As you might have gathered from previous adventure posts, I like getting out of London. A great one-or-so hour train ride out of the capital reveals Brighton, voted UK's.coolest city I overheard somewhere. Calm and collected I would add, less feverish and friendlier. So I'll overlook the fact that the beach is pebbled. And that Brits tend to suntan in the oddest places (and no those aren't my pedicured talons being tanned in one of the shots). There's a pier there that was built in 1899 (well rebuilt after the original 1823 one had been destroyed by a storm), you could tell from the great ironwork and the vintage rides. They left another pier that was burnt way back when, it stands burnt, black and beautiful in the ocean distance. Quiet vistas and parallel lines, beautiful wide promenades with couples just sitting together, perfect for cycling. I would highly suggest hiring a bicycle to see more of the area (I brought mine down from London), I visited Hove, a 10 minute cycle or 30 minute walk from the pier, and 20 minutes east was Rottingdean, where I stumbled across a windmill (que?) and an oh-so civilised game of croquet in Rudyard Kipling's garden. I like Avery Sawyer take on the ocean, as "a giant reset button. You could go to the edge of the land and see infinity and feel renewed.” Sigh, and with that I had to head back to London.
