Adventure: a trip to Brighton

 

 

The sea beckoned.

A long 5 hour drive, plus a stop in Chichester to wander around and eat ice cream. It was a lovely little town, and gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs. I couldn't resist a visit to Paperchase to look at all the beautiful notebooks and journals. My crafty conscience got the better of me before I bought any, convincing myself that I could make my own for a fraction of the price.

Upon arrival, we decided on an early evening walk to see the horses. My first foray into animal photography, realising the difficulty in capturing moving subjects! I had space for 1500 photos so my guess was that at least one would turn out well!



My parents had acquired a new bike, taking the total to 3. Fitting, as we were 3, wanting to head down to the sea, cycle into Brighton, eat lunch on the beach and take in the sights.

A nearly endless cycle path stretched from our corner of Brighton to the centre and beyond. It made for easy cycling, feeling the slight breeze on our faces, slowly pedalling, gazing at the gorgeous sea view. It was delightfully sunny and not too hot, and I took the opportunity to be mindful. Enjoying the low riding position, with the basket wobbling on the front of the bike. Looking out to the sea, a great expanse of calm water, a fresh new sight for us South-West city dwellers.



 

 

I asked for us to stop to indulge in my newly acquired passion for photography, never having been much of a photo person before. I knew of the multi-coloured huts along the promenade from previous trips, and this was the opportunity to capture them on camera. Luckily, my little point and shoot lived up to expectations, having left my better camera at home owing to its bulk. I regretted not taking it, but remembered any camera is better than no camera.

We locked up the bikes, and wandered along perusing the market stalls. My stomach and energy levels called lunch time, a selection of sandwiches, crisps and cake freshly made by the Pret masters. We took the bag down to the beach and planted ourselves on the pebbles.

A lost bike key, and a frantic, panicky search among the beach pebbles, walking to our previous resting place. We resigned to one of us taking the bus home. We then found it hidden among the bike wheels, dropped while attaching the helmet to the lock. Phew!

The next day, we were in the mood for some green spaces. A quick look in the local guidebook told me of Ditchling, a picturesque village, and a country park nearby. I had remembered to take my DSLR this time, adamant that I would not miss more photo opportunities.

 

I found a bakery selling giant scones, yes please. Plenty of butter too. They had a basket of free bread to feed the ducks, a clever idea for any dropped chunks or leftovers from the cafe. I hadn't fed ducks in years!



 

 

We found a picnic table to enjoy the giant scone, along with apples and dried apricots. Then a short wander along to the pond, to give the ducks their lunch time snack. They rushed about picking up every last morsel of bread.

We planned to drive back to Ditchling to enjoy a pub lunch, but found a huge traffic jam and not a single parking space in the whole village. Onwards to find another, which quickly turned into a stressful, low blood sugar grumptastic drive to a pub known to my mum. C gratefully took over the driving until I'd had some food.

Home again, this time putting out the chairs for a good holiday reading session until the sun went in. I thought how lovely it would be to have a garden at home. I used the garden well during my time at mum's, sitting outside in the fresh morning air, journalling quietly before everyone else woke up, and sitting outside at every opportunity, warmed by the sun.

The trip was restorative and refreshing. It was good to see the parents, hang out, talk, and eat good food. The change of scenery was important, so much so that I enjoyed coming back home.

 

Over to you

Have you been on any adventures lately? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments.

 

Thanks for reading, and hello to my new followers. It's good to have you here.

 

p.s. The photos above are merely a selection. You can see the rest on my Flickr stream, here.  I am also going on another sea-side adventure later today. You're welcome to follow updates on Instagram while I'm there! I'll be back in the week with more photos!

Until then,

Linda