[Apr. 2021] During our day trip to Brighton, a seaside town in southern England, we enjoyed a seafood lunch and then had a walk along the nearby seaside.
We walked towards the British Airways i360 Viewing Tower, an observatory that we haven’t climbed yet, but at this point it was closed due to the Covid-19 measures.
Maybe, next time.
If you look at the sea from this area, you can see the remains of the old pier.
I was thinking this West Pier became like this because of the fire, and wondered when the fire was.
So I searched on the internet and found that there were two fires in 2003, but the pier was closed long before that.
It was a historic pier that originally opened in 1866, and at one point it had a concert hall and became a listed building, but due to the bankruptcy of the company that operated it, maintenance was not possible, and in 1975 it was closed to the public.
After that, the momentum for reconstruction was booming, and it seems that the National Lottery money was allocated, but it was damaged badly by the repeated great storms and became more and more devastated.
And the ultimate was the fire.
The fire at the closed pier was, of course, an arson, but the culprit is still a mystery apparently.
This wreckage is now a symbolic feature of Brighton.
My husband pointed out that “it’s worse than when I first saw it,” and that’s true.
Will it collapse and disappear soon?
The pier that is still standing is the Brighton Palace Pier, which is a little further away, and it opened in 1899.
Every time we come to Brighton, we walk around here.
It’s always crowded with people and has a lively atmosphere, and the view of the beach from here is excellent.
It was chilly that day, and I was wearing a winter coat, but surprisingly there were some people in the sea.
At the tip of the pier, there is an amusement park with thrill rides, which is exciting.
The rides were being operated on the day.
However, I wasn’t young anymore, so I didn’t ride anything (the last time I rode a roller coaster was when we went to Blackpool five years ago).
We walked around until we were satisfied and returned to the station.
On the way, we passed through the bustling Bohemian streets that we had walked before meal, but most of the shops were already closed.
Most shops seemed to close at 5 o’clock.
The sun was still high and I thought it was good time to make profit, but maybe the shop staff also wanted to enjoy the sun.
Brighton is a town that retains that kind of old-fashioned humanity.
My husband said twice, “I don’t mind living here.”
