After my trip to Frankfurt, I was originally rostered a flight to Munich. However, when I was sent a swap for London Gatwick, I decided to go for it and accept the swap. Going back to the UK always feels a little bit like going home, even if I haven’t lived there for 9 years!
My plan for the trip was to head down to Brighton, which is only around 40 minutes on the train. Much more convenient than getting there from London Heathrow. I just kept my fingers crossed that the weather would stay nice!
After the flight and a quick change, myself and some of the crew jumped on the train, and just over half an hour later we were in sunny Brighton. As far as I can remember I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to Brighton, so I was ready to do some exploring!
We walked around the town, stopping for coffee and cake (if only we’d gone a few metres down the road we would have found scones and tea!) before heading towards the Lanes.
The Lanes are a collection of narrow lanes, famous for their small shops and boutiques and narrow alleyways.
We did a bit of window shopping and strolled through the narrow lanes.
Luckily the sun stayed out for most of the afternoon…I think it had something to do with the umbrella I ended up carrying around in my handbag the whole day! Thankfully I didn’t need to use it 😉
Our next stop was the Brighton Pavilion.
Built in three stages, beginning in 1787, the Brighton (or Royal) Pavilion is a former royal residence. It is built in a style that was prevalent in India for most of the 19th Century, hence why it seems to have an Indian architectural touch!
Although it was pretty busy and full of tourists, the Pavilion is so beautiful that it’s really worth seeing! So many people were sitting on the grass having drinks or picnics, reading books or just enjoying the sunshine, we wished we’d brought a rug!
After stopping to play with the friendly squirrels, we strolled on down towards the waterfront.
It’d be a crime to come to Brighton and not go to the beach!
We walked down along the beach, which is very pebbly. Turns out pebbles are actually better than sand when you’re wearing shoes as nothing gets in-between your toes!
We sat on the beach for a while, chatting and watching the waves roll in. Although it was cloudy and there was a bit of a sea breeze, it wasn’t too cold. The water was absolutely freezing though, and we saw two crazy guys going for a swim!
Our next stop was Brighton Pier.
The Pier has actually been open since 1899, and is home to a huge amusement arcade as well as lots of fairground rides.
We walked all along the pier, deciding not to go on any of the rides for fear of them falling apart, and headed back towards the town centre.
There was just time for a drink in a traditional pub outside in the sunshine, and a quick bit of dinner before we had to head back to the train station.
I’m so happy I finally managed to make it to Brighton, and unlike typical English weather, it didn’t rain once!
Stay tuned on my blog for more travels and my August roster coming up soon 🙂
P.s. Follow me on Instagram & Twitter for more regular updates of where I am in the world 🙂
Brighton looks lovely! Will definitely do that when I get LGW. Also, after 1 year of reading your blog, I saw you at HQ 😀 (but too shy to say hi)
Author
Yes definitely do it! It’s only 30-40 mins on the train and such a lovely town! Haha aw you should have come and said hi! 🙂
I enjoy resting your blog, please keep up the posts. I admire how you have the energy to do so much sight seeing after your flights. Even as a passenger I’m exhausted after long flights!!
PS: Why do you have so many flights to Germany?
Cheers
Whoops iPhone autocorrect, resting = reading!!
Author
Glad you enjoy reading my blog! 🙂 Haha don’t tell anyone but some layovers are spent purely sleeping and eating 😉
I’m a German speaker (I lived in Austria for 6 years) so that’s why I get rostered a lot of flights to Germany/Switzerland!
Hi Rachel! Do you have any fellow female Emirates collegue that has curly hair? If so, do you know how she does to make the emirates hairstyle?
Author
Hi there! Yes there are lots of girls with curly hair! You basically have to have it in a bun or a French twist, or if it is short then above your collar 🙂