Brighton – London By The Sea?

After the event at the Thistle Hotel last night I had to the chance to have a good look around Brighton today. It’s an interesting place, full of contradictions. While the seafront is home to a string of raucous bars, nightclubs and the usual seaside staple of shops full of kiss-me-quick hats and sticks of rock, step just a street or two away and you’ll find yourself in the relative calm of ‘The Lanes’. In this tight network of small streets you’ll discover what makes Brighton a popular destination for Londoners – a dizzying selection of restaurants, high-class boutiques that jostle with hippy-inspired ‘head shops’, little independent record stores, comic book shops and the like (a shout out to the wonderful Dave’s Comics where I spent half an hour browsing earlier today). Take a detour onto the backstreets around here and you’ll find something else too – a graffiti gallery that rivals anything that you’ll find in Shoreditch – amazing!

Of course Brighton is also home to several of the country’s heritage sites, the most spectacular of which is the Royal Pavilion which I also had an opportunity to look around. Built for the Prince Regent (later King George IV) it’s an opulent network of buildings, created at the zenith of Regency style. Due to the delicate nature of a lot of the exhibits inside I’m afraid you’re going to have to settle for the photographs I took of the exterior, but I’m sure you get the idea – it’s even more ornate inside than out!

Brighton also plays host to several events throughout the year that draw people from across the UK and even further afield. The annual Brighton Festival, which takes place throughout May, features a host of artists and performers in a series of events that’s some might say is the equal of the Edinburgh Festival  - it’s certainly a good time to visit. For example, pop into the Thistle where I was last night and you’ll discover their contribution – a take on Fawlty Towers, where their very own Basil and Manuel will be acting out scenes from the popular TV series to diners and visitors. Let’s hope they don’t mention the War… Of course there’s also the annual Brighton Pride event that fills one of the local parks to capacity in the late summer – it’s a much more free and easy affair than its London equivalent and highly recommended as long as you don’t mind crowds!

From Brighton March 2011