Brighton, Sussex
Created | Updated Jan 31, 2003
Brighton is famous for several things, such as the Palace Pier, the heroically rundown West pier, the Royal Pavillion with its Russian style cupola domes, and an, allegedly, thriving nightlife.
It was declared a city earlier this year, as part of the millennium celebrations. An entirely accurate description, just mis-spelt without the 'h'.
I realise that many people, many, many people revere Brighton as 'London by the Sea', and Brighton is well known as a good place to 'kick it large' for Londoners looking for a different kind of night out, more on this status later.
Historically, since King George the Fourth started to holiday in what was then a fishing town on the south coast, approximately sixty miles from London, this has been a favoured choice for holidaying folk who dwell in the capital, or, even just for a day trip. King George was responsible for the building of the Royal Pavillion during this time. This new found royal patronage and incoming wealth meant that Brighton rapidly expanded and found itself and the town of Hove coming into an uneasy and unlikely union. The wealthy, upper crust Hove being as careful as possible to disassociate itself from the perceived seedy taint of its neighbour.
To now rush forward in time to the present day, what do we find?
Brighton, however you look at it is run down. Hove is no longer the hotbed of the upper classes, but is certainly still the location of choice for those of a certain class. Until very recently it was the largest town in Britain to have neither a Burger King or McDonalds outlet, a record that was actually appreciated by many. Alas, this is now no longer the case, with a Burger King drive-through situated on the former site of the popular local football side, (Soccer for those from the American side of the Atlantic), Brighton and Hove Albion. Who weren't local for a couple of seasons, and now are again, but may move to a site a bit less local.
This site is situated near the University of Sussex, an institute of learning nestling in the picturesque South Downs, and, the reason for my experience of Brighton. For three years I studied at this university and for two years I lived in the town. I am from London, as were a large proportion of my peers, and this has helped confirm Brighton's previously mentioned status as 'London by the Sea'. This continual annual influx, (and outflux), of Londoners leads to a strong sense of pride of the capital, and the clubs and pubs in the town have found themselves having to conform to this view, in order to survive. And, in return, London has acquired a semi-mythical status amongst many Brightonians and students, who believe they must display as great a sense of Londonness as possible. From my experience it seems that for quite a few people who live in Brighton, its major failing is that it is not London.
The aforementioned students, it must be admitted, are responsible for the rundownness of Brighton, they all want somewhere to live, not unreasonably, and need to find somewhere cheap, about £50 per week is the standard. There are many landlords who wish to help the students find somewhere to live, and very few of them seem to care about comfort. But, for £50 per week, luxury is not expected. This proliferation of cheap, rented housing, where the tenants will move on in a year does not lead to a growth in the quality of life for surrounding residents. The flat I lived in in my second year was actually condemned, in the third year I lived in a house in an area that had a far higher proportion of families, the quality was much better. This run down appearance proliferates throughout the town centre itself as well though. Things are, admittedly, improving, the new Churchill Square is pleasant, if bland, and soon the train station will be back to its former glory.
The whole town, in the main, however, suffers from an appearance that could best be described as grimy. Yet there are many outstanding buildings, such as the Pavillion, the Grand hotel and the West Pier. The West Pier has been happily falling into the sea for some years now, and despite the promise of millions of pounds, bits still keep falling off this structure, that if it were in one piece would be magnificent. As it is, it's a miracle it hasn't fallen down completely yet.
As an aside, if you see anyone walking along a gravel beach in a British commercial the chances are that it will be in Brighton. The advertising agencies displaying a wonderful lack of imagination in choosing beaches...
This grimy appearance lifts though, honest, when the sun is out. During the hot summer months Brighton is a great place to be, the beach is crammed, and pubs are welcoming. Afternoons go on forever and everyone is happy. I had to do exams though. I'm sure there's something inherently wrong with forcing students to sit inside at a time when the weather is at its finest.
As a final nod to the fun you can have in Brighton, I will present a short list of pubs and clubs, and what they are like. This is subject to change at any point, no guarantee of continuity is guaranteed either by me, and certainly not by the establishments mentioned.
