Brighton, a seaside resort in the south of England, is one of London’s favourite destinations on a sunny weekend. This bustling city has loads of attractions to offer in between strolling on the pebbled beach. There’s already a post on this blog with my one day trip to Brighton, including a visit to the stunning Royal Pavilion. This time, I decided to visit Sea Life Brighton – the world’s oldest aquarium!

How to get to Brighton from London

To get to Brighton, I chose a Thameslink service from London Bridge to Brighton. The journey took around an hour and, for UK train prices, it didn’t break the bank. I paid around £10.20 for a round trip with a railcard.

Breakfast – Acai Bowl at Oakberry

Before we get to the Aquarium, a quick shout out to Oakberry – a small place selling the most incredible acai bowls. I accidentally spotted Oakberry on Google Maps whilst I was planning my trip the evening before. The whooping 4.9 stars instantly drew my attention. The place is conveniently located on the route from Brighton train station to the seafront, and I decided to have one of their acai bowls for breakfast. It was delicious!

A visit to Sea Life Brighton

Originally named Brighton Aquarium, the venue opened in 1872 and remains the oldest operating aquarium in the world. You can sense the history whilst you stroll through the brick-lined corridor with arched ceilings.

There are fish tanks fitted in the walls, housing a wide variety of creatures. From the strangest-looking fish to jellyfish and even an octopus, there’s plenty to look at. I was also surprised to learn what shark egg cases look like. I’ve seen similar pods on British beaches many times, but always assumed they were parts of some marine plants. Next time I see one left at the beach at low tide, I’ll have to have a closer look.

Shortly after I arrived at the aquarium, I learnt that there was soon going to be a talk combined with feeding of sea turtles and sharks. I followed the crowd to the auditorium – seating space around Sea Life’s largest tank. It was an interesting display and I enjoyed learning the history of the three sea turtles living at the Aquarium. I always feel sad seeing the majestic creatures in aquariums much smaller than the space they would have in the wild. However, it’s worth remembering that a lot of those animals have been rescued and likely wouldn’t survive on their own. For example, one of the sea turtles living at Sea Life Brighton was saved after a serious accident in the past and nursed back into health. She sustained brain damage which left her slightly disabled, but now she can live a long life in safety, looked after by dedicated keepers.

After the feeding show, I continued to explore the rest of the Aquarium. There is a tunnel under the shark and sea turtle pool – a popular attraction in most aquariums I’ve visited.

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Sea Life Brighton. The Aquarium isn’t huge, but I spent about 1 hour and 40 minutes there. I booked my ticket online the day before – it’s cheaper than buying tickets on the day. You can learn more about visiting Sea Life Brighton on its website: https://www.visitsealife.com/brighton/.

A walk on Brighton beach and Brighton Palace Pier

After visiting the Aquarium, I went on a stroll along the beach. I always forget how physically demanding walking on those loose pebbles is!

Of course, I couldn’t not have a walk on Brighton Pier. I love the pier views and the breeze from the sea, and the large games arcade and ice cream stalls always make me feel like I’m a child during summer holidays again. However, walking on the Brighton Pier is also frightening because of the seagulls terrorising the visitors. Those fearless birds will attack any piece of food in sight. Last time I visited Brighton, I was eating a sandwich when a large seagull hit me in the back of my head. The sandwich – as well as my sunglasses – flew up in the air. I managed to save the sunglasses, but the sandwich was instantly taken by the birds. Ouch! Not the best experience, but my sister who saw it happen still laughs at me because of it.

So, instead of eating at the Pier, I decided to have my bagel at the beach. But even there I wasn’t safe from the ferocious seagulls. As soon as I took a few bites, I had some eyes staring at me with great intensity. It took me ages to complete my meal, I was hiding the sandwich back in my backpack between every bite. Call that seagull PTSD!

In my previous Brighton daytrip blog post, I mentioned the i360 tower. Back then, I wasn’t sure if it would be worth visiting. Well, I have had a chance to give it a go since then! Not this time, but last year. It was a pretty cool experience, with panoramic views of Brighton. The ride took around 20 minutes, so not very long. I won’t do it every time I’m in Brighton, but it was a good experience to try as a one-off. If you’re considering visiting i360 Brighton, check out the official website: https://www.brightoni360.co.uk/.

Way back home

I spent quite a long time just sitting at the beach, enjoying the views and soaking in the sunlight of the sunny spring day. Eventually, I hopped on a Thameslink train again and returned to London.

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