Brighton Beach Pier Sealife Centre Volks Railway East Sussex UK

Brighton Pier History & Attractions

One of the best piers surviving in Britain, Brighton Pier represents what is best about the English seaside and its particular style of attractions. The entertainment function of Brighton Pier has changed little since its opening and despite one fire causing minimal damage in 2003, this Grade II listed pier has survived the hammerings of the English Channel. Prior to 2000 Brighton Pier was the Palace Pier (many still uphold the pier's historic name). First opened in May 1899, before the Palace Pier was Brighton's old Chain Pier dating from 1823 which was caught on canvas by the likes of Turner and Constable who documented Brighton's transitional stage from fishing village to seaside resort during the Regency period. The Chain Pier, a popular suspension pier in the style of the Telford bridges and originally designed to cater for passenger steamers from France, was demolished by a storm which saved the Palace Pier constructors the job of demolishing it themselves.

Proclaimed on postcards in the early 20th century as 'The finest pier in the World', Brighton's Palace Pier represented the finest example of seaside architecture - the ultimate traditional British seaside pier with a popular theatre by 1911. The Palace Pier was (and is) a centre for entertainment, leisurely strolling and a mecca for holiday visitors unlike its predecesor the Chain Pier with its function as docking site. The Palace Pier, widely considered as the finest of the pleasure piers and built during the golden age of British Piers, was ornate and wonderfully eccentric in its architectural style, with creative use of cast-iron snakes on lamp posts. Brighton Pier has been consistently added to and between the wars its popularity continued to grow. What was once a winter garden is now an amusement palace and today the Pier is open daily and is a modern bustling family attraction in Brighton. You can hardly move on the pier deck in high summer when crowds flock to the pier for the views, fun rides, family cafes, bars and restaurants all now on offer.

Brighton Pier's funfair boasts some exciting rides including top thrill rides like Super Booster alongside plenty for the tots including the iconic red, white and blue helter skelter and mini dodgems. Traditional sidestalls such as Dolphin Derby and a choice of take-away shops alongside Brighton Rock and Sweet shops all add to Brighton Pier's character.

Brighton Pier, Madeira Drive, Brighton, BN2 1TW. Tel. 01273 609361. Open all year from 9am to midnight in Summer and 10am to midnight in Winter.

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Brighton Beaches & Seafront Office

Two beach areas along the Brighton and Hove seafront hold the prestigious Blue Flag status, achieving the highest water quality and litter free standards. These are Hove Lawns and the most popular stretch of Brighton beach - West Street which runs between the two piers. More of Brighton and Hove's 11km of seafront will no doubt be heading for Blue Flag status in the future. The Brighton and Hove beaches are famous for their greyish pebbles. You've no endless golden sands here, you'll find these elsewhere on the Sussex Coast at Camber Sands near Rye and West Wittering Beach at Chichester Harbour, but somehow the pebbles add to Brighton's particular beach vibe which has an emphasis on fun with a capital F in Brighton, including family activities, lots of watersports, beach cafes, bars and restaurants, deckchair lounging and funfair rides. Swimming is certainly on the menu and there's plenty of beach space for all along Brighton and Hove's 11km stretch of coast.

Brighton beaches include ten bathing areas at Braemore Road, King Alfred, Second Avenue, West Pier, West Street, Palace Pier, the Kemptown Slopes and beyond Brighton Marina to the east Ovingdean, Rottingdean and Saltdean. A popular beautiful lido is also at Saltdean. (see the Saltdean Lido weblink right for details). The indoor King Alfred Leisure Centre on Hove Seafront offers a huge indoor swimming pool with regular fun float sessions for kids. See the King Alfred Centre's webguide for opening times. Information boards are situated all along the Brighton seafront. A full lifeguard service operates on the Brighton and Hove beaches from the end of May to the middle of September. Look for the yellow and red flags on beaches with the red flag indicating it is unsafe to swim!

Brighton's popular naturist beach, the Cliff Bathing Beach, sits east near Brighton Marina and is a short walk from Brighton's Kemptown Gay Village below Duke's Mound. First opened in 1980, Brighton's naturist beach was the first naturist beach in a UK Seaside Resort and is hugely popular. Checkout the Gay Brighton & Hove beach weblink right for more details. Brighton's most crowded and popular beach stretch is closest to the city centre - the West Beach area between the piers. The King's Arches are along this stretch and boast a huge selection of beach cafes, bars, funfair amusements and rides.

Brighton Seafront Office, 141 King's Road Arches, Lower Esplanade, Brighton BN1 2FN. Tel. 01273 292716. Open daily in High Season from May end to the beginning of September 8.30am to 7.30pm and in Low Season from 8.30am to 4.30pm (GMT) and other times 8.30am to 5pm.

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Volks Electric 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's Palace 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 for 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.

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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 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 are 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.

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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