The Bear; The bottom of Bear Road. Located on the bizarre road system known as the 'Vogue Gyratory', a glorified roundabout that sees fit to encourage cars to drive on, whilst encouraging cars to drive round into those cars, whilst making sure that the cars in front of the first set of cars are stuck a red light. One day the gyratory will work, probably when we all have hover cars. Anyway, the Bear holds many blurry memories for me, including when we once won the moderately famous quiz they have on a Sunday. And the prices are decent.
No Man's an Island; Slap bang in the middle of the 'Vague Gyratory'. Pricey, dark, loud, and with some weird drinks.
The Racecourse; Top of Elm Grove. Scary, bring knives
The Font and Firkin; In the Lanes. Pricey, bring cash
The Druid's Head; Somewhere in the Lanes, I once spent twenty minutes trying to find it. Don't mess with the Lanes, they're great fun to browse, but if you try to go anywhere, they suck you in. The Druid's Head is a nice pub, and I learnt a valuable lesson, when they tell you not to drink alcohol after giving blood, gosh darn it, they mean it!
The Royal Pavillion Tavern; North Street. Affectionately known as the 'Pav Tav', the soft drinks cost more than the beer which is none too cheap itself.
The Prince of Wales; Churchill Square. Good beer, usually packed out. Bring a crowbar to get to the bar
The King and Queen; The Level. Apparently so expensive that you have to amputate limbs to buy a drink. I never went there, but that's unlikely to be true.
Temple Bar; Temple Street. Apparently not a good place, but I lived opposite it for a term, and I never saw any trouble. I quite liked it.
The Montpelier; Montpelier Street. A backstreet boozer with good beer at good prices, and a bar billiards table!
Blimey O'Reilly's; Western Road. Plastic Paddy, Mock Mick, call it what you like. It does look like an Irish Pub though.
Bar Med; Western Road. Where's me chequebook?
Nan Tuck's Tavern; Holland Road. Drink one of seven sinful cocktails and watch 'Nosferatu' in Dr. Frankenstein's local. Fantastic.
The Brunswick; Holland Road. Giant Jenga and Status Quo played here. Doesn't mean it's good though. It is only yards from the beach though.
The Hogshead; Hove. Lots of nice beer at expensive prices. Lots of nice beer though.
The Hove Park Tavern; Old Shoreham Road. It's OK.
And a couple of clubs which I may have been to, but there's no evidence...
The Zap. On the seafront. Cheap drinks, and a friendly crowd. Cheap to get into as well. Largin' ahoy! As they say.
The Escape. More floors than most, and more crowded than most, very popular.
The Event II. Opposite the Paradox. No idea where the Event I is. This is the club to come to if you're fourteen. Sadly I have also had a great time here.
The Paradox. Opposite Event II.
The Gloucester. The Level. Hmm. Never very busy, and its had some rough times in the past. It's cheap though.
The Shrine. See The Racecourse above.
And finally, how to crave your hunger after going on the beer.
The first choice, for those who don't know any better, is the multitude of takeaways that proliferate throughout the town. You can always buy food in Brighton.
The smart people will go for a Buddy's all day/all night breakfast, on the Kings Road. This is an excellent way of gaining ballast before waiting to catch a night bus or an available taxi, both of which seem to be seen with less frequency than George the Fourth now is. Buddy's is very expensive for it provides, however.
The smarter all day breakfaster will head for Kemptown and the glories of the Market Diner, where one can indulge in Breakfasts designed to make a glutton wish he had never started eating. The Market Diner is the stuff of legends. No one knows the name of the road it is in, they just know where it is. The Market Diner is unmissable and open 24-7.
For the perfect pick me up in the Vogue Gyratory area in the morning, and you didn't have a Market Diner the night before when you were out drinking, (shame on you), then attend Dave's Diner on the Lewes Road. With portions slightly smaller than the Market Diner, but of equal quality, this will last forever. They also have the curious idea of providing sausages with a high proportion of meat in them, after eating one of Dave's cumberlands a hot dog will make you feel slightly ill.
Other Notable Brighton Things
ABBA won the Eurovision song contest here in the 1970s.
Former Boxing champion Chris Eubank can often be seen driving around in his Purple HGV cab or on his three-wheel motorbike. He has bought the deeds to become Lord of the Manor of Brighton. Ignore him.
Another notable resident is internationally-known DJ Norman 'Fatboy Slim' Cook. I never saw him shopping in Sainsbury's though.
