A wet and wild weekend in Brighton

Following on from Lauren, we've got another guest blogger today.

Justin from Adventure Connections is here to give you his inspirational thoughts on how to have a wet and wild weekend in Brighton. Over to you Justin!

'A town that is synonymous with fun, Brighton has something for everyone, and if it’s Water Sports that interest you, then Brighton really does have it all.

Did you know that Brighton has the largest Marina in Europe? I work for Adventure Connections and we offer a whole range of fantastic Water Sports activities from the ‘Never-tried - it - but -would-like-to-have-a-go’ brigade right up to the experienced. There are a number of superb off-the-shelf packages to be had or if you really want to push the boat out (!) you can opt for a tailor-made experience that really doesn’t cost as much as you would think.

The Ultimate Brighton Wet Weekend is legend and could include Dingy Sailing, Windsurfing, and even a corporate mega water sports challenge, additionally we can offer a plethora of other options such as Yacht Sailing and Power Boat Weekends or even Dufour Luxury Yacht Weekends if you want to relax on a gorgeous yacht.

And of course, if you just want pure indulgence and a millionaire’s lifestyle for 48 hours then there’s always the fantastic Luxury Motor Boat Weekends. Just sit back and watch the sunset as you cruise towards the horizon.

Brighton has it all and being a Brighton based organisation we know who to call and we love to talk.'

Thanks Justin - have to say, I'm rather tempted by the pure indulgence of a millionaire’s lifestyle myself!

So now that's the sun's out, if any of these ideas takes your fancy, you can speak to Justin on 01273 858206 for further info and more ideas on adrenaline filled activities in Brighton and Hove.

Sarah
VisitBrighton

VisitBrighton's special guest

Today we have a visitor in the office who has kindly volunteered (or rather has had her arm twisted) to help out with today's blog post. Lauren is with the VisitBrighton team this week in order to gain some work experience. So far she has had the excitement of joining the manager's on an away day from the office in the glamour hotspot of Portslade.

On Monday Lauren joined the frontline staff of the Visitor Information Centre and got a taste of the weird and wonderful people who drop by. There was plenty of leaflet stacking and giving people directions to The Lanes and the toilets, all very important stuff! Today she has joined us in the Marketing team where apart from getting her to help out with the blog we will also be getting her to put together an itineray for us, at this rate I'll be able to take the rest of the week off :)

John was very excited to discover that Lauren is a fellow Hovite (is that the right term?) so I'll hand over to Lauren to give you her top tips of things to do in Hove:

• Visit one of the parks including Hove Park with a mini railway track and St Ann's Well Gardens with a scented garden.
• Hove Lagoon has lots of watersports activities and a skate park as well as a new vegan cafe owned by Heather Mills
• Shops and cafes along George Street for those who need a spot of retail therapy.
• Hove Museum & Art Gallery charts the pivotal role Hove played in the birth of cinema as well as having a Wizard toy's attic to keep the kids amused.

Tomorrow Lauren will leave us to join the conference team which couldn't possibly be as exciting as Marketing so it's downhill from here I'm afriad :)

Charlotte and Lauren

Thinking positively

When I came back from lunch today I was hit by pangs of guilt as I've left poor Sarah to keep you up to date on all things Brighton this week on both our blog and twitter pages so I thought it was about time I wrote something again.

But then I started to get increasingly grumpy as I was feeling uninspired and then to make matters worse there was a fly continually buzzing around by desk, a somewhat lethargic fly at that although not quite moving slowly enough for me to catch him. So I decided to have a look around on the internet for inspiration and then read these two tweets by Sarah:

• students rank Sussex Uni as 1 of best places to enjoy 'city life' in the UK
  
• by using 'O + (N xS) + Cpm/T + He' an academic worked out the June 20th is the happiest day of the year! wot makes u happy in Brighton?

Which made me feel a bit bad as there is a lot to be positive about rather then getting cross at a fly, although he is still here so I could do with Barack Obamba popping up and squashing it for me! Anyway Sarah's tweets did make me think that I am lucky living here and we do have a habit of taking it for granted. I recently visited a friend of mine who lives further north and she was complaining how small minded a lot of the people were and the fact that there was very little to do, which reminded me how fortunate we are here that the majority of people are liberal and open-minded and that there is always something happening.

