Palace Pier beach

Parents’ favourite spot

Brighton was obviously a popular seaside resort with plenty of attractions and all our visitors loved it. Of course as a child I often went to the beach with my parents. Their preferred spot seems to have been to the left of the Palace Pier.

Thriving West Pier

From that position on the beach, we could point out the funny little train which would take visitors out to Peter Pan’s playground or the swimming pool at Black Rock. We could also see beyond one fantastic pier, right by us, to the West Pier, thriving at that time and very popular.

Coach trips galore

There were also dozens of coaches lined up along Madeira Drive, all with boards on the pavements advertising day-trips to places like Hastings and Eastbourne – very popular, just pay your money and off you go at the advertised time.

Snapshot memories

I have photos of aunts and uncles always sitting in deckchairs, while children and dogs posed in front on the pebbles. The pebbles of course were not as popular as the sandy beach at Llandudno, where my Shropshire relatives were used to visiting, but Brighton had many more things to do, we were told.