Ditchling Beacon, a couple of miles north of Brighton, is the highest point on the South Downs, and not a walk to be attempted at 10.30pm from the University after drinking cheap beer.
It was declared a city earlier this year, as part of the millennium celebrations. An entirely accurate description, just mis-spelt without the 'h'.
I realise that many people, many, many people revere Brighton as 'London by the Sea', and Brighton is well known as a good place to 'kick it large' for Londoners looking for a different kind of night out, more on this status later.
Historically, since King George the Fourth started to holiday in what was then a fishing town on the south coast, approximately sixty miles from London, this has been a favoured choice for holidaying folk who dwell in the capital, or, even just for a day trip. King George was responsible for the building of the Royal Pavillion during this time. This new found royal patronage and incoming wealth meant that Brighton rapidly expanded and found itself and the town of Hove coming into an uneasy and unlikely union. The wealthy, upper crust Hove being as careful as possible to disassociate itself from the perceived seedy taint of its neighbour.
To now rush forward in time to the present day, what do we find?
Brighton, however you look at it is run down. Hove is no longer the hotbed of the upper classes, but is certainly still the location of choice for those of a certain class. Until very recently it was the largest town in Britain to have neither a Burger King or McDonalds outlet, a record that was actually appreciated by many. Alas, this is now no longer the case, with a Burger King drive-through situated on the former site of the popular local football side, (Soccer for those from the American side of the Atlantic), Brighton and Hove Albion. Who weren't local for a couple of seasons, and now are again, but may move to a site a bit less local.
This site is situated near the University of Sussex, an institute of learning nestling in the picturesque South Downs, and, the reason for my experience of Brighton. For three years I studied at this university and for two years I lived in the town. I am from London, as were a large proportion of my peers, and this has helped confirm Brighton's previously mentioned status as 'London by the Sea'. This continual annual influx, (and outflux), of Londoners leads to a strong sense of pride of the capital, and the clubs and pubs in the town have found themselves having to conform to this view, in order to survive. And, in return, London has acquired a semi-mythical status amongst many Brightonians and students, who believe they must display as great a sense of Londonness as possible. From my experience it seems that for quite a few people who live in Brighton, its major failing is that it is not London.
The aforementioned students, it must be admitted, are responsible for the rundownness of Brighton, they all want somewhere to live, not unreasonably, and need to find somewhere cheap, about £50 per week is the standard. There are many landlords who wish to help the students find somewhere to live, and very few of them seem to care about comfort. But, for £50 per week, luxury is not expected. This proliferation of cheap, rented housing, where the tenants will move on in a year does not lead to a growth in the quality of life for surrounding residents. The flat I lived in in my second year was actually condemned, in the third year I lived in a house in an area that had a far higher proportion of families, the quality was much better. This run down appearance proliferates throughout the town centre itself as well though. Things are, admittedly, improving, the new Churchill Square is pleasant, if bland, and soon the train station will be back to its former glory.
The whole town, in the main, however, suffers from an appearance that could best be described as grimy. Yet there are many outstanding buildings, such as the Pavillion, the Grand hotel and the West Pier. The West Pier has been happily falling into the sea for some years now, and despite the promise of millions of pounds, bits still keep falling off this structure, that if it were in one piece would be magnificent. As it is, it's a miracle it hasn't fallen down completely yet.
As an aside, if you see anyone walking along a gravel beach in a British commercial the chances are that it will be in Brighton. The advertising agencies displaying a wonderful lack of imagination in choosing beaches...
This grimy appearance lifts though, honest, when the sun is out. During the hot summer months Brighton is a great place to be, the beach is crammed, and pubs are welcoming. Afternoons go on forever and everyone is happy. I had to do exams though. I'm sure there's something inherently wrong with forcing students to sit inside at a time when the weather is at its finest.
As a final nod to the fun you can have in Brighton, I will present a short list of pubs and clubs, and what they are like. This is subject to change at any point, no guarantee of continuity is guaranteed either by me, and certainly not by the establishments mentioned.
The Bear; The bottom of Bear Road. Located on the bizarre road system known as the 'Vogue Gyratory', a glorified roundabout that sees fit to encourage cars to drive on, whilst encouraging cars to drive round into those cars, whilst making sure that the cars in front of the first set of cars are stuck a red light. One day the gyratory will work, probably when we all have hover cars. Anyway, the Bear holds many blurry memories for me, including when we once won the moderately famous quiz they have on a Sunday. And the prices are decent.
