Brighton Mners - what to do?

[Amanda1]

A friend in Brighton is letting dd and I stay in a flat that he normally rents out as a holiday flat. This is great for us as we weren't going anywhere this summer. We're only staying for 3 nights/4 days in mid-July. What are things we should make sure we see and do? DD is 6. We will be driving down so will have a car with us.

No idea where the flat is yet as not heard back from my friend but presumably if he lets it for holidays it must be central. I'm sure he'll have ideas of where to go, obviously, but he doesn't have any children so probably not the best to ask for kid friendly things!

defo arrange to meet the brighton mumsnet lot with their kids. i don't do kids but might pop in to say hello depending on time etc.

theres a sea life centre, the pier has a fairground thingy at the end of it. hastings is only about 25 miles away and has castles and 1066y things to the west of brighton is a town called arundel which is very beautiful, it has a cathedral and a castle and a v. small museum and they give quiz sheets out to kids.
of course you have the brighton pavillion and there is a museum there too.

theres always the theatre - but i dont know whats on at the mo.

you must visit the lanes in brighton for shopping.

i dont know where you live at the mo - but you can get a train from brighton to victoria in an hour and a half and "do" london too.

theres always something going on on the beach at brighton when its summer - trampoliny type things and stuff

hope this helps

If you want to see a bit of the surrounding countryside you can go up to Devil's Dyke on the open-topped bus. It runs on sat, sun and public holidays and you can catch it by the pier. Of course you can go in the car but kids just love the bus with the wind blowing through their hair!

There's a paddling pool and play area with sand and climbing frames on the seafront between the piers which is free. My dd loves the pier but the rides are expensive so we don't go there too often! We like the Lido at Saltdean (just go straight along the coastroad eastwards, you can't miss it, big art deco building in a dip on your left) for a more relaxing atmosphere on a hot day.

You could go to Drusillas zoological park at Alfriston but plan to get there early enough to spend the whole day to get the most out of it.
Paradise park at Newhaven is quite good if the weather is a bit iffy because there is a play area and dinosaur trail inside as well as landscaped gardens/play areas/crazy golf etc outside. There's also a little train that goes round the grounds, garden centre etc.

Agree Arundel is lovely and well worth a visit but if you don't want to go too far afield there will be plenty going on in Brighton to keep you busy I'm sure!

We're driving down from Leeds. Staying with a friend in London before driving to Brighton on the Saturday where we'll be until the Tuesday.

Thanks for all the suggestions! DD loves the lido in Ilkley so if there is one there we'll have to try and do that if the weather is decent. I've only been to Brighton once before and it was hideously windy and rainy the entire time. You'd have thought it was winter but it was, in fact, May! I'm hoping there is some decent weather ... please let there be!

don't forget the parks. queens park is really nice.

If the weather is nice the beach is mobbed with people from London; head out of town a bit to Rottingdean (just past the Marina) and the beach is much nicer. It's a great place for rockpooling. On a rainy day Brighton Muscum (by the Pavilion) is free and worth a visit. Going out of town on the A27 towards Lewes you will find Stanmer Park on the left - no play equipment as such but lots of lovely open space, woods to walk in and trees to climb. It's a brilliant place for a picnic. The Regency restaurant on the seafront is very child friendly and does great seafood. There are also lots of pizza and pasta places - most Brighton people with kids are well acqainted with Pinocchio (near the Theatre Royal) and Donatello (in the Laines). Extremely child friendly and good value, even if it isn't the most amazing Italian food in town. There are lots of great county pubs serving nice food with big gardens a bit out of town - like the Royal Oak at Poynings. Oh, I nearly forgot the Lavander Line at Isfield is sweet if your DD likes trains (not as big or expensive as the Bluebell Railway) and the Laughing Fish pub (good food, nice garden) is just next door. Have fun!

Thanks for all the suggestions. The flat we're staying in is very central (off St James' Street or something like that) and only a minute walk to the beach etc. I told dd this morning that we were going and she was very excited! Seems like we have lots of options for things to do! I'm so excited, you'd think we were going away for a long holiday but it'll be nice just to be me and dd.

That's a great place to stay. The beach that end of town is also much quieter than the stretch to the West of the pier, and there is a really nice playground by the beach if you walk away from town towards the Marina. There is also a supermarket on St. James Street and plenty of places to get nice food for a picnic. It is also close to Queen's Park (the park 2shoes mentioned) which is one of the nicest in town. There is a cafe there which sells yummy homemade cakes. I'm sure you will have a great time.

also for rainy days (or to get out of the sun if too much)
Hove museum has a toy gallery with a sleeping wizard in a hammock - it's on New Church Road, 10 mins drive or bus from your flat;
Brighton Toy museum is close to Brighton Station;
All the museums have regular childrens' activities, see \link{http://www.virtualmuseum.info/\museums}
Also try Lewes (small town about 8 miles away) - Anne of Cleves House does princessy costume things, there is a ruined castle, and good places to eat.

plenty of farms around, Middle Farm is inexpensive (off A27 near Firle).

Try to pick up a free copy of ABC magazine, loads of ideas for childrens' activities.

Just double checked the link he sent me and it's St James Street and Steine Street. Looks central on the map and sounds like it is a good spot!

DD is very excited so I hope we at least get some decent weather when we're there! Also planning a stop at Legoland on our way back on the Monday so hope dd is impressed with that, too!

It is a good spot, within easy walking distance of all the touristy bits. Hope you all have a great time .

ooh you are staying in a great location, i used to live v close to there in Sussex Sq. ST James St is in Kemp Town and you can walk from there right into town. Kemp Town has some nice cafes, and places to eat. There's a lovely Thai place just on the corner of upper rock gardens (i think) its called Sawadee and its yum. Also a lovely pub called the Barley Mow, which i miss terribly and they do a fab SUnday Roast and have a little garden where you can sit out the back (so kids dont have to be in the pub).

As someone has already mentioned, Stanmer Park is lovely gorgeous place v green. There is a lovely little cafe if you walk right into the back of the park, they do lovely homemade cakes. You also have Preston Park which is nr London Road and again that is nice during the summer, huge open space v green.

ABout 20 or so miles out of Brighton there is Wakehurst Place, which is really nice. Botanical Gardens.

Try and have a look at The Brighton Dome's website as the always have summer work shops going on for kids, theatre, dance events etc.

Lewes is great, lovely place to visit, and if you do go make sure you go to Bills Cafe, as they make the most delicious food!!!!

And then there's the obvious; The Pier, marina, pavillion, lanes, oh and the lagoon towards hove, there are a couple of mini golf areas along the beach nr volks railway which always keep the kids entertained for an hour or so.

HAve a fab time!

With all these great things to do I wish we were going for longer than 4 days! Next summer!