England: Brighton

A direct flight from Athens to London Gatwick and a 35-minute train ride, we were in Brighton to start a three-week tour of England and Wales before Scotland. This part of the trip got on the itinerary only three days before we left for Tunisia. It made so much more sense. We didn't feel too bad about having to forfeit two sets of non-refundable tickets to and from France. We'll get there in the fall.

While Brighton has a handful of buildings from the medieval period when it was a fishing village, like much of the country, the city was largely built during the age of empire. While the seafront may have seen better days, the city still seems rather popular with visitors. Yet the future is uncertain. The iconic Brighton Palace Pier has been up for sale since the beginning of the year....

Walking out of Brighton Station.


From the train station we headed to our hotel. It felt good to be back in England with its double-decker buses.


After settling into our room (2nd floor with a bay window, 1st below), we headed straight to the beach to enjoy the very pleasant sunny day.








We spot a Vegan Fish and Chips place and can't resist ordering a plate.




Heading back to our room, we walked by the Indo-Saracenic Royal Pavilion (1st below). And vowed to come back first thing the next day to take a photo in the morning light (2nd below).




Then we headed to actually walk out on the Palace Pier after only admiring it from a distance the day before.










There are great views to the west from the Palace Pier. The ruins of the old pier can be spotted to the left, and the 162-metre (531 ft) Brighton i360 Observation tower at center.


We also walked a bit on the Brighton Beach Promenade, both upper and lower levels.






And finally, back to Brighton Station to catch our train to Salisbury.