From the Coast with Love

By Jessica Mason

While we accept that travel may continue to be restricted for some time, it has become imperative to create fun within short distances. Day trips and weekend getaways have become the order of the day. But it’s easy to blow the budget with just one meal out, so how do we balance tasty trips without blowing the budget? Here’s how.

Beautiful Brighton Brighton is packed with things to do at minimal cost. The shingled beaches are strewn with bars serving directly onto the shoreline, and both the Lanes and the bohemian North Laine quarters are an alfresco diner’s paradise.

Even if you’ve blown all your money on your train ticket or B&B though, there are plenty of ways you can have fun out of doors. Barbecues on the coastline are completely underrated in Brighton. Possibly because there are so many good places to eat and drink. In rainy weather, you can still cram yourselves under a heated stretch tent at the Bison Beach Bar on Sea Lanes on the coast of Kemp Town. Or take cover under large parasols at Lucky Beach situated between the two piers.

And if the sun is shining, that’s all you need. A fold up barbecue is a great investment. There is a barbecuefriendly stretch of beach opposite Brunswick Terrace in Hove, just past the Peace Statue and the Meeting Place Café. The trick, in Brighton, is never to barbecue between the two piers where there are lots of people, children and bars. In fact, it’s not really allowed and at least certainly frowned upon. But if you wander further - towards Hove, you will see the big yellow barbecue bins dotted along the promenade near the beach railings, where you can safely jettison disposable barbecues and hot coals.

Fold-up barbecues are much more environmentally friendly than continually buying disposable ones. Plus, they are the perfect blend of barbecue ease and luxury. You feel like a real grown up using one. Also, the fact that taking an oven mitt to the beach (you’ll need it for carrying it to be emptied afterwards) is also one of those moments where you immediately feel like a very clever adult.

Pick up some brioche buns or bread from a local bakery - in Brighton there are Flourpot Bakery locations dotted around town and also on the seafront, and stop by The Sausage Shop in the North Laine to peruse the selection. The bliss of a gently-charred pork sausage sandwiched between tomato sauce and hot dog mustard in a bun has possibly not been heralded enough as one of the single most cheering and direct routes to happiness. All of the senses are blissfully intermingled - the smell of sea salt and that first burst of pork fat, butter and the tang of red and yellow condiments make it a kaleidoscope of flavour.

You need hotdogs in your life. Pair them with the chatter and laughter of friends. Also, a drink. Yes, you’ll need a drink too.

Coastal Cocktail The easiest cocktail to mix for drinking out and about is the humble Negroni. The brand Stanley makes a screwcap cocktail shaker with tin cups built in which is great if you want to take cocktails you have mixed at home out and about. Sometimes, having a shaker in your bag specifically as a sundowner can lift the day. That’s why Negronis are great. You only need a slice of orange to garnish and that can be picked up from a local greengrocer. Taj in Brighton sell the best. Then just enjoy. Red sky, red drink and the lulling sounds of the seagulls as you contemplate the day.

Negroni* 25ml gin 25ml vermouth 25ml Campari Garnish with a slice of orange, or just a slice of peel. *You can batch make for a group of you so long as you use equal parts of each.

Feeling flush? Head to the Riddle & Finn’s rotunda on the King’s Road, Brighton, overlooking the beach, and order lobster rolls and a bottle of Court Garden Blanc de Blancs and watch the world go by.

Glorious Suffolk It’s great to get away to other coastlines. If the bright loud bustling side of Brighton isn’t quite where your postlockdown head is at, then look no further than Suffolk. There, you have miles of unspoilt sandy beaches, dunes, pretty English seaside villages and very few people. Dog walkers love it as much as those who are fans of Adnams Brewery and Distillery.

No trip to Southwold is complete without a pit-stop at The Anchor at Walberswick. A pub that’s a five-minute stroll to the beach at the end of its extensive gardens, providing some of the best food and drink in the UK as well as outdoor cabin accommodation.

Alfresco drinking and dining are the name of the game at The Anchor. Whether

the pub is open inside or not, dinner and drinks on the terrace are unsurpassed. Its owners Mark and Sophie Dorber used to run The White Horse in Parsons Green (the Sloaney Pony) and many times, won accolades and awards for their food and drink. Now, they run The Anchor together and, because of Mark’s adoration of good drinks (he was the founder of The Beer Academy) and Sophie’s skill in the culinary arts, they are the most formidable hosts.

Enjoy oysters, lobster, crab linguine, treacle tart, a cheese platter. If the sun is shining, a pint of Adnams’ Mosaic on cask is highly recommended. But watch out, they evaporate very quickly. With dessert, a bottle of the Trappist beer Rochefort 10 or Castle Brewery’s Samichlaus are great sippers.

Fun & Freedom Let’s not forget, we don’t have to travel to enjoy ourselves. Most of what you make is simply a combination of blending together the two parts of your personality that make you both child and adult. On cooler days, play Twister with G&Ts, taking a slug at each wheel spin. Or share that bottle you’ve been keeping and alert the neighbours you’ll be opening it at a certain time should they want to join you in the street. You’ll soon acquire a reputation for being the house where the fun starts. When the world begins opening up more and more, expect to be flooded with invitations. We are, after all, simple souls. Merriment is the antidote to anxiety. And, this past year, well, there’s been plenty of the latter. It’s time for some cheer.