Brighton Palace Pier • Sentimental Seaside Escape

We all need to escape once in a while from our daily routines in life. We miss the ocean coming from an archipelago country surrounded by water we yearn to be close to the ocean. The closest from London we decided to go to Brighton. A seaside town with a gorgeous sentimental pier. Come with us today as we share with you one of the popular locations in Brighton, "The Brighton Palace Pier".

Located in southeastern England in the county of East Sussex, we took an overground train from London. It was a different experience for us taking an overground train as we are only used to commuting using the London underground. The travel took us more than an hour which is quite a short travel. Even though the travel was short it felt like we were already so far away from central London.

We finally arrived in Brighton and the station felt like going back in time. It was a pleasant experience although the fare was a bit expensive. The ticket cost us around £27 per person for one way. Our mistake was we should have booked a ticket earlier as the prices are lower if you book earlier.

Brighton feels very different from London, which has less crowd. We came early for our hotel booking so we walked to our hotel from the train station which took us roughly around 20 minutes. We got a chance to see the surroundings and enjoyed our walk.

The hotel that we booked for 3 days and two nights is called the Legends Hotel. We chose this hotel as it had very good reviews, the price is very affordable, and a fantastic view of the pier. It is also an LGBT hotel but all are welcome and treated with respect. It is mentioned that they have a club in the basement of the hotel I was a bit worried that we would not get a good night's sleep. Since we came during weekdays there was no party and the place was very quiet. But if you love to party I believe it is open and crowded during weekends.

The view from our room as expected was amazing but we had an unexpected visitor. It was a seagull that was as big as a chicken or maybe bigger. The fella seems not to be afraid of us and looks like the seagull was waiting for a treat.

We were excited to go to the pier but we rested in our room for a couple of minutes first. Just enjoying our view and planning what we will be doing in the next few days.

We headed down to the Brighton Palace Pier, the weather was a bit gloomy and cold. But it didn't matter as we are now used to the London gloomy weather and is just a normal day for us.

The beach had pebbles instead of white golden sand like what we had back in the Philippines. The pebbles are a bit hard to walk on as your feet tend to sink in the pebbles but on the good side the beach is very clean and you won't get sand in your shoes.

We arrived at the Palace Pier and there were not a lot of people which was very good for us as we don't like crowded noisy places. The entrance looks like an entrance to a vintage amusement park. The pier opened in 1899 and since then it has become one of the most iconic landmarks in Brighton.

Before going inside the pier there is a vintage photobooth on the left side of the entrance which should not be missed when visiting Brighton. A photo of 4 poses will cost you £5 so make each photo count and plan your poses first.

Our first photo was a failure as it seemed when we put in £4 the camera started shooting right away. Someone might have already put in £1 it was very bad so we had to do another photo. How did we do on our second try?

Moving forward to the palace square, we noticed that the food stalls were closed. We don't know when they open or if they only open during summertime.

At the entrance of the place, there is a vintage fortune teller machine. It would have been great if we tried it but we didn't have any more spare coins to use. Getting your fortune told would have been fun.

Inside there were a lot of machines, arcade games, coin games, and even slot machines. Maybe you could try your luck and win a couple of quids. We did try our luck and won £15 from one of the slots.

At the end of the palace, there were a lot of restaurants and a couple of souvenir shops open. We checked the prices of the restaurants and were a bit on the pricey end. A dinner date here would be romantic.

In the middle part of the pier I stopped to take some photos of the Brighton shoreline and it sure looks amazing. We could even see our hotel from here which is in the second photo with colorful lights. See if you can spot it.

Going to the end of the pier is where the rides are. The architecture has been well built to be able to hold all the structures and rides. Not a lot of visitors but during summer I could only imagine the number of tourists here.

All the rides are closed for maintenance and maybe they just open during summer. It felt hauntingly beautiful in a way exploring the amusement park when everything is closed. I could imagine the sounds, music, and laughter of the people. On our visit, it was very, quiet, cold, and gloomy. Despite it all I enjoyed taking photos with no distractions. Just the sound of the ocean and the cold wind brushing on your face.

Time for us to head back and along the way there were still a lot of interesting subjects to shoot. People just enjoying their quiet time on the pier.

One of the most interesting things we have seen here is the thousands of Starling birds that come out when the sun sets. It is a glorious display to watch these birds as they fly around the pier. A magnificent show and must not be missed when the sun starts to set.

There are two small stone promenades here shaped like the hull of a ship. They were used as a pier to deliver coal in the early days.

A very old clock tower is part of the entrance which was added during the 1920s. It looks well-maintained without losing its vintage charm. I love how they keep things here as they are and just take care of them for future generations.

As we headed for the exit more people were coming as the sun set. The changing colors of the lights of the Brighton Palace Pier sign will attract anyone who walks along this seafront. The lights on this charming vintage structure are hypnotic and you could just stare at it and get lost for a couple minutes.

As we left the pier I couldn't help to look back and just stare from afar at its beauty. Lovers will be more captivated with each other in this beautiful place. There are a lot of modern amusement parks out there but this one is a gem and ages like fine wine. This is one of the places we will surely come back to and never forget.

Thank you for joining us today on our Brighton experience. I hope you enjoyed the tour. Next time we will share with you more of Brighton as we head out into town and visit some more places that should not be missed.

Cheers!