Archive for the ‘Brighton For Families’ Category

As well as the family meal to prepare, there’s also the works Christmas doo to organise and drinks with friends to sort out.

So, unless you fancy plucking up the courage we’d suggest you book a Xmas lunch in Brighton with one of these beauties and save yourselves the hassle. And look out for our Xmas and New Year hotel breaks if you want to make a holiday of it!

Book soon for Xmas lunch in Brighton Image: Flickr/ Fimb

We’ve looked around at what’s on offer this Xmas in Brighton, and here’s a selection of deals and dishes of delight.

Should be a nice mix of price and palate here – and plenty of vege dishes, too!

Use the links to the restaurants to find out more detail, availability etc.

Nom, nom,nom…

Fiddlers Elbow

There’s a menu for £17.95 and a Buffet for £12.00pp

Includes starter, main and desert. There’s a tasty looking vege option as well as turkey breast or venison and game pie. And the pub recently won the Crabbie’s Pub Tour Competition.

Terreaterre

Christmas Party menu for £25 and Seasonal Sizzler from £28.95

Multi-award winning vege and vegan fayre. South Lanes location with main course choices that include ‘mistle potato rosti’ and ‘Jerusalem artichoke’ – Jesus!

The Devil’s Dyke

Christmas Day Menu £45

Traditional fireside feast with a Sussex Downs view. Expect choice of all the beasts of the forests: pork belly, roasted turkey or salmon fillet should filla your belly.

Alfresco

From £14.95 to £24.50

Saltimbocca of turkey breast (whatever that is) mushroom leak and truffle tartlet of dill, infused salmon fillet and homemade ice cream and a very reasonable price. Much munch and very special location.

Al Duomo

From £9.95 to £21.95

No need to book ahead, just roll up and they’ll sort you out! Salmon, chicken, turkey and some steak for a small charge – atmosphere comes free!

If you haven’t noticed yet, Brighton’s got an eye. It’s not the most original design and hardly a new idea. But still, at night, with the pier behind, it’s a looker… and one of a few new things to do in Brighton this winter. And it’s not an eye, as in London Eye – but that’s because it’s a wheel…er?

Nice shot! -Image Flickr/Sarah Whitherby

And we’ve yet to see a good picture of it – I mean really good. So before every café in Brighton gets slapped with images of our new seafront attraction, let’s see if we can’t get a few of our own.

Only original shots please: lets have lots of documentary stuff, twisted angles, long-time exposures and demonstrations of the general creativity that we are known so well for.

Other very festive activities include the Royal Pavilion’s Christmas Ice Rink, the traditional Christmas Winter Market in Churchill Square, and the fabulous CINECITY – Brighton Film Festival that runs up until Dec 4th.

And don’t forget to get us your pictures of the i-whatever it’s called onto our Facebook page – we’ve also got deals on rooms over Xmas and New Year in Brighton, but they are fast disappearing…

Christmas is coming! It may be only the beginning of November, but it’s already time to get planning your xmas weekends in Brighton – and a closer look at the What’s on pages reveals the celebs are lining up to entertain you…

Saturdays - playing Tuesday 6/12 in Brighton

People always love Brighton in the summer – hardly surprising – but they often overlook the town as a destination to spend a Christmas weekend. And the week between Xmas and New Year is the perfect time to pick up a deal on a B&B in Brighton. Why, because while everyone else is snoozing off the food and putting up with the in-laws and screaming kids – the clever people get away from it all, get themselves off to the seafront and pick up Christmas & New Year hotel offers.

Attractions in Brighton are year-round and the entertainment venues have some of the best acts on over the Xmas hols.

Here’s a quick ‘what’s on’ this Xmas in Brighton at the Brighton Centre – and let’s play spot the international superstars…

Brighton Centre

The Saturdays, Bryan Adams, Status Quo, Jools Holland, Steven Merchant, Example

And in January ‘One Direction’ are in town – much teen screaming!

Yes, we’ve just spotted there are loads more activities on during this half term week in Brighton. Possibly the most interesting is running at Churchill Square shopping centre where they have set up an ice rink.

It’s not a real ice rink, but still plenty of fun for all the family if you are visiting Brighton during half term.

It’s £6 per 20-minute session and it’s all part of publicity for the latest production by the Holiday on Ice people who are launching ‘Tropicana’ in January next year.

The rink is an ‘off-ice’ rink – so there’s no skates and not even any ice! Opened by dancers from the show, the rink is ready for fun all week.

