With Valentine’s Day around the corner, planning a trip to Brighton – the spiritual home of the dirty weekend – might be a huge cliche in itself at this time of year. It doesn’t mean you have to do the same old cliched Valentine’s Day expressions of love as everyone else, like: winning a giant teddy on the Palace Pier, going for cocktails, getting a tattoo of your partner’s name, or taking a sunset selfie on the bandstand. Nope. Here at Ellie & Co, we try to come up with more imaginative ideas for you than those.
Not-Touristy Romantic things to do in Brighton
If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know by now I like to escape the crowds and find twists on the classic adventures. So I thought this might be a good opportunity to suggest a few alternative romance-related things to do in Brighton if you’re struggling to think outside the box. It goes without saying you can do them whenever you like, and whether you’re a life-long local or visiting for a day or weekend.
1 Wander to the Palace Pier at dusk to watch the murmuration. I’m often heard saying: “I would rather be punched in the face that go on Brighton Pier”. This is still true. I would rather be punched in the face than go on the pier, mostly only on a scorching summer weekend when it gets seriously crowded. For now, I’ve found a more peaceful and interesting way to enjoy it, which also makes a romantic winter experience. Stroll arm-in-arm to the Palace Pier at dusk between November and March to watch the city’s starling population perform their murmuration dance overhead. It goes on for about an hour and is magical. PS I am no nature photographer, so please excuse
2 Eat a platter of aphrodisiacs: oysters by the sea. A bad oyster can do some rather unsexy things to your tummy so here are my two fool-proof recommendations for oysters in Brighton. Riddle and Finns (pictured above), serves up five-star seafood platters in a ridiculously romantic candle lit restaurant, set along a ridiculously cute cobbled street (Meeting House Lane) on the fringe of The Lanes shopping area filled with adorable jewellery shops in historic buildings. They also have another restaurant on the seafront in an old Victorian shelter hall (65 King’s Road).
Less classic but on the trendier side of things is The Salt Room, a seafood only, modern place on the ground floor of the Metropole Hotel on the seafront.
3 Have the city to yourself on a walk around the city’s side streets. What could be more romantic than walking arm in arm around Brighton’s most beautiful neighbourhoods, without a care in the world, taking your seaside visit in its stride, seeing what you come across? Here are some places in Brighton to explore on a walk, and an idea for a romantic walk.
4 Hire a tandem and explore the city’s secret sights! Here’s a very nifty idea for a special day (or night) out in Brighton I haven’t done yet, but now I’ve thought of it, I want to do it immediately. Get your partner to hire a tandem from Brighton Beach Bikes, pick you up from your hotel/apartment/home and take you on a little cycling tour of Brighton, around the city’s secret sights no less. Just a thought. Could be extra fun if neither of you have ridden a tandem together before, either!
5 Book a wine and cheese tasting class. Ten Green Bottles is cool little wine bar in town not far from the Library on Jubilee Square, which hosts intimate two-hour classes where you get to taste cheeses, drink wine, learn cheese-related facts and leave full and happy. What’s not to like?
6 Go houseboat hunting on the river: Shoreham. I love cycling from Brighton to snoop at the houseboats on the banks of the River Adur in the town of Shoreham-by-Sea. There are around 50 in the collection – including this one you can stay in. You’ll find them hidden along a towpath called Riverbank at the south end of a footbridge linking it with Shoreham’s charming old town. It’s fun to walk along and notice all the random details spilling out from the boats, and if you’re local or visit Shoreham often, to watch the boats transform over time. No two boats are the same!
7 Celebrate with a luxurious hot chocolate drink. I recently discovered a café near the seafront called Knoops (named after the German founder, Jens Knoops). It’s new and specialises in luxurious hot chocolate drinks, made to order. First, you pick a chocolate – there are 22 types! – your choice of milk, and any extras, like spices, herbs or marshmallows. Et voila! You get a delicious, creamy and divine hot chocolate drink, exactly to your liking. Side point: So far, I’ve tried the 54% milk chocolate with orange, or the 74% with thyme, rosemary and salt, and both are incredible. Find Knoops at 42 Market Street, Brighton BN1 1HH, open daily until 8pm.
8 Stroll arm-in-arm around Brighton’s cosiest pubs. Forget going for cliched cocktails on Valentine’s Day. Instead, plan a fun little pub crawl for two around some of the most cosy and traditional in Brighton. My guide to Brighton’s cosiest pubs includes favourites I’ve been back to time and again, some just for drinking in, others that do food as well. My only advice? Be sure to set off with a lined stomach and pace yourself… Bottoms up!
9 Discover the secret waterfall of Brighton. It always surprises me that out of the thousands of visitors come to enjoy the nearby Preston Park every year, very few know about the rock garden opposite or its mysterious waterfall hidden within. The rock gardens are a delight to explore, filled with winding narrow paths, little nook around each corner, benches hidden in the trees… Don’t forget to stop to take in the view across to Preston Park from the top. Bonus tip: If you’re feeling peckish, noteworthy nearby eateries include Café Rust, Pizza 500, Preston Park Tavern and Bardsley’s fish and chip shop.
