A great place to escape to

Brighton Seafront
Photo by David Chamberlain

Hove seafront is a great place to escape to, away from the hustle and bustle. Just being by the sea is great. It doesn’t feel like a tourist area, but has a laid-back, village atmosphere.

The prom attracts roller-bladers, baby buggies and dog walkers. There are football games and sports like frisbee on the grassy areas, and an area for playing boules.

Because of all this activity, I like to stop at the open-air cafés and watch the world go by or admire the splendour of the West Pier and the old buildings along the front.

Comments about this page

  • Hove seafront just has to be one of the best parts of Hove. It is the best park in the city and the perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon. Watching the world go by, you wonder what it must have been like a hundred years ago…probably not much different – which is why it’s so wonderful!

    By Ian Grace (16/02/2003)
  • Hove seafront in the sunlight, at the end of the day, looking at the sunset with the boy of my dreams…In that moment I guess I couldn’t ask for anything more!

    By Arianna (07/06/2006)
  • I lived in Hangleton, Hove between 1951, the year I was born and 1976, the year I got wed. I remember as a child the West End Cafe, mum and dad used to take me there on a Sunday afternoon, we had tea and cakes. It used to be very busy; sadly it got demolished to make way for the new cafe, which was not so good. Does anyone else remember it?

    By Jan Dovenee:cattermull (06/02/2008)
  • Yes Jan, I remember the West End cafe very well. After the war I spent many hours on my Dad’s beach East of there. Many times I was sent along to fill the kettle to boil for tea. There was a tap on the promenade for this purpose, how I wished I could have gone inside the cafe , or even had an ice cream from the kiosk. However I was not so deprived as most days a rowing boat was available for my friends and self to row out and jump into the sea for a swim. Happy memories. My Dad had about 10 boats on the beach and a couple of lockers, his name was Joe Hawkins if anybody remembers him.

    By Ann Singleton (30/10/2011)
  • I used to work at the West Café for 4 years so know all about it, if you want more info send me a reply and I’ll post it all.

    Editor’s note: If you have memories of the West Cafe to share Tony, email me:jennifer@mybrightonandhove.org.uk

    By Tony (24/01/2014)
  • To Ann Singleton – hello Ann, I remember Joe very well indeed as I was one of a group of boys who used to inhabit the beach on weekends in the late 60s to man the winches etc, and be rewarded with fishing trips. I’ve recently been putting together recollections from that time, and would very much welcome communicating with you to refresh/enhance memories – lawrie8f@aol.com

    By lawrence flowers (12/09/2016)
  • I remember Joe Hawkins and his boats for hire well.  Me and my mates hired them back in the mid 1960s during the summer, especially if the mackerel were just out of reach of “beach casters”!

    By Peter Groves (12/09/2016)
  • I remember the old West End Cafe when it was a wooden building.I used to help Joe Hawkins with his boats in the 1960s.

    By Neil Sinkfield (17/08/2019)
  • Joe Hawkins worked as a bricklayer for Stones builders on their Graham Avenue, Mile Oak estate in 1961. I used to hod carry for him – after a days work he used go to the beach to attend to his boats. Many years later I hired a boat from him to take my children out for a trip , we had a chat and he told me he was retiring. I think he was the last person hiring boats on the beach.

    By Terry Hyde (22/08/2019)

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