I was down in East Sussex/Kent the other week. While I was there I went to Brighton, I've never been there before. I've never been so disappointed in a place in all my life - and I've been to Las Vegas. The weekend before I went it was the Gay Pride festival, it looked like they'd followed it up with a litter throwing festival. Not clean. Even the main road going into the town centre wasn't very inviting.
Some friends of mine told me to go to The Lanes, 'The Lanes are great!' they said. Well, I suppose they're great if you're into a claustrophobic maze of jewellery and t-shirt shops. I spent a tidy five minutes in The Lanes
The seafront can't decide what it wants to be either, is is tacky traditional British seaside or sophisticated cafe culture? Make your mind up.
The beach isn't even suited for bathing, with it being made up of pebbles. The same pebbles which are also deafeningly loud when the waves subside.
To cap it all, it cost me over £11 to park my car for six hours. Bah!
Having said that, I did have a strawberry milkshake to die for in Brighton. Oh, and the Pavillion was pretty groovy, if a little expensive for what is, essentially, a council house.
What I did rate down there though was Dungeness. That is like no place I've ever visited in Britain before. What do you get at Dungeness? Well, you get two nuclear power stations, two lighthouses, a community of arty types living in wooden shacks and the biggest sky I've ever seen in the UK.
What you also get is the end of the line of the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. I'm not normally into railways, but this one's great. It's the sort of uncommonly British day out that gets listed in these two excellent books.
What with it dating back to the 1920s, developers have gone up to it, so you get little level crossings bisecting residential cul-de-sacs. Who can't resist waving from a train carriage to people waiting in cars at level crossings? If you can, then there are no sticky buns for you at my house.
The other end of the line is in Hythe, which is a lovely place, it's got a Waitrose and everything. It was gorgeous sitting by the river eating an ice cream and watching people row boats up and down. I think that was on the day this year when it was actually summer. Apparently Hythe has the longest High Street in Britain, and it was free of New Look, Next, SupaSnaps etc.
Here's some video of the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. I did shoot some myself but You Tube wouldn't let me upload it.
Some friends of mine told me to go to The Lanes, 'The Lanes are great!' they said. Well, I suppose they're great if you're into a claustrophobic maze of jewellery and t-shirt shops. I spent a tidy five minutes in The Lanes
The seafront can't decide what it wants to be either, is is tacky traditional British seaside or sophisticated cafe culture? Make your mind up.
The beach isn't even suited for bathing, with it being made up of pebbles. The same pebbles which are also deafeningly loud when the waves subside.
To cap it all, it cost me over £11 to park my car for six hours. Bah!
Having said that, I did have a strawberry milkshake to die for in Brighton. Oh, and the Pavillion was pretty groovy, if a little expensive for what is, essentially, a council house.
What I did rate down there though was Dungeness. That is like no place I've ever visited in Britain before. What do you get at Dungeness? Well, you get two nuclear power stations, two lighthouses, a community of arty types living in wooden shacks and the biggest sky I've ever seen in the UK.
What you also get is the end of the line of the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. I'm not normally into railways, but this one's great. It's the sort of uncommonly British day out that gets listed in these two excellent books.
What with it dating back to the 1920s, developers have gone up to it, so you get little level crossings bisecting residential cul-de-sacs. Who can't resist waving from a train carriage to people waiting in cars at level crossings? If you can, then there are no sticky buns for you at my house.
The other end of the line is in Hythe, which is a lovely place, it's got a Waitrose and everything. It was gorgeous sitting by the river eating an ice cream and watching people row boats up and down. I think that was on the day this year when it was actually summer. Apparently Hythe has the longest High Street in Britain, and it was free of New Look, Next, SupaSnaps etc.
Here's some video of the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. I did shoot some myself but You Tube wouldn't let me upload it.
Look, the trains are tiny.
3 comments:
I've lived in Brighton for over 20 years, BA, and I still have a very ambiguous relationship with it. I love the sea and the cliffs (to the East) but the poncey self-satisfaction you get in Brighton, along with overpriced mediocre restaurants and pretentious bars, drives me mad. I just cherry pick. Many aspects of this town have nothing to do with me. And if you hated the Lanes, it's just as well you didn't check out the Marina (though you might like the Volks Railway)!
But Dungeness is one of my favourite places in the world. I posted on my visit to the Dungeness Sound Mirrors a couple of weeks ago - if you ever get the chance to visit again, try and tie it in with one of the dates they are open. You're quite right, there is nowhere like it on earth. I'm really pleased you went on the RH&D Light Railway.
Ooops, sorry for slagging off your town, ISBW. I'm sure you're great though.
What I loved about the RHD Railway is that it's not just a tourist attraction, it's an actual all-year-round train service.
I'm jut popping over to your blog now, see you over there...
Don't apologise - I didn't exactly disagree with you! This place drives me mad sometimes (but so would anywhere).
RHD Railway seems to do well all year round. Apparently at Christmas it's brilliant, and gets booked up weeks in advance. You should experience Dungeness in the dead of winter - it's wild.
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