If you’re a visitor, unfamiliar with Brighton, you’ll want to find all the good stuff quickly, especially if you’re only here for the day or a few hours. Luckily Brighton and Hove is a compact city and one of the greatest pleasures, especially on a hot day, is getting around it on foot.
Walking is the best way to discover all the interesting bits, nooks and crannies we’re so famous for. And one of our most famous attractions is the beach. Here’s how to get to Brighton beach from wherever you find yourself in our fair city. Grab an ice cream and head for the pebbly stuff!
From anywhere in town
We’re used to it. But if you live inland you’ll be able to smell the sea, that unmistakeable salty, ozone tang. And the wind almost always comes from the west. So stick a wet finger in the air, find the wind direction, face into it and hang a left towards the seafront. Voila.
From Brighton Station
Queens Road is the quickest route to the seafront but it’s a bit dull compared to the quirky, funky North Laine. Get there via Trafalgar Street, which runs under the bridge out the front of the station, downhill to the east. The turn right along any of the tiny streets down the hill for cafes, shops, street art, eye-popping graffiti, great local pubs and colourful buskers.
From Brighton town centre / the Pavilion
Stand in the Pavilion gardens with the building itself on your left, to the east. Walk south to North Street, the main shopping artery that heads west up a gentle hill to the Churchill Square mall. Then carry on south along East Street, full of wonderfully posh shops with a handy newsagents at the seafront end, until you pop out onto the promenade with Brighton Pier to your left.
The same goes for anywhere in the city centre; find the main shopping streets North Street or Western Road, head downhill and you’ll hit the beach. Head uphill and you’ll miss it!
From the Racecourse
You can see the sea from the racecourse, with splendid views across the city and the Downs too. On a clear day you’ll see the misty ghost-shape of the Isle of Wight, just off Portsmouth, to the far right when you’re facing the coast.
Head downhill down Elm Grove past the hospital, then turn left at the bottom and follow the main road south to the sea. Or follow the racecourse’s western boundary towards the sea and go straight over the hill down into Kemptown, another source of great shops, excellent pubs, loads of antique shops and the heart of the city’s famous gay scene.
From the County Cricket Ground in Hove
The sea breeze keeps the cricket ground cool on blazing summer days, and the sea is only a ten minute walk away. Find Selbourne Road, which runs south perpendicular to Eaton Road. Cross Church Road, another excellent shopping street, then carry on south down smart First Avenue, which spits you out on Kingsway where the beach is quieter than in the city centre.
From Church Road Hove
Peep downhill along any of the pretty and interesting streets off Church Road, Hove, and you’ll see the glittering sea beckoning. It’s only a couple of minutes away.
From Amex Stadium
The Amex is the jewel in the city’s crown, a few short miles from the beach. There’s a train station at Falmer, more or less on the stadium site, plus loads of buses from the main road into town, the A27. With the stadium on your left, the seafront is straight ahead of you, and if you fancy walking it’ll take about forty minutes.
From Brighton Marina and Kemp Town
If you’re in Kemptown you’re practically on the seafront already. And the Marina is obviously on the seafront. But what about the beaches?
Head east out of the Marina, at the opposite end to the big supermarket with the sea to your right, and there’s the Under Cliff path with small beaches to relax on at low tide and a flat pathway all the way to Peacehaven. Rottingdean also has a nice beach plus fish and chips, ice cream, restaurants, galleries, shops and great pubs.
Head from the Marina towards Hove to the west – with the sea to your left - and you pass the Nudist Beach before reaching a huge sweep of relatively quiet beach with shops, pubs and cafes all along the sea level promenade to your right.
Point yourself downhill from anywhere in eccentric, fun Kemptown and you’ll soon find the beach, often much less crowded than the city centre beachfront.
Maps and tourist offices
If you are looking at ways to how get to Brighton in the first place, here on Visit Brighton you will find information by planes, trains, boats and automobiles...
http://www.visitbrighton.com/plan-your-visit/getting-here
