Kiwi Roaming

Our pre-Christmas mini-break was to Brighton for a couple of nights. We took a fairly cost effective 3 hop train trip down from Milton Keynes which took us via many of the suburbs I once lived in which was cool. On our last leg the train stopped at Gatwick so was chocker full, we sat next to an older couple on their way to France for Christmas – a lovely chat about their 9 weeks in a camper van in New Zealand and other travel exploits.

We booked into a Staybridge Suites again which is perfectly located right by the railway station and on the edge of the Laines quadrant of the town. This time we didn’t get upgraded but still loved our studio apartment, the breakfasts here were unexpected and very good, and there is a Sainsburys about 3 minutes walk away, generally I would recommend.

It was still light so we headed out for a walk in the drizzling rain and found the laneways chocker with people – which makes sense as it was the 22nd of December.

Brighton – we loved Brighton, the laneways, the predominantly independent shops, the many record stores, the waterfront. It’s a spread out city with all kinds of terraced housing and a few apartment towers. On the waterfront there is a promenade and across the wide road apartments. It’s hillier than I expected and the vibe reminded us of Wellington. There is loads of street art and so many cute streets to walk down.

We decided since it was about 10C and there was no wind that we would head along the coast on the most scenic bus route in the UK (according to the side of the buses). We headed East towards Eastbourne getting off to see some Cliffs first.

The Cliffs – We got off the bus and headed to the Friars Bay steps. The cliffs are fascinating, clay and chalk with something that looks like flint in layers throughout, they have a glass like texture and we also saw the flint used in both buildings and garden walls. The chalk gives the sea a white hue and makes it look murky. The view from the top of the cliffs is awesome and goes for kms in both directions, they are about 24m high here but get much higher at Beachy Head where they are 162m high!

We walked down the steps to the sea wall path, it’s really wide and part of an erosion preservation system they have employed here. I read there is an undersea chalk bar not far out to sea and that the erosion along this coastline is accelerating and causing great concern.

It was a 1.3km walk back to the next steps and while the sea looked calm enough the waves were breaking over the wall and there is plenty of rubble to navigate underfoot in some areas. It’s such an awesome experience taking this walk so we were surprised to only see 2 other people on our walk. Back up the stairs – good for the heart and glutes – we walked up to the Meridian Line monument which is there to indicate alignment with Greenwich Meridian. Back on the main road while we waited for our next bus there were Salvation Army Christmas carolers and band.

Eastbourne – The bus to Eastbourne takes us past Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters Cliffs park where the three carparks were pretty full and lots of walkers were visible walking alongside the canals. If we had more time we would explore this area as well. Then through the countryside, past other towns and the port of Newhaven where apparently you can catch a car ferry over to France.

Like Brighton Eastbourne has a long wide straight beach with stone which isn’t quite as orange in colour but equally challenging to walk in with no bed of sand in place. We walked out on the pier where pretty much everything is closed for the winter, then along part of the esplanade before walking back into town. It was mid-afternoon and we hadn’t had lunch so a quick milkshake and muffin in a cafe and stroll around the CBD before we got back on the bus and dozed all the way back to Brighton.

Pre-Xmas Brighton was a very busy place, we had tried to get a pub meal on Sunday and again now on Monday but everywhere was full. Instead we found a Malaysian restaurant for dinner and enjoyed some spicy food followed by a lovely walk around the Christmas decorated streets then up headed to a lovely dessert restaurant for seconds. I had an Eton mess cheesecake and Steve a sticky toffee pudding, both delicious.

The wind had come up again making the 0C temperature seem like -5 or so ie: very cold. We checked out the Den in the hotel basement which has a pool table and games but was windowless so we decided to head back to our room and watch some Vera before having a fairly early night – I am loving watching the crime dramas.