Today I turned 23.
Although it was my first birthday not being surrounded by my friends and family, I had a great day. Friends and family called and texted, to make sure I knew I was loved, although many miles away. And I did have someone very special close by who made sure my birthday was amazing.
This morning, Jordan and I caught the bus into Brighton to have a special birthday brunch and day trip in the city.
After a delicious brunch, Jordan and I headed down to the beach for some sightseeing. While walking alongside the beach, we checked out all of the shops along the beachfront until we got to the first tourist stop, the West Pier.
The West Pier, built in 1866 (!!) used to be Brighton’s main amusements pier constructed to attract visitors to Brighton. It began as a promenade pier for victorian vacationers. By the First World War, in the height of its popularity, it had become a pleasure pier with attractions such as high-divers, to opera and orchestral performances. Its final metamorphosis was after the Second World War, when it became an attractions pier, filled with arcade games, fair games and even rides like bumper cars.
Sadly, in the 1970s, the pier was closed down for safety reasons. The pier remained largely unchanged until the early 2000’s when a storm and two cases of arson destroyed the pier to an unrecognizable point. Still, the pier in its decrepit state is an iconic image for Brighton, and the scene has a very interesting history behind it.
If you’re interested in more photos of the West Pier, click here!
We weren’t done with the feeling of nostalgia just yet, because after the West Pier, we went to Old Time Amusements. Situated in the back of a fair themed bar, there is Mechanical Memories Museum, a room filled with working vintage penny arcade games. It is rather small, but the feeling of nostalgia is immense.
After seeing all of the old games, we made our way to the current amusements pier, the Brighton Palace Pier. This pier was actually also constructed in the 1800’s, opened to the public in 1899, 33 years after the West Pier. It quickly became popular, and remains popular to this day! Jordan and I had a nice walk around, seeing all of the different rollercoasters, and arcade games, and even a slots machine!
Afterwards, we walked along Madeira Drive (which also has a fun history dating back to the Victorian times where it was used as a promenading area) and we found our way to the flea market. It was less of a flea market and more of an antique market, but Jordan and I had a fun time exploring nonetheless.
After almost a full day of exploring, we headed back home. On the bus, we got to see a few more places in Brighton that we still needed to explore that we have added to the list for the next time we head into Brighton.
We ended the night with a bottle of wine, a pizza from Papa Johns (who knew they had that here) and an episode of the X Files. If you ask me, that sounds like the perfect end to a perfect day!
Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, I love you all.
xx Abby
i know i’m like 2 months late but sounds like such a wonderful bday!!
So much history in the area. Loved learning about your day. Was that a Pimms in your hand for your birthday? Love you lots Abs and happy birthday.