going local: seaside love in eastbourne

Eastbourne

English seaside towns. It’s all about the pretty victorian houses by the coast, the boardwalk, beach huts – and of course the traditional pier. Enjoying fish and chips on the (likely pebble) beach, an ice cream, tea if it’s cold – or maybe a cider in a beach bar if it’s hot.

Beach huts in Eastbourne

I haven’t been to that many English coastal towns yet, so I was looking forward to visiting Eastbourne in East Sussex coastline on the south of England. It’s actually a rather large place and a popular seaside resort area close to Brighton. Eastbourne is some two hour drive from London and also easily accessed via train also.

Eastbourne

The timing of our visit wasn’t an accident either – we went there to watch some energizing women’s pro tennis in the warm up for Wimbledon – and we weren’t disappointed: the weather was even tad too roasting and sunny when you’re sitting in direct sunshine for hours – until we left the courts for the town visit: that’s when the clouds rolled in, wind geared up and even some rain started drizzling down!

Eastbourne

Eastbourne is such a pretty town with well taken care of Victorian houses lining the roads leading to the seashore. The wide beach promenade is flanked by beautiful flowers and shrubs on one side and the pebbled beach on the other. There are some traditional beach huts on the way leading to the old pier, which is beautifully restored.

Eastbourne beach

The beach really is the key reason for people to flock this town – although the beach itself isn’t sandy, but typical English pebble beach (with seashells for the little ones to search for), and the beautifully turquoise water isn’t as warm as the Mediterranean, lots of people still love plunging in and enjoying the salty sea breeze and lack of big city hassle and noise level…

Eastbourne beach

Are you ready to try a little bit different beach day in a quaint English town by turquoise waters? If it hadn’t started raining we’d have stayed a little longer on the beach, but sadly had to retreat to indoors, which gave a good excuse to try the very traditional English meal: fish and chips. we had our au pair with us and she was quite to excited to try it and this fish and chip shop located on the pier was actually rather good, so worth trying!

Eastbourne beach

As England starts the holiday season after mid-July, the beach was empty in late June and just the perfect spot for a little relaxation and walking along the endless stretch of beach…

Pro tennis in Eastbourne
‘If you’re a tennis fan visit Eastbourne during the pre-Wimbledon tennis weeks for some great game!’


What are the places worth visiting in Eastbourne and around it? Besides just strolling around the town and admiring the pretty buildings of the Eastbourne College, churches and old houses there are lots of natural wonders and other landmarks to see?

The famous cliffs of Beachy Head of course, Belle Tout lighthouse and the Seven Sisters coastal park perfect for a little hike (run by National Trust) are a couple of miles away (see my old post here featuring Beachy Head here).

In the town itself there is a Napoleonic era fort and military museum and for the little ones a train that runs from end of the promenade to the other. There are also several beautiful castles, estates and gardens nearby.

For more idea take a look at the Visit Eastbourne -site. English Summer Adventures 2014

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