Worthing is rich in Royal history, starting with George III who sent his daughter for health reasons two centuries ago. The small fishing hamlet quickly grew in to a favourite seaside resort for the royal, the rich and the fashionable.
Information boards can be found all along the promenade detailing the history of Worthing from the building of the Pier to promenading, to the life boat era and ship wrecks to be found off the coast.
From famous Royals to famous poets and recent stars, Worthing has seen them all, and many have chosen Worthing as their home. Oscar Wilde found it such a “charming town” that he spent the summer and autumn of 1894 here writing “The Importance of Being Ernest” in the mornings and playing with his family on the beach in the afternoons.
“Wish you were here”, a famous film in the early 80’s was filmed in Worthing but it is perhaps the latest pranks and goings on for the two bachelors in “Men Behaving Badly” that brings Worthing to our TV screens again and again.
The Pier has survived being blown down, burnt out and blown up in its 140 year history. It now stands proudly at the centre of our coast line where fisherman sell fresh catches from their boats and the promenade gives views for miles. Here the traditional seaside with deck chairs, buckets and spades and fish and chips meet with the entrepreneurial town centre.
Worthing is uniquely flat – completely flat – which makes movement around the sea front and town easy. Paved, traffic free areas throughout the main shopping centre make it safe and accessible. With shops that give a warm welcome and a welcoming hand, Worthing is a shopping haven for families and those with mobility difficulties.
Whilst Worthing has not forgotten its past, particularly along the sea front, it certainly has not got left behind. The West End, with new landscaping and street furniture, is established as the Restaurant Quarter of the town, and the Café Society sees the streets alive with pavement cafes and tea rooms.
The Pub Quarter leads through the town to the landscaped seating area in South Street Square and the town becomes a hive of activity as the sun goes down, in the town’s night clubs. Entertainment is abundant in Worthing’s theatres and cinemas, and events are held outdoors throughout the summer months and at Christmas.
The pedestrianised shopping centre has a variety of shops from the large department stores to small specialist shops.
Brighton
More than the seaside, more than the city, the mix is more than double the fun. Fashionable, funky and loaded with style, Brighton & Hove has everything you could want — a royal palace, elegant Regency architecture, museums with more, laid-back beach life and superb shopping – on the south coast, just 49 minutes from central London.
Don’t miss the Royal Pavilion, home of King George IV, and probably the most exotic, extravagant royal palace in Europe. Stroll along the Victorian Pier and the beachfront, where stylish bars and cafés spill out onto the curved paving, jostling for space with surfer shops, giant sculptures, buskers, fresh fish and artists’ studios. For shopping, try The Lanes, smart and chic, and the bohemian North Laine, both good for antiques and designer clothes.
Royal Pavilion
The spectacular seaside palace of the Prince Regent (George IV) transformed by John Nash between 1815 and 1822 into one of the most dazzling and exotic buildings in the British Isles. The Pavilion houses furniture and works of art including original pieces lent by HM The Queen and a magnificent display of Regency silver-gilt. Magnificent decorations and fantastic furnishings have been re-created in a £10 million extensive restoration programme. The Queen Adelaide tearooms provide a sweeping view over the Pavilion gardens, which have also been returned to their original Regency splendour.
There are museums and galleries galore, special events throughout the year from car rallies to carnivals, and England’s largest arts festival in May. For nightlife, there’s theatre, music, dance and comedy, lively pubs and bars and around 400 restaurants. And there’s a great choice of places to stay – ritzy 5 star seafront hotels, jazzy places with Moroccan style courtyards, minimalist townhouses and traditional B&Bs.
Hastings
Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet, Britain’s steepest funicular railway and the remains of William the Conqueror’s first English castle mean that Hastings & St Leonards is already known throughout the world as one of the South Coast’s most historic towns. Yet its status as the birthplace of television (invented by John Logie Baird in 1923), combined with a growing reputation for culture and innovation, point to a future as illustrious as its past.
Hastings Castle was originally an earth and timber improvised fortress, founded in 1066 by William of Normandy. Later an earthwork motte was added in-between the two baileys and the Ladies Parlour bailey, still retains part of its impressive rampart and the Conqueror’s Ditch. In 1075, Robert, count of Eu, founded the Collegiate Church of St Mary-in-the-Castle and in the late 12th century, a great tower was also erected, in the west bailey. In the 13th century, the castle was extensively altered, with the lowering of the motte and the building of the east curtain wall, flanked by the South Tower and a twin-towered gatehouse. Sadly erosion by the sea, has consumed more that half of the original castle. 7 miles north-west is Battle Abbey and 15 miles west is Herstmonceux Castle.
Hastings Castle is located in the town centre, on West Hill. 36 miles east of Brighton, on the A27.
Home to the internationally renowned Coastal Currents Arts Festival, and a recently opened University Centre, the town is fast becoming a cosmopolitan hive of creative activity that promises to rival both Brighton and London for sheer audacity. The winding twittens of its Old Town and its three miles of unspoilt beaches are key locations in the smash hit ITV1 drama series ‘Foyle’s War’. The seafront is now home to several astounding lighting installations including the mysterious marine monolith ‘Stream’ and the iconic ‘Sticks of Rock’. The 660 acre Hastings Country Park offers one of the United Kingdom’s most exhilarating clifftop panoramas together with a host of unique and rare wildlife species. This unique combination of the rural, the coastal and the urban, mean that Hastings & St Leonards is inspiration itself.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today.
Visitors can walk around the State Apartments, extensive suites of rooms at the heart of the working palace. For part of the year visitors can also see the Semi State rooms, which are some of the most splendid interiors in the castle. They are furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection including paintings by Holbein, Rubens, Van Dyck and Lawrence, fine tapestries and porcelain, sculpture and armour.
Within the Castle complex there are many additional attractions, including the Drawings Gallery, Queen Mary’s dolls’ house, and the fourteenth-century St. George’s Chapel, the burial place of ten sovereigns and setting for many Royal weddings.
London
There is a lot to say about this city, but better you see it yourself. I have simply fallen in love with London and was fascinated by Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Houses of Parliment, Picadilly Circus, Big Ben, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Hyde Park and many other places.
To be continued…