Run down but still classic British entertainment

Superb view to the sea with nice clif edge with light house

A must to do is get on the Eastbourne open top bus, real value for money, fantastic scenery plus great running commentary.

Beautiful.......

Lacking facilities. Apparently the new owner cannot get the entertainment level right!

Limited attractions and amusements poorly maintained. Many not working

Amazing pier too bad you can't go right to the end don't know why it's all blocked off?

Eastbourne Pier is one of few remaining piers to be designed by His Excellency Eugenius Birch. Despite seeing major change through the 20th century, most significantly following damage in WWII and a fire in 1970, it still manages to retain lots of its Victorian charm.<br>No matter what period each of the pier's buildings date from, they all seem to work, and this even includes the rebuilt theatre frontage after the 1970 fire, despite being of PVC construction. The 1991 entrance building successfully emulates the Victorian architecture, and the kiosk buildings halfway down are clustered together in a very pleasing way.<br>The area of pier previously accommodating the 'Blue Room', destroyed by fire in 2014, now acts as an open promenading space with lots of picnic tables. I remember the decking here being particularly solid, making the walk even more joyful - I very much appreciate a sturdy pier deck!<br><br>At the far end of the pier neck is the 'Victorian Tea Room', and my experience here was not as negative as some other people suggested. The cream tea was nice, the service was reasonable - I did not experience any problems here. In the tea room, I was surprised to see the pier's millionaire owner, gold-loving Sheikh Abid Gulzar, who went from table to table, distributing chocolates and making brief conversation. What a lovely gesture - I have never seen this done before.<br><br>The decking at the end of the neck changes from timber planks to concrete slabs. This was done in the late 1940s during repair work to the pier, which was breached during WWII for defence reasons. Naturally, marine-grade woods were in short supply at the time, so concrete had to be used instead.<br><br>The pier head contains the main pavilion, originally built in 1901 but significantly altered since then. Its original basic form, as well as its signature cupola/camera-obscura arrangement still remain. Unfortunately, the main building, as well as the surrounding deck to the rear, appeared to be closed to the public at the time. This also means that the famous camera obscura, one of few remaining in the UK, is also out of order. Perhaps this part of the pier was being repaired; I have heard that the owner hopes to rebuild the landing stage in the future.<br><br>I still remember the day that I found out that Mr Gulzar had been painting the domes bright gold. I was furious at the time, especially since the pier is Grade II* listed. However, after seeing it in real life, it does not look quite as 'offensive' as it may look in pictures. The pier greatly exceeded my expectations actually, and its good condition proves that Mr Gulzar is doing things right, and so he earns my (initially grudging) respect.

No visit to Eastbourne is complete without a walk out onto the pier. It is quintessentially English south coast, designed and constructed in the 1800s. Actually, the pier has quite the interesting history behind it! There are restaurants, cafes, cotton candy trolleys, and stands with owners selling their wares and the pier extends quite a ways out over the water. While we were there, a Halloween parade (consisting of adults and children marvellously decked out in costumes) marched along Grand Parade out into the pier. It was quite a sight and great fun to see Eastbourners having fun. By the way, if you go to the end of the pier, you’ll be able to get some great photographs of the delightful row houses and buildings on Grand Parade.

Lovely peir polite staff, great background music.

Clean, tidy and beautiful views.

I was at the pier on a lovely day in April. Although lots of places were shut I was struck by how clean and welcoming it was and I look forward to be back in the summer. Great place to throw your cares away and live in the moment! !

Great space and free

Its a lovely old pier thats just had a new coat of paint looks great in the setting sun

Spacious, clean and fresh. Could do with a few more kiosks

Nice tea rooms and lovely fish and chips bar

Nice place to chill, get a coffee or an English cream tea.

Nice and clean

Nice family place. With many things to do and see

Had a lovely walk on the pier with my husband in a wheelchair. Nice cafe<br>to have afternoon tea and very nice<br>craft shop with very reasonable things<br>to buy. Very enjoyable couple of hours.

The pier is nice enough but the arcades are a rip off. No chance of winning anything on the 2p machines s the pay out slot is closed off!

Lovely pier, very nice for a walk great veiws of Burlington hotel and gardens , also lit up in an evening

What do we want from a pier these days?

Fish & Chips? You got it.

Tacky gifts? Oh yes. They have these in abundance 👍 we are very proud of our crab fridge magnet 🦀

Dodgy Amusements? They have these. No pier should be allowed without them.

Jazz Bar/Pub with leopardskin thrones for seats? Yep 👍 this is here too.

We had a fun couple of hours after a few vinos. Lost £2 worth of 2ps on the slots (we were definitely winning at one point!) and had a nice drink in the bar at the end of the pier which had some really random but quite likeable decor.

Didn’t see any candy floss tho!

Great view of the place from the pier. Make sure you visit - when in Eastbourne.

Had a lovely day in Eastbourne. The pier is lovely for a walk and a few arcades. Nice chip shops in vicinity and a stones throw away from the town centre.

Nice place to visit although a shame that the repairs after the fire haven't extended to the broken and smashed lantern lights around the edge of the pier. Really detracts from the experience.