I have fond childhood memories of Brighton. There were times I went with my Parents, my Grandparents and even my very best childhood friend too. I remember picnics on the beach, the stripy deckchairs, paddling in the freezing cold sea and fun on Brighton pier. Of course there was plenty of shopping in the town and pottering around the lanes too.  Husband I have even been together, back in the days before marriage and babies when we were just girlfriend and boyfriend.

When we decided to have a year of adventures this year we knew we wanted to introduce our girls to places that had meant something to us. With so much going on in our lives though like house buying and selling, finding new schools and needing to get builders in, we knew we were not going to have a huge pot of money to go far in January. That’s when we thought about Brighton. Somewhere we hadn’t yet taken our girls:

We were planning on staying overnight at the start of the month but sadly our first attempt to get away had to be cancelled. Then when we were ready to book again at the end of the month (after loads of sickness), we struggled to find anywhere with big enough family rooms available. Just a little tip –  It’s definitely worth booking accommodation in Brighton early as places do fill up quickly at all times of year. Particularly if you are looking for family rooms.

In the end it didn’t matter though as Rosie really wanted to go to a Birthday party on Saturday anyway. Instead we just got up extra early on Sunday and headed straight there for a full day trip. Planning to just play it by ear and leave when we had all had enough.

It was pretty cold and grey but we were all wrapped up in warm layers and cosy jackets so headed straight towards the seafront. As a family we adore the beach whatever the weather. Sadly the sea was pretty rough and the waves were really high though so we didn’t paddle as we usually would. To be honest we were a bit worried about being swept away. We did however, just enjoy playing, skimming stones and letting the sea breeze almost knock us over. These girls really don’t need much to amuse them:

Next stop the pier. We had great fun here doing all the usual tacky touristy things you have to do when you visit. We peeped our heads through the photo boards to have our pictures taken, we played on some rides and visited the arcade. The girls were delighted to be at the seaside and had so much fun:

As a child I remember my parents giving my sister and I a whole pound each in 2ps and enjoying playing the machines, so that’s what we did with our girls too. Armed with their tubs of 2ps and huge smiles, they had great fun losing, then winning some back and even winning a few sweets along the way too. It actually took a while for them all to spend their money but seeing as it was warm inside it didn’t matter:

Next stop were the rides. A lot of them were closed due to maintenance and being out of season but that didn’t bother us. The girls are still quite young and the ones that were in use looked a bit scary for them or old and ropey to us parents. The girls were just happy to wonder about and admire though…like you do at their ages:

Of course no visit to the pier would be the same without something to eat. We enjoyed the obligatory chips by the sea and then a few doughnuts too. Of course another childhood memory of mine we had to repeat with our girls. Warm doughnuts on a cold day:

By this stage our faces were all starting to get a bit cold and we hadn’t even been into Brighton itself yet. We headed down to the other side of the beach and then on towards  the lanes. So lovely in the summer but on this particular day as it started to drizzle and Daisys fingers were freezing (where her gloves had got wet), it wasn’t so much fun. We probably should have started there. However, we did have a little wander before giving up and heading back to the car:

On the way back we did stop outside the Royal Pavilion for a little nosey.The big girls were quite intrigued and would have liked to go in but Daisy had had enough at this point so we headed back to the carpark. If we had stayed the whole weekend we might have gone in or perhaps visited the Aquarium. All three girls would have liked to go there:

I myself had been hoping to head towards the Marina for a little look as well as Hove to  get some lovely family photos by the beach huts there. However, it was at this point that the rain came. It had stayed away all day but as soon as we were safely enclosed back in the car it poured it down. Phew just in time. We might not have got the gorgeous beach hut photos I wanted but thankfully we had managed to get one family photo to remember our trip by (even if we are all looking a bit windswept and cold):

It was a flying visit this time but Brighton is definitely somewhere we would like to all go back too. Maybe when its just a bit warmer though.

Karen x