No Man's an Island; Slap bang in the middle of the 'Vague Gyratory'. Pricey, dark, loud, and with some weird drinks.
The Racecourse; Top of Elm Grove. Scary, bring knives
The Font and Firkin; In the Lanes. Pricey, bring cash
The Druid's Head; Somewhere in the Lanes, I once spent twenty minutes trying to find it. Don't mess with the Lanes, they're great fun to browse, but if you try to go anywhere, they suck you in. The Druid's Head is a nice pub, and I learnt a valuable lesson, when they tell you not to drink alcohol after giving blood, gosh darn it, they mean it!
The Royal Pavillion Tavern; North Street. Affectionately known as the 'Pav Tav', the soft drinks cost more than the beer which is none too cheap itself.
The Prince of Wales; Churchill Square. Good beer, usually packed out. Bring a crowbar to get to the bar
The King and Queen; The Level. Apparently so expensive that you have to amputate limbs to buy a drink. I never went there, but that's unlikely to be true.
Temple Bar; Temple Street. Apparently not a good place, but I lived opposite it for a term, and I never saw any trouble. I quite liked it.
The Montpelier; Montpelier Street. A backstreet boozer with good beer at good prices, and a bar billiards table!
Blimey O'Reilly's; Western Road. Plastic Paddy, Mock Mick, call it what you like. It does look like an Irish Pub though.
Bar Med; Western Road. Where's me chequebook?
Nan Tuck's Tavern; Holland Road. Drink one of seven sinful cocktails and watch 'Nosferatu' in Dr. Frankenstein's local. Fantastic.
The Brunswick; Holland Road. Giant Jenga and Status Quo played here. Doesn't mean it's good though. It is only yards from the beach though.
The Hogshead; Hove. Lots of nice beer at expensive prices. Lots of nice beer though.
The Hove Park Tavern; Old Shoreham Road. It's OK.
And a couple of clubs which I may have been to, but there's no evidence...
The Zap. On the seafront. Cheap drinks, and a friendly crowd. Cheap to get into as well. Largin' ahoy! As they say.
The Escape. More floors than most, and more crowded than most, very popular.
The Event II. Opposite the Paradox. No idea where the Event I is. This is the club to come to if you're fourteen. Sadly I have also had a great time here.
The Paradox. Opposite Event II.
The Gloucester. The Level. Hmm. Never very busy, and its had some rough times in the past. It's cheap though.
The Shrine. See The Racecourse above.
And finally, how to crave your hunger after going on the beer.
The first choice, for those who don't know any better, is the multitude of takeaways that proliferate throughout the town. You can always buy food in Brighton.
The smart people will go for a Buddy's all day/all night breakfast, on the Kings Road. This is an excellent way of gaining ballast before waiting to catch a night bus or an available taxi, both of which seem to be seen with less frequency than George the Fourth now is. Buddy's is very expensive for it provides, however.
The smarter all day breakfaster will head for Kemptown and the glories of the Market Diner, where one can indulge in Breakfasts designed to make a glutton wish he had never started eating. The Market Diner is the stuff of legends. No one knows the name of the road it is in, they just know where it is. The Market Diner is unmissable and open 24-7.
For the perfect pick me up in the Vogue Gyratory area in the morning, and you didn't have a Market Diner the night before when you were out drinking, (shame on you), then attend Dave's Diner on the Lewes Road. With portions slightly smaller than the Market Diner, but of equal quality, this will last forever. They also have the curious idea of providing sausages with a high proportion of meat in them, after eating one of Dave's cumberlands a hot dog will make you feel slightly ill.
Other Notable Brighton Things
ABBA won the Eurovision song contest here in the 1970s.
Former Boxing champion Chris Eubank can often be seen driving around in his Purple HGV cab or on his three-wheel motorbike. He has bought the deeds to become Lord of the Manor of Brighton. Ignore him.
Another notable resident is internationally-known DJ Norman 'Fatboy Slim' Cook. I never saw him shopping in Sainsbury's though.
Ditchling Beacon, a couple of miles north of Brighton, is the highest point on the South Downs, and not a walk to be attempted at 10.30pm from the University after drinking cheap beer.
