Over the past few months, I took a few trips to several seaside locales within the British Isles.
Deal, England
Douglas, Isle of Man
Brighton, England
Below, I will share my thoughts and experiences of these three locales and what you should see and what you should avoid.
Deal, England: 14-16 February 2023 (Pictures in the link)
Hotel: Queen Street Tap ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
For Spring Half-term break, I decided to head down to the village of Deal. Deal was named one of the best seaside towns to visit in the UK. It was still cool temperature wise, but I wanted to treat myself to a trip out of Luton so I booked a room at a local pub (my current trendy thing to do). Check out the pictures I made from my Facebook page. I have used up my Wix file storage so I will just post there.
I really liked this small village which is home to one of the few working "time balls" left in existence. It is definitely a town that needs to be seen in season as most of the shops were closed or had abbreviated hours for the off season when I visited.
I stayed at Queen Street Tap which is located right near the train station and in walking distance to everything you need to see in Deal including the time ball and the castle. Not very excited about the Deal Castle entry fee (£10) but I am sure the English Heritage charity does price the visit where it can still keep the historical sites visitable. It looked beautiful from the outside and I will definitely make a plan to visit next time. I loved Deal's seafront where you could walk up and down the coast. Definitely want to visit again during the summer.
Douglas, Isle of Man 6-8 May 2023 (Pictures in the link)
Airports: LGW, IOM
Airlines: easyJet ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (+/- 1/2)
Hotel: HQ Bar and Restaurant ⭐️⭐️⭐️(+/- 1/2)
For the full term Spring break, I planned a trip to the Isle of Man, home of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy motorcycle race. I was really excited to see a part of the British Isles that was not the UK. It is a "self-governing British Crown dependency" and not a part of the UK (App In The Air says it is a part of the UK and I do not think the locals would like that). I flew easyjet from Gatwick to Castletown, the location of the island's only airport. There are band rooms back in the US that would greatly outsize this airport.
I enjoyed the bus trip from Castletown to Douglas; the countryside is breath-taking and we passed a fairy bridge on the way (the bus's automatic PA system let us know). It was hassle-free and much nicer than the busses here in the Luton area. The hotel was not my favorite and I am going to blame myself on this. I should have done better research of the reviews and of Douglas. If I did return, I would seriously look at the Sefton Hotel as it is in the heart of shopping, restaurants, and bars.
The HQ (a group of several guesthouses), where I stayed, was in a quieter part of the seaside and up a hill. I am sure this hotel works for most, I just stayed at a quieter time in the season. I did not like the steep staircase in the guesthouse they put me up in, they had a section of the guestbook where they asked guests to not bring any take-out from other locations into the room, and there was an appearance from a larger-than-I-prefer spider from the drain on the first day I turned the shower on. This makes me believe that the room may have been vacant for a bit.
There were a few good take-out places near me, but most closed pretty early. Probably again due to it being off season. There was a haunting beauty to the Isle of Man though. There was a castle built off the shore of Douglas on a reef to make sure 1) sailors did not hit the reef and 2) had a place to stay if they got ship wrecked. It has a neat little bit of history.
If I were to go again (which I am inclined to do), I would go during tourist season and stay a little longer. I would take advantage of the bus and rail system and see more of the island which was beautiful. Word of caution for you when you do leave the airport; the departing gates were a bit of a mess. There was a gate that, when boarding began, just took you to another gate downstairs which was small and cramped and loud. The cafe at the airport was very expensive and slow (it was early morning).
Brighton, England 29-30 May 2023 (Pictures in the link)
Hotel: Legends ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really liked Brighton. It was this funky mix of San Francisco topography with the vibe of the beaches in Los Angeles. I visited on the late May bank holiday and due to the rail strikes, really couldn't stay more for a day or I would be stuck there. Didn't take as many pictures this time as I would have liked either :/ Because it was the bank holiday, the place was packed. Not really my vibe (I guess you can call me Goldilocks or something....don't like it when a travel locale when it's empty or too full). Train was easy enough from Luton to Brighton (2 hours).
I got to the train station and elected to take a taxi to the peer (I have been now told that was a good move). I did a good amount of research this time (based on the let down in Douglas), but the restaurants I picked out did not have the menus that were posted (I REALLY wanted a lobster roll). The hotel was really nice. Legends do a great job with their pub and inn. The room was really nice and had a sea glimpse (it was nicer than the description allowed it to be). I even had my first Pimm's Lemonade at the bar (it's a Brit thing). Only sad thing is, when I got a Hot Dog on the boardwalk, it was just not very good (I am looking forward to Berlin this August for that reason). Brits just do not do hot dogs well (sorry lovelies).
I definitely will go back but on a less busy occasion. The city is big enough to be able to do a lot in even when it's not a bug weekend. Definitely need a car it seems.
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