Brighton Beach Pier Marina Sealife Family Attractions East Sussex UK

Sealife Centre Brighton

One of a selection of Sea Life Aquariums around the UK, Sealife Centre Brighton is one of the city's most popular family attractions situated opposite Brighton Pier. The Aquarium here has a long history in Brighton and was actually the very first visitor attraction aquarium in the world, built between 1869 and 1872. The creator was Eugenius Birch who also designed Brighton's now almost lost West Pier. The Brighton Aquarium was hugely popular with Victorian visitors who came to view the mammoth 100 foot tank and evening gas-lit sessions. The entrance you see today dates from the 1920s. Originally visitors passed through a huge gothic clocktower.

Sealife Centres are superb for children with a variety of activities available, many with an educational slant. The Brighton Sealife Centre has several new attractions including Amazonia new for 2008 where you're transported into the Amazon Rainforest to view creatures who live in rivers and the surrounding environment. The Rainforest Mirror Maze is a particular highlight and an education in the devastation caused by deforestation.

See over 150 marine species here at the Sealife Centre Brighton in 57 exhibit displays. Areas include the Tropical Reef and the underwater tunnel with sharks and giant turtles swimming overhead and more.

SEA LIFE Brighton, Marine Parade, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 1TB. Tel. 01273 604234. Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm, last entrance 4pm. Saturday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, last entrance 5pm.

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Brighton Toy & Model Museum

Find Brighton's great fun family Toy and Model Museum underneath the arches at Brighton Station. On show are over 10,000 models and toys. Children will love this outstanding toy museum which has working model railways, meccano and other construction toys, old fashioned penny arcades and more.

Spot the historic toy from your generation, this museum offers as much fun for adults as it does for children. The on-site shop sells an extensive selection of vintage and rare collector toys. Find out more via the Toy and Model Museum's webguide right.

Brighton Toy and Model Museum, 52-55 Trafalgar Street, Brighton, BN1 4EB. Tel. 01273 749494. Open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, last entrance at 4pm. Open Saturday from 11am to 5pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

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Volks Electric Railway

Like many a UK historic seaside resort Brighton has a historic railway. The charming fun family attraction Volks Electric Railway has been entertaining visitors in Brighton since 1883 when Magnus Volks first introduced the electric railway to the resort. Back then the line pushed along the seafront for a quarter of a mile along a two foot gauge line from a stop alongside the Brighton Aquarium.

Having been refused permission by the council to extend the line west along Brighton Seafront, Magnus got permission to extend east and today this miniature electric railway runs all the way from Brighton Pier (site of the earlier Chain Pier) along the seafront east to Black Rock near Brighton Marina. The gauge is wider today at two foot eight and a half inches and the railway runs throughout the summer season beginning early at Easter and closing during winter.

Incredibly popular, Volks journeys are a budget price with family saver tickets available. You can choose to go just halfway along the line or the full run to Black Rock and the Marina. Trains run from 10am to 5pm on weekdays and until 6pm during weekend and bank holidays during the summer. The season is from Easter/March until mid-September. Trains run frequently at four trains per hour from Black Rock to Brighton Pier.

For more details and an extensive history of this stunning electric railway see the Volks Electric Railway webguide right.

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Brighton Pier Family Attractions

Brighton Pier is popular all year round with families and offers a host of children's funfair rides and entertainment and amusement centres, Rides are a good mix too, suitable for both very young chlidren and older children. Roller coasters and rides include the Wild River flume, the Crazy Mouse and Super Booster where you're dropped at super speed from 38 metres!

The Palace of Fun is home to all the latest amusement fast moving games including Super Bike Race games, Horse Racing games and Shooting games, all with the latest technology. Move to the Family Entertainment Centre area for arcade machines and a new food court area perfect for family eat ins. Brighton Pier also has some fantastic side shows including tin can alley and the Dolphin Derby. Three bars are on the pier include Horatios with beer pier garden and live music in summer, Victoria's bar which is a popular TV Sports bar, and the Glitter Ball Bar which offers karaoke. For the tots there's mini dogems and Crazy Clown slide. Family seaside piers don't come much better than Brighton Pier.

Brighton Pier, Madeira Drive, Brighton. East Sussex. BN2 1TW. Tel. 01273 609361. Open daily from 10am. See the Brighton Pier webguide for individual attraction opening times. Admission is free.

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Brighton Marina Family Attractions

As well as family budget restaurants and a great seafront setting at Brighton Marina you'll also find a selection of family attractions including Bowling Bowlplex which boasts 26 computerised bowling lanes. Bowlplex is open Monday to Friday from 10am until late and at weekends from 9.30am until late. Special offers are available from Monday to Thursdays.

Also at Brighton Marina the Brighton Dive Centre offers two great PADI kids programmes where kids are introduced to scuba diving. Checkout the Dive Centre's weblink right for details on these courses and more. The marina also has a mammoth on-site Cineworld Cinema as well as an excellent choice of family restaurants including a seafront Wetherspoons on the West Quay, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and a Subway.

Brighton Marina is also one of Brighton's top spots for open air year round entertainment and events, including plenty of children's activities, rallies, fireworks, Easter Extravaganzas, a Halloween Monster bash and Summer and Christmas events often in conjunction with many of the Brighton Festivals. For forthcoming events see the Brighton Marina weblink.

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Brighton Theatres, Festivals & Museums for Families

Brighton theatres and museums cater well for children and many of Brighton's Festivals including the big Brighton International Festival offer a choice of family friendly events and entertainment.

Brighton Theatres, including the Theatre Royal and the Brighton Dome Venues offer a fantastic programme of family friendly shows and theatre performances. Search for family friendly shows via the Theatre Royal and Brighton Dome weblinks right.

Popular family friendly museums in Brighton include the Booth Museum of Natural History which has a superb collection of interactive hands on galleries and displays geared towards children. See also the Brighton Toy and Model Museum and the Brighton Fishing Museum and Slot Machine Museum on the seafront.

Checkout the Brighton Festival webguide for details on family friendly events including the Children's Parade, one of the big annual events during the festival.

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Yellowave Sports Centre Brighton Beach

Tops for family beach sports is the award winning Yellowave Sports Centre situated between Brighton Pier and Brighton Marina.

Take your pick from a huge choice of sports available including volleyball, beach soccer, beach rugby, footvolley, bouldering, ultimate frisbee, beach handball and beachminton. Beach sports are arriving big time in the UK and Brighton is one of the major seaside resorts leading the way. Find out more via Yellowave's weblink right. Kids clubs and drop-in club sessions plus parties come at a budget price with special Summer Holiday Activities. All Yellowave coaches are fully qualified and CRB checked and kids are split into two age groups including Grommets Plus aged 6 to 10 years and Juniors aged 11 to 16 years.

Yellowave Beach Sports, Beach Sports Venue, 299 Madeira Drive, Brighton, BN2 1PS. Tel. 01273 672222. Open all year from 10am to 10pm weekdays and 10am to 8pm at weekends.

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