Therefore to answer Sarah's question, what makes me happy is the people of Brighton and the general easy-going friendly atmosphere and even that fly seems to have disappeared now and it's almost time to clock off and start the weekend :) And who could be grumpy on sunny days like this:



So when the everyday annoyances of life start getting to you what cheers you up?

Charlotte

Win a foto on foot course in Brighton

Like photography, but feel a bit rusty?

Brighton is a photographer's dream, so we've teamed up with Brighton Fotos on Foot to offer 2 lucky people a half day photographic tour of Brighton.

A great way to improve your camera skills, whilst exploring the stunning surroundings of the Royal Pavilion gardens, the iconic Brighton Pier or bohemian North Laines, you'll pick up tips on composition and lighting from a local professional photographer and qualified tutor Laura Dodson.

For a chance to win, simply tell us what you think of VisitBrighton via our simple web questionnaire.

Find out more about Fotos on Foot.

Brighton World Naked Bike Ride 2009

Ever fancied the idea of seaside bike ride - naked?!

Or howabout a lunch in the buff or maybe a naturist beach picnic? Well, at the Brighton World Naked Bike Ride on Sunday 14th June 2009 you can.

A celebration of bodies everywhere, an amazing 400 riders took part in 2008, 180 in 2007, 160 in 2006, and even more are expected to pedal off nude in 2009.

A celebration of the bicycle and human body
A peaceful, imaginative and fun protest against oil dependency and car culture, the bike ride celebrates the bicycle and power and individuality of the human body.

The event forms the finale to a weekend of southerm UK rides, including Southampton and London and also celebrates Brighton's status as a Cycling Demonstration Town (2009 is Brighton's Year of Walking & Cycling).

So whether you want to brave the buff or just spectate, the Brighton World Naked Bike Ride is guaranteed to raise a smile...

Sunday 14th June at the Level, Brighton

The Brighton Naked Bike Ride 2009 starts at 12pm on Sunday 14th June 2009 at The Level with lunch and a chance to decorate yourself and your bike.

The ride starts at 1.30pm and finishes at around 4pm at Black Rock naturist beach for a post-cycle picnic and swim in the sea.

Find out more on the World Naked Bike Ride website.

Anyone taken part or taking part this year? We'd love to hear your stories..

Sarah
VisitBrighton

Things to do in Brighton - my favourite place

VisitBrighton are encouraging locals and visitors to explore new places in Brighton and Hove this summer.

So to encourage everyone to get out and about we're looking for people's favourite places in the city.

Here are the first favourite places photos from our Flickr 'My Favourite Place in Brighton' Group.

Do you have a favourite place in Brighton?
And whilst you're there, why not add yours? You could win a Flip Video Camera!

www.flickr.com More in My Favourite Place in Brighton pool

Enjoy every minute

You may have seen that Enjoy England has launched a new campaign encouraging us all to Enjoy every minute. The basic concept behind it is that you don't need to go abroad to feel like you are going on holiday, in fact you can even turn your lunch break into a mini holiday.

I think it's a great idea as people so often take where they live for granted, having a look on the site I also really liked Helena Bonham-Carter's suggestion that you should book accommodation in your hometown and do all the 'touristy' things you don't normally get to do.

So we've had a bit of a brain storming session to come up with ideas of things to see and do in Brighton & Hove. The suggestions are either based on how much time you have - lunch break, evening, day, weekend, week or how much you want to spend - £0, £5, £50, £500, £1,000.

In fact I was so inspired by the campaign (and the weather) that I decided to take a walk along the beachfront from Brighton Pier to the Peace Statue during my lunch break today. Although I did end up feeling envious of all the people sat having a drink in the sunshine but it was still good and did indeed feel like I was on holiday.

Other ideas of things to do on your lunch break include:

• Visit Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
• Download and listen to a podcast
• Go shopping in The Lanes and North Laine
• Go to a lunchtime concert or lecture
• Have a picnic in the park
• Ride on the Volks Railway
• Do the Dolphin Derby
  

What do you do on your lunch break? Have you got any more unusual suggestions? Don't forget it's not just lunch breaks so do you have any other 'Enjoy every minute' suggestions? Let us know what you think either by leaving a comment here, tweeting us or you can e-mail tourism.marketing@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Thank you, Charlotte