Brighton with a Bang for New Year

We have returned to the south coast on our way to get the ferry to Spain so decided to see the New Year in at Brighton. We like the Brighton Caravan Club Site; it might be tucked away, down a lane, sheltered by the rise of the South Downs but the rest of the world is easily accessible, if and when you want it. We walked, cycled and caught buses to and from the site with ease. Last year when we visited Brighton we didn't have our bikes. This time we found that they were extremely useful for getting to nearby locations. Not to be put off by the wet weather and strong winds, we cycled along the seafront to visit friends and family in Hove. The weather proved to be an endless source of entertainment (as we watched waves crashing onto the beach) and discussion. We also did our annual beach clean up. It was at Brighton last year that we visited the Ocean Blues exhibition at the Brighton museum. This exhibition focuses on educating people about the pollution of the oceans with plastic, something that we feel passionate about. We did our beach clean up after the New Year celebrations and picked up the remains of lots of fireworks.

 

New Year was a quieter affair than Christmas but equally rewarding. After tea the four of us wrapped up warm, headed down to the beach and made hot chocolate. We lit our giant sparklers and discussed our intentions (not resolutions!) for the year ahead. Then we returned back to the motorhome to play games, watching and listening to the fireworks that had begun to light up the sky.

 

The 3rd of January was the date when we were due to set off to Spain for a month of travelling. We were aware that the ferry the previous day had been cancelled and suspected ours might be too so we weren't surprised when we heard the news. Ferries throughout the week were cancelled due to bad weather in the Bay of Biscay with waves reaching up to 9m high. Unfortunately we weren't able to book onto another ferry until mid January. This scuppered our plans and the trip had to be cancelled. But all is not lost...we were able to rearrange plans and will still be travelling to Spain in March when hopefully the weather will have improved. In the meantime we get to enjoy Brighton and the south coast a little longer.