Last weekend we went on a last minute trip to Brighton. When the sun is shining we just get in the mood to explore different places and amazingly I have never been to Brighton before. People are always mentioning it as one of the seasides with the best atmosphere, so I was really interested to see for myself and the kids always love the seaside.
When we arrived there was a mini owners convention going on, which was quite exciting for the boys as they love cars so they enjoyed spotting all the different varieties on display as we walked down to the pier.
As with other seasides we have been to, parking is quite in demand and we did have to park quite far away and walk – so I would recommend thinking about bringing your buggy if you do have little ones who get tired easily, as it may come in very handy for the walk back to the car at the end of the day. And bring plenty of change for the parking meters, unlike some places where you have a few options like paying by text, the machines we saw were very old school so it does help to come prepared. We had to dig out every last 5 and 10p we could find then we just about had enough.
By the time we arrived it was afternoon so we walked past the big wheel and little seaside train, as we wanted to go straight onto the pier to see the main area but if you were there for a full day these do look like fun.
Brighton Pier is quite a contrast to the last seaside town we visited at Dover. Flashing lights, music, bustling crowds! I am a believer in having a good balance so I think these two weekends quite complimented each other, to have half term sandwiched by the calm quiet side of the sea and then the loud, bright, traditional family fun of the seaside!
My boys love funfair rides so they were eager to get started. There is plenty available for young children. The offer is 30 tokens for £20 and this went far enough and was adequate for all of the children to go on the rides they wanted (and their dad to go on some to supervise) so that is not too bad in terms of value.
The rides my boys aged almost 2 to almost 5 went on were:
- Small car/ride on rollercoaster
- Bouncy Slide
- Teacups
- Merry go round horses
- Helter Skelter Slide
- Bouncy Castles
I would say the Helter Skelter was a definite favourite! Some of the rides do have height restrictions so if your child’s day out would be ruined by not being able to go on – do check it before you go! Generally they need to be about 90cm for some of the rides but all the info is on the Brighton Pier website so you can check it here
Of course a day at the seaside has to include ice cream. They were happy to make the portion smaller for my little one, which is always worth asking for to avoid the horrible dripping melting ice cream everywhere look when they can not manage to eat it fast enough. 
I love that they provide deckchairs for anyone to use on the pier these are just parked there for whoever wants to sit on them. I haven’t noticed this at other seasides I’ve been to, and it is a great touch – very convenient and there is just something fun about a traditional stripy deck chair! I want to get some for my garden now! 😀
The time went so quickly, we didn’t get a chance to go onto the beach itself! I know it is quite pebbly rather than a sandy beach. I didn’t see many families on there, the main attraction does seem to be spending time on the pier and just enjoying the traditional family seaside atmosphere along with the views.
There was a great mix of people around, from families with small children, to young couples, teenagers, and older people. It feels a pretty diverse place. My husband was really happy to see other mixed race couples like us so he felt very at home! (for those who think these things are never much of an issue any more in this day and age think about the recent issue with the cheerios advert!).
We finished the day with fish and chips while looking out over the sea – A perfect end to a lovely afternoon..
.. and I will leave you with these views!
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