Day 43 – Brighton – Regal splendour

Guest Blogger: Alex Paige

Thursday, 15 August

Leaving David and Eleanor to guard La Bamba, I set off down the long stony beach towards central Brighton.

The famous Brighton Pier has been here since 1899, and is the only one of Brighton’s three piers still standing.

The pier used to have a theatre but is now mostly an amusement park, so lots of hyper children with parents in tow. I elected to give it a miss, and instead headed to the famous Brighton Pavilion.

This was the residence of gorgeous George (prince regent, the forth, star of Blackadder). The building dates from 1787, but its Indian inspired exterior is the work of John Nash starting in 1815.

The interior is extraordinary Chinoiserie (European interpretation of Chinese style) and my photos cannot do justice to its extravagant sumptuousness.

The rooms form a glorious testament to George’s debt-fueled opulence.

George also showed no restraint when it came to fine dining as shown by this menu from when he hosted Nicolas of Russia. By my count it comes to 129 dishes:

Unfortunately, Queen Victoria was not a fan of George’s pleasure palace and the lack of privacy afforded in busy Brighton (the introduction of railways was bringing the vulgar masses).

She decided to get rid of it and it was set to be destroyed, when Brighton town stepped in to purchase and save it. They’ve since worked hard to conserve it, in spite of arson attacks and the occasional bit of stonework falling through the floor.

It was also used as a hospital for Indian soldiers serving in the first world war. The Asian design apparently made them think this the most appropriate venue, together with the fact that the British government saw good propaganda value in hosting the Indians in a former Royal Residence.

The area of Brighton around the pavilion is very nice, with bustling streets of independent shops and I found a small place that provided excellent fish and chips (if a bit balled up).

Finally, I spotted this plaque which reveals that La Bamba is not the first to make this journey from Sweden to Brighton.

After their Eurovision success, ABBA came to Brighton Dome (formerly the royal stables) to launch their new career.

It’s very windy which is why we are waiting for tomorrow to finish the trip and complete the journey from Uddevalla to Lymington

Thank you Alex!

We visited Lesley in her new (to us) house and enjoyed delicious chicken soup – so nice to have home cooking again. It was lovely to see Stuart and Morgan again too.