BRIGHTON ROCKS ON
Forget saucy postcards, fried food, a falling down pier and battles between mods and rockers, the UK’s iconic seaside destination is showing a new face to the world
On the seafront at Brighton, there’s a buzz in the air and it’s not the seagulls looking for scraps.
Made by the team behind the London Eye, the 162m British Airways i360 is the tallest moving observation tower in the world – and it’s open to the public for the first time this summer.
The pod rises imperceptibly at first as we slowly leave the beach behind and float high above the waves on our 20-minute flight. There’s no motion sickness, but you’re gradually aware it’s turning 360 degrees, offering sweeping views over Brighton’s Palace Pier, the Taj Mahal lookalike Royal Pavilion and out to the South Downs.
On a fine day, from this cable car 138m in the sky, you can see as far as Beachy Head in the east and the Isle of Wight to the west. Billed as a “vertical
pier” by architects Marks Barfield, it’s symbolic that the silver spire with its glass doughnut of a pod, 12 years in the making, is open 150 years after Eugenius Birch’s West Pier first gave visitors to Brighton a unique view of the seafront. The pier’s charred remains are all that’s left of the Grade 1-listed structure, which was closed in 1975 and burned down in 2003. The i360 rises almost from its ashes – the pier’s dilapidated 19th century Italianate toll booths have been carefully reconstructed and stand proudly at either side of the steel tower, one as a ticket office and one a tearoom, bringing old and new together in vivid contrast.
The giant glass bubble can carry 200 passengers and has a shiny Nyetimber Sky Bar that serves sparkling wine from the Sussex vineyards visible from the pod, as well as other locally produced drinks. Besides soaking up the views, it’s mesmerising to watch the honeycomb-patterned steel cans that form the world’s most slender tower slip through the centre of the pod.
Most importantly for my twoyear-old son, Ollie, the pod is buggy friendly, meaning babies and toddlers can enjoy the whole ride from the comfort of their pushchairs.
The $80 million project, expected to generate 440 new jobs in Brighton and Hove, is part of a wider regeneration effort by the city council in what’s being dubbed the “Creative Quarter”. The Victorian West Pier Arches on either side of the tower, under the seafront road, were rebuilt from scratch and opened in July 2014 as cosmopolitan-feeling galleries, craft and boutique gift shops.
As we discover during a long weekend, Brighton is a child’s paradise, with endless hours of fun to be had for kids of all ages – even the grown-up variety.
Across the road from the West Pier Arches, we stay at the 131-room Holiday Inn, which has also just undergone a major refurbishment, giving its muted lobby a stylish Scandi feel, and ultra-comfy seaview rooms.
As part of the makeover, there’s a Starbucks in the hotel bar – perfect for a late-night coffee – and trendy American diner-style restaurant Stock Burger Co., complete with milkshakes in old milk bottles with red-and-white-striped straws, and delicious chicken burgers.
The beauty of Brighton – and the hotel’s underground carpark – is you can leave your car safely stowed and forget about it for an entire weekend, because all the fun stuff is well within walking distance.
Opposite the hotel is an extremely handy playground with clean sandpits, and a coffee shop and souvenirs in the arches, where mum and dad can grab a cappuccino to sip while little ones build sandcastles to rival the i360, which towers above.
The beach is a sweeping pebbly affair, not sandy, with a steep bank of stones that’s great for sliding down towards the sea.
With a son obsessed with shells, we’re slightly surprised to discover just one variety – the common slipper limpet – on our beachcombing expeditions, but they’re in plentiful supply and we soon have a bagful to cart home and display proudly alongside the garden snail collection.
A sea-smoothed stone’s throw away is The New Club, which opened its doors in 2013 after gutting a nearderelict premises, an early sign of gentrification in this part of the city by the sea. All high ceilings, large