Following our walk from Brighton pier to Marine Parade we planned to return to the pier on the Volks Electric Railway, however accessing the station proved problematic. All walkways to the station platform were blocked off due to regeneration of the area. Rather than walk a very long way round we decided to follow the example of a local jogger and scramble down a grassy bank.

From Wiki:

Volk’s Electric Railway (VER) is a narrow gauge heritage railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton. It was built by Magnus Volk, the first section being completed in August 1883, and is the oldest operational electric railway in the world, though it was not the first electric railway to be built. It was preceded by electrification of Miller’s line in 1875, Werner von Siemens‘ 1879 demonstration line in Berlin and by the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway of 1881, although none of these remain in operation.

Today the line runs between terminal stations at Aquarium (a short distance from the Palace Pier) and Black Rock (at Black Rock, not far from Brighton Marina), with an intermediate station and depot at Halfway.

The line has a 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) narrow gauge, is electrified at 110 V DC using a third rail, and is one mile (1.6 km) long.

Before breakfast Mr C visited reception to see if his glasses had been handed in. They weren’t there so he headed to the bar to check if they were there, and was redirected to the concierge. Sure, enough the concierge was able to reunite Mr C with his missing specs.

After breakfast, we set off on another walk from the Rough Guide to Brighton, Sussex and the West Downs. This walk took us to East Brighton, away from the sea front, to see interesting architecture and Brighton Flea Market. We followed the walk the as far as the Marina and the nearby nudist beach before heading to the Volks Railway Station for our return journey.

Getting to the station proved to be a little difficult. Due to renovation works all the pathways down to the lower level where the station is situated were blocked off. Rather than walk a very long way round we decided to follow the example of a local jogger and scramble down a grassy bank.

The short journey on the Volks Railway was a fun, nostalgic ride. We had prime position on the front seat so we were easily able to enjoy the views. Back at the pier, we elected to walk along the beach stopping for another fish lunch. I ordered mini fish bits expecting battered goujons. What arrived was (glorified) fish fingers in bread crumbs not at all what I had in mind. And for some unknown reason Mr C had ordered me a portion of (unwanted) chips to go with them…

Next, we walked to the toy and model museum which was rather brief although the Pelham puppets, several of which I had owned as a child, brought back nostalgic memories. It was rather hot so we had a cooling drink at the railway station in Costa whilst Mr C completed (almost) the Metro crosswords. This gave our feet a chance to recover from all the pavement pounding.

We then walked through the lanes, enjoying the eclectic mix of shops and stalls, ending up in the Pavilion Gardens café where I had a slice of lemon drizzle cake. I made sure that the seagulls didn’t spot it with their beady eyes.

We returned to the hotel to freshen up before dinner and whilst getting changed I heard a lot of shouting and wailing which I initially thought was a child having a tantrum. It turned out to be a woman who was definitely unhappy about something. After a while the police turned up to talk to her.

We dined in English’s, which was one of the restaurants recommended to us by the lady who served us at the Volks Railway. She was right; it is a lovely place to eat. Even though it was a little windy the weather was warm enough to allow us to dine Al Fresco. I once again chose fish, this time ‘catch of the day’ which was seabass.

After dining we had one last walk along the sea front before enjoying a nightcap in the hotel. Our holiday was coming to an end and we were travelling home the following day.