Last weekend, a few friends and I went on a day trip to Brighton. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are other cities in the U.K. besides London because London is so exciting and talked about, but there are many smaller cities throughout the U.K. that have a lot of things to offer that you might not find in a city the size of London.
Brighton is located on the southern coast of England and is just about an hour drive or hour and a half train ride from uni. It’s known for its seaside attractions, huge art and music scene, and is considered to be the unofficial LGBTQ capital of the U.K. It could probably be fairly compared to San Francisco. My friends and I decided to rent a car for the day instead of taking the train because they wanted to show me the countryside south of Guildford. (In case you’re wondering, I did, in fact, drive on the left side of the road and am here to tell the tale. It’s definitely a little scary at first, but you ease into it pretty quickly. Now I’m just a little concerned about driving on the right when I’m home in the U.S. in a few weeks. I’ll keep you posted.)
(One of the towns we visited on the way back)
The drive from Guildford to Brighton is not to be missed. It takes you through countless little villages tucked away in the Surrey hills that look straight off a postcard. I definitely recommend taking the back roads rather than the highway. We took the highway part of the way back, and it just doesn’t compare (there’s also a lot of traffic).
(Looking back at the city from Brighton Pier. Definitely cloudy, but still beautiful.)
When we got to Brighton, we went straight to the pier. If you’ve ever been to Coney Island in New York, it has a similar old fashioned carnival vibe, but on the water and more scenic. The day we went ended up being really cold and windy, which was to be expected for the time of year, but it was still really fun to see all the people and walk along the pier. Afterward, we went for tea in one of the many cafés, and then to an amazing chocolatier called…Choccywoccydoodah. Seriously. Never thought I’d write that combination of letters, but there you go. If you like chocolate or sugar or anything sweet, this will be heaven for you. It’s hard describe, but it’s a little like an entire Thanksgiving Day parade stuffed into a shoebox made out of candy. Unfortunately, I was too busy eating cake and chocolate to take any good photos, but I’m just going to put a link to their website here because it’s really worth seeing with your own eyes, especially around the holidays.
On the way home we stopped at a pub in a little town for dinner and explored the village. It’s so crazy how you can feel like you’re in a really rural area when you’re just a short drive from a city.
All in all, I definitely recommend a trip to Brighton at some point if you get the chance. We didn’t do half the things we were hoping to do because there are just so many options, but I definitely plan on returning to see some of the art galleries and music.
Hope you all are surviving the last weeks before the break!