Cold but cool - Image Flickr/Leonski

Fans of the real ice-skating enjoying Christmas and New Year in Brighton can bring their own skates when they book into their Brighton BnB from November 12. The Royal Pavilion will again play host to an ice rink and restaurant all the way up till January 22.

With excellent food and a fantastic location, the winter ice-skating will be another must-do activity on family weekends in Brighton well into the New Year.

More details emerging about the Gastro delights known only as ‘Feast’ have appeared on the Peppermintbars Blog -not often we big up another Brighton blog, but we liked reading this one.

Tickets for the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink, please visit: www.ticketmaster.co.uk

More ways to enjoy half term in Brighton

After such a stunning summer, many more people look set to return and book in for their Xmas in Brighton. Not only is the town set for a bumper Xmas but also New Year’s celebrations in Brighton are again going to get crazy.

Xmas in Brighton

With so much interest we’ve already come up with some great discounts for dates between Christmas and New Year.

Christmas holiday breaks can be had from Dec 27th – 29th at a fantastic 25% discount.

There’s many more  Xmas and New Year offers available. You can get a free night when you book a four-night New Years holiday in Brighton – and there’s the much-loved free late checkout, giving you till 1pm to shake off the night before.

Look out for 16% off bookings of two nights and 21% off bookings of 3 nights and more.

There’ll be the usually office parties, get-together’s and family reunions. And, try as you might to ignore Christmas , its spirit has a way of creeping up on you. So, good luck to you if you’ve had enough of it for one year and plan to lock yourself in with a crate of beer and a mountain of movies – but we’ll still see you out celebrating when it comes to the big day.

Party on!

So, what’s happening over the festive period? Well, keep in touch and watch out for our Facebook posts – we’ll get together everything that’s festive and fun so you’ll know what’s in store when you visit our Brighton B&B.

It’s only 80 days till Christmas! Unbelievable – and we were swimming in the sea yesterday, in October!

As the summer has decided to grant us one more flourish, it could be the last time for us mere mortals to grab a weekend in Brighton and take to the water before the warmth leaves our Sussex skies.

Here’s 5 watersports offered in Brighton.

Swimming

Easy! Provided you can swim. Temperatures are pushing well into the 20s so it’s a great chance to get in one more dip. Here’s a Brighton beach guide and here some obvious advice to follow from the RNLI but generally you’re fine just leisure swimming off most parts of Brighton beach.

Boat trips

Visiting with the family? Take them to the marina and look up the boat trips. There’s no better way to watch the sunset than from a boat.

SUP for hire in Brighton. Image: Flickr/dcysurfer

Canoeing, Kayaking and Oddboarding

There’s a school/surf shop worth investigating if you’re after an active family weekend in Brighton. Take a look at the range of things to do at Brighton Watersports - if you’re wondering what the deal is with standing up on a surfboard, it’s actually Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) and the school does 2-hr lessons for £30.

Dingy sailing

Get yourself to Lagoon Watersports if you want to learn how to sail. In fact, it has courses in just about everything and beginners get to practice on the calm waters of Hove lagoon.

Jet ski

Fancy hitting the water with a little more power than that fond in the wind? Hire a jetski at Sussex Marine Watersports down the coast in Southwick. They’ll even escort you out to sea so you can get the hang of it.

Current special offers at Hove Lagoon include 50% off some courses

Now the full heat of the summer has past, a weekend in Brighton is a time when you can be a little more active. So, instead of just lolling on the beach or shopping, use the city as a base for day trips in Brighton and get exploring.

Devil's Dyke: Popular for walking in Brighton

The South Downs Society has organised a week of walks and strolls across the South Downs – the UK’s newest national park.

There’s fifteen different routes marked out, with plenty on offer for tourists after family weekends in Brighton as well as for more enthusiastic wanderers.

There’s no cost involved and you’ll be getting access to some of the finest countryside and attractions.

The shortest walk is just 4.5 miles, the longest 14 miles. This weekend, there are two longer routes to explore, both easily accessible from Brighton.

On Saturday, walkers will start from Billingshurst Station and enjoy 11.5 miles of Sussex tracks and trails – with a pub stop in Wisborough Green. Those fancying a little more strenuous endeavours should opt for the final route of the week, from Bosham Station via Devil’s Humps for a picnic stop, before walking on to West Ashling.