10 Hop around the city’s lesser-known galleries. Put on a fancy dress, some trainers, and hop around the small, independent galleries of Brighton. Ones to check out are Phoenix Art Gallery, Fabrica, Onca, Cameron Contemporary, to name a few. The websites Art Rabbit and Visit Brighton list what exhibits are on when.
11 Walk on a hidden beach near Brighton, maybe have a winter picnic? Last summer, out of sheer curiosity I went on a scouting mission to find alternative places for a cooling dip near the city. I found quite a few which you can read about here. Each one unique, and a great location for a walk and picnic in all seasons.
12 Sip tea in a secret miniature tea room. Tucked up a side street close to the Kemptown seafront is this secret miniature tea room, called Leman. In fact, with just three tables it could be Brighton’s – if not the world’s – smallest tea room. Who knew? Every time I’ve been here, I’ve had the place all to myself. This makes it the perfect spot to ponder your day, recharge your batteries, do some people watching, in peace and quiet. Find Leman on
13 Curl up in the vintage cinema. One of my favourite things to do on a free afternoon, is take myself off on a date to this vintage cinema, the Duke of York’s at Preston Circus. You can also drink coffee or wine while you watch! There’s also a little balcony upstairs which has sofa seats.
14 Sweat it out at the outdoor Finnish-style sauna. I honestly don’t know what could be more romantic than a session at the outdoor sauna, whatever the weather, particularly in the rain! With its secluded setting and a distant view of the Palace Pier, this traditional Finnish sauna experience is like walking into another world. You’ll find it tucked along Madeira Drive towards Kemptown (not far from this unusual discovery), past the old and crumbling Madeira Terraces and the mysterious enclosure filled with sculptures made of flint (see here). As well as the saunas and plunge pools, you can also enjoy various natural body treatments, try leaf whisking – a treatment which involves hitting yourself lightly with birch and oak twigs – ‘whisks’ – to promote better circulation, or take a dip in the sea.
15 Book in a night at a jazz bar. On Sunday nights, the Hand in Hand pub in Kemptown – also home to the country’s smallest brewery – is where you need to go hear some cool live jazz, amid a cosy and eccentric pub décor. Other options include the basement bar inside The Verdict, another Kemptown spot; The Brunswick or The Paris House both in Hove.
16 Take a sunset yacht cruise with wine! Feel the crisp wind on your face while sailing on the sea just off Brighton in a yacht. The captain passes out wool blankets and serves wine and you can bring snacks, if you’d like. (Think: lobster rolls from the Brighton Shellfish Company.) You sail right along the coast of Brighton past the i360 – such a fun way to see the city and gaze at it while the sun dips away.
17 Say until death us do part at Brighton’s city of the dead. Sending you to a cemetery in search of romance is probably going to sound a little odd, but then again, this is Brighton. Woodvale Cemetery is Brighton’s answer to Père Lachaise in Paris, and is like a miniature city of its own; home to a lovely walk around a magical Victorian burial ground. Strolling hand in hand with your other half, I guarantee you’ll start, rather bizarrely, hoping that one day you can be buried here with the love of your life. Bonus tip: While you’re in the area, pay a visit to Brighton’s hidden Mexican street food stall hidden in the residential area of Hollingdean near Fiveways, inside an artists’ Studios.
18 Head for the hills, go village hopping around Sussex! Pack a flask of something, some sandwiches, maybe even some chocolate cake and go village hopping around some of Sussex’s tiny hidden villages, alternatives to the better known ones like Ditchling, Petworth and Alfriston, which are nice but get busy. These are the villages I like to visit time and again, maybe on a refreshing country walk, or passing through on a drive. This part of England is packed with pretty villages and they make a great escape from Brighton and London, if you want to get some fresh countryside air. From East and West Sussex to the South Downs and Sussex coast.
19 Check into this charming seafront hotel. And never leave. I often get asked by readers planning a trip to Brighton to recommend a charming, cool, cosy unique and inexpensive hotel. So, while I finish working on an Ellie & Co Hotel Guide (coming soon) – here’s a great place I love directing people to and highly recommend having had a mini staycation here once myself. The Artist Residence is the perfect small boutique hotel with a stylish bohemian cosy atmosphere. Decor-wise, there’s lots of exposed brickwork, original wooden floors, vintage bits, kilim cushions and rugs, local art, and lots of comfy slouchy armchairs. There are plenty of luxuries, too, like amazing rainfall showers and roll-top baths. It feels like you’re in a rich bohemian artist’s home – and is basically the kind of hotel you’d want to move into – from just £85 a night including breakfast.
20 Go wine tasting in a lesser-known vineyard close to the city. Sussex is the home of English wine and there are countless vineyards and wineries nearby to visit. For something memorable and more authentic, you want to find one of the smaller, family-run boutique wineries. That way you get to enjoy it in a smaller group, and the owner will talk you through their wines, rather than someone hired in for the day. See my guide to little-known Sussex wineries near Brighton, here.
Thanks for reading.
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