A day trip to Brighton, UK - Martina Repíková

If you keep visiting London often and you feel you would like to have a change of environment, I would recommend you to head out of the capital. Whichever direction you decide to go, you can always discover something interesting. During my last visit I went south to Brighton (www.visitbrighton.com). The transfer from London was easy – just hopping on a direct train at London Bridge station. And only when admiring the London panorama from a moving train I realised that it is the famous Shard building towering over the London Bridge station.

The Shard, office building at London Bridge station, London, UK

The train journey took a little over an hour. Then the road from the train station went downhill straight towards the seaside with a long stretch of the pebble beach, azure water, seafront promenade with restaurants, cafes, sea life centre, fishing museum and of course, the famous Brighton pier. And surprisingly, or not, a lot of people and sea gulls everywhere around. It seemed like many have decided to go south for a day or a longer bank holiday weekend and benefit from the sunny weather, although with cold winds and with a late-afternoon rain.

Sea gull posing at a lamppost, Brighton, UK

Sea gull posing at a boat in front of the Fishing museum, Brighton, UK

Sea gull at the Fishing Museum, Brighton, UK — Sea gull posing at a boat in front of the Fishing Museum, Brighton, UK

Another place worth visiting in Brighton is between the train station and the seaside: the Royal Pavillion, a palace inspired by Indian architecture built in 1820s. And if you get tired from the seaside and the Royal Pavilion, you can take a walk through the charming streets of the old city centre or pop into one of the many cafes for a break.