Tuesday 10th October – 34 meeting of 2017
A great day today for all nine of us ladies. A day at Brighton and a flight on the British Airways i360, the world’s tallest moving observation tower, 138 metres high. Meeting at London Bridge we purchased our tickets for Brighton and boarded the 10.22 and arrived in Brighton at 11.39. A very nice clean bright train which was busy but did empty out quite a lot at Gatwick Airport.
It was a lovely bright day although a bit windy. We walked down towards the sea and stopped on the way for a coffee after which we carried on to the seafront and the i360. Booked for one o’clock we were told to arrive half an hour before which we did but then after our bags were checked and photographs taken we waited to board. Although as I say it was a bright sunny day it was a very strong cold wind so we were pleased when we boarded.
The structure of i360 is amazing. Designed and build by Marks Barfield creators of London Eye it was opened August 2016. A column ascending up into the sky and a viewing pod wrapped around it. It was warm inside and with seats in the middle of the pod we settled and waited to go. As the pod went up we walked all around admiring the view. One side looked out over sea and the wind farm could be clearly seen. The other half looked out over Brighton and beyond. I loved it as we ascended and people and cars became smaller. From the top you could see the complete lay out of Brighton with so many long straight streets and roads. Lots of the roofs had art work on them and I thought it made it look so nice. Lots of colour with many different designs. Looking out over the roof tops reminded me of the Mary Poppins film and the chimney sweeps song and dance routine ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’! You can purchase refreshments on board and given a map of Brighton you could pick out all the landmarks. We did notice a crack in one of the curved windows but we were assured by one of the staff that it was quite safe and that the glass will replaced but the curved panel has to come from Italy! The whole flight was half an hour long and a great experience.
Once out of the pod we had a wander around the shop and sat and watched a very interesting video showing how the i360 was constructed. There was also a glass panel in the floor which looked down onto the working structure. After this we then crossed the road and went into a very nice restaurant/cafe for a fish and chip lunch. You really can’t go to the seaside and not have fish and chips!!
We had a leisurely stroll back to the station. Brighton is a really busy town and with a university there are lots of young people. We caught the train back to London Bridge and then our local trains home after a lovely day. It was great to venture out of London for a day by the sea with thanks to the lady that suggested it and I feel we will do more of this type of outing in the future.