The West Quay - Brighton

Visited 13th December 2009.

What should have been a short drive turned into a bit of a mission. Two wrong turns and some roadworks meant that the trip took a lot longer than it should have. Brighton village marina was not at all what I expected and 'The West Quay' was definitely not what I was expecting. The find of the day! Not an attractive building from the outside but all was forgiven when we got inside. Very much the type of pub I like. A bit of and odd mix in terms of style but although it was a large place it felt cosy (and warm). It would be interesting to visit it again in the summer when I suspect it would feel entirely different. We ended up spending a lot longer in there than we had intended. It's a shame it's not a bit closer to home!

© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.

The Bright Helm - Brighton

Visited 13th December 2009.

Getting to Brighton didn't take to long but we queued for about 20 minutes to get into a car park. We immediately had to start shopping - no time to waste, at least that's what Mrs S. and Jess said. Jess started trying on clothes and went for the Daisy look while Ray and I thought about looking for some plumbing outfits! Luckily everybody was a bit hungry so we went in search of the Bright Helm. After asking a friendly local we had our directions with the advice that "you can't miss it". Within seconds of leaving our friendly local we had forgotten the directions and ended up guessing. He was right though, you can't miss it. It's a big place and was very busy (as was Brighton). A quick lunch and a pint was all we were allowed though as the girls felt we needed to do some more shopping. Finally they were shopped out and we headed to the "world famous" Brighton Pier for a look around. By now it was cold and dark and pancakes were needed... (apparently!)
Our last pub to visit was at the marina. My idea of walking there was shot down (I confess I didn't fight for the idea to hard) so it was back to the car. Weather report - still raining, but not as hard!

© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.

The Cliftonville Inn - Hove

Visited 13th December 2009.

Roadtrip! OK... so it's raining as usual but this doesn't dampen our spirits (as always, all puns intended) and we set off for Brighton. One uneventful trip later and we are in Hove looking for somewhere to park. A short walk in the rain and we are eventually sitting in the corner of the Cliftonville quietly steaming and drying out. The girls had coffee whilst the boys sampled the two Christmas beer offerings. We didn't stay long as we were eager to get into Brighton proper as the girls had Christmas shopping on their minds. Fortunately the rain stopped just long enough to have our photos taken with some locals, then back to the car and off to Brighton...

© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.

The Tyburn - London, Marble Arch

Visited 2nd December 2009.

Work sends me to London once again, so where to this time? I decide to do a little more sight seeing and visit Marble Arch and what do you know, there's a Wetherspoon just around the corner. By the time I get there I am drenched! It's raining... a lot. I discover that it is difficult to persuade total strangers to stand in the rain and take my photo so after some contortion work I manage to photograph myself and the pub. And did I mention it's still raining...
Inside it's bright and warm and dry - just what I need. The food I order arrives quickly and surprisingly looks like the menu photograph. I say surprisingly because in my experience the food on the plate rarely looks like the food in the photo. I'm including all restaurants and pubs here and not just Wetherspoons. So all in all a very pleasant visit. Did I mention the rain?

© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.