Visiting Brighton you’ll find walks all week, and for more information check the South Downs Society website.

Budget weekends in Brighton don’t come much cheaper than this, all walks are free – just remember to bring the must-have fashion accessory of any late British summer: the waterproof!

The dawn walkers you see wandering the seafront on weekends in Brighton aren’t zombies, they’re just clubbers who couldn’t get enough! Still, there are some places in Brighton where the dead can be found… And if you know the right man, you can walk in their footsteps.

Rob Marks keeps strange company. And creepy tales unfold as he takes people on a ghost walk of the Lanes , and through the dark history of the city. He explains more:

Walking with Brighton's ghosts. Image: Flickr/Louwuselchen

The Brighton Ghost Walk is very popular, but when did you start your wanderings?

I began my wandering around the Lanes three years ago. I had carried out extensive research into the many alleged hauntings in the area and scripted the show three years before.

The walk’s for all ages, but are there some tales you have to leave untold?

The walk is essentially light-hearted fun and I tend to juxtapose the dramatic intensity of the stories with comic respite. I carry a Gladstone bag filled with props relating to my tales; some mildly gruesome. However, the kids love it and I always make a special point of bonding with them throughout the walk.  I made a point of choosing tales that were suitable for all age-ranges so there are none that I would leave untold. There are occasions when I have simplified the language for younger groups and left out any risqué jokes.

Ever been really spooked yourself?

I’ve been doing this for a long time in Brighton and York. One thing I’m pretty sure of is that ghosts can’t harm you. Nevertheless, I did once feel a tad spooked when visiting an old empty, part derelict house that I was later told was haunted.

Most weekends in Brighton are peaceful affairs, so why walk with its ghosts?

Weekends in Brighton are also fun affairs and the ghost walk is all about having fun.

What’s the town’s most haunted spot?

The original fishing quarter, now know of as the Lanes, is unquestionably the most haunted part of the city. There is hardly a street or lane that does not have a spectral connection.

If you came back to haunt the town, where would you hang out?

New Road, opposite the Pavilion Gardens. It’s a delightful spot to sit and while away an hour of two over coffee and watch the world go by.

Take a look at Rob’s video on the Ambassador Facebook page.

Bringing your family to the coast this weekend? We’ve family rooms in Brighton.

For food fans there’s nothing better: a whole month of food-related events. Yes, it’s the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival! And it’s on for all of the weekends in Brighton this September.

Munch fest

And if you thought it was just about filling your boots and filling your bellies, you’d be wrong: there’s also cheese rolling…

Other highlights include a session with Antonio Carluccio as he serves up some of his favourite dishes of the last 50 years.

And for those of you who just can’t have a night out without a cocktail, there’s the finals of the ‘Mix Off Cocktail Competition.’

So expect stalls and delights aplenty as once again the city gets its gastro on. Weekends in Brighton have never looked so tasty – there’s always great food and drink in Brighton, so all we need is the weather, and if the current spate of sunshine is anything to go by, we’ll be tucking into those cocktails for a few weeks yet!

More information on the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival

It’s happening, after all the fuss and fannying, Pride is happening and it’s on this weekend in Brighton, woop!

Ok, it’s ticketed where before it was free, but there’s some justification when you look at the line-up: Joe McElderry, 80s pop icon Sonia and BootyLuv will all be shaking their booties.

As before, it’s all going on in Preston Park, after the Pride Parade, which leaves Madeira Drive at 11am. Once the crowds have been whipped into a frenzy, the boys have squeezed into their Lycra and the queens have perfected their intricacies (probably with a little bit of masking tape) the party gets underway.

The main park event promises much – remember, you need tickets for Pride so don’t just follow the crowd as you did previously.

There’s a community village (for everyone); a BME tent (Black and Minority Ethnic – of course still for everyone); a cabaret tent (for the drama ones); and of course there’s the ‘Bears’ tent (for the hairy ones).

As well as the Live stage, you’ve the Go.Go Festival/Zhoosh Women’s Tent (helped along with Brighton and Hove’s very own LGBT social network ZhooshBrighton.

The Gay Men’s Chorus make an appearance mid-afternoon before the gloves come off and things ramp up in the early evening.

All the fun and a fair!

And there’s the usual heart-worrying fairground rides – I’d go just for that amazing old-time chair ride (see pic) as it beats even the fastest TurboMegabooster!

More information on Pride in Brighton & Hove

Last minute accommodation in Brighton