, fish sauce and chili went well with the Desperado beer that had added tequila and served with a lemon so it tasted like the perfect refreshing margarita. Before heading back to the train station to go home, we had a final walk to the Pier to catch the last glimpse of sunset, eat some freshly made doughnuts and see Brighton come alive with Saturday night revelers.
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