FALLING in Love with Brighton… Again.

Having just spent two months living in my old ‘hood I have returned to sunny Brighton with a renewed affection for the joint.

As I walked around the recreation ground in Hove with my pooch this morning, I could see the English Channel peering over the trees and hedges on the north side of Old Shoreham Road, the windmills out to sea were turning at their usual leisurely pace and further east the British Airways i360 was just starting its first flight of the day.

There’s always been something about Brighton and Hove that draws me back to its shores every time.

This morning it dawned on me.

I left the family home in Weybridge, Surrey some thirty years ago and in that time have lived around Guildford and Epsom and was fortunate enough to have spent the last ten years flitting between the UK and the French Alps.

Living in the Alps gives you a daily dose of environmental appreciation.

The views are always spectacular and there isn’t a moment in any hour of any day when you don’t find yourself staring in disbelief at the sheer magnitude and beauty of the all encompassing scenery.

I was recuperating from a major shoulder operation with my folks in Weybridge and even managed (one handed) to scrawl a thousand words for the Parish Magazine my father works on, all about how the town has changed since my misspent youth. Weybridge is, as the name might suggest, built around the River Wey and therefore, naturally, has a bridge.

Said waterway joins the River Thames and subsequently its numerous islands and canals make a very pretty little town.

As everything has in over a quarter of a century, the town has changed but apart from losing over half its old pubs and now having more cars than people, it’s still a gorgeous old town.

It was only this morning as I walked around the Hove Recreation Ground that I realised what it was about the Alps and Brighton that has always been missing in Weybridge. A good view.

As I revelled in this morning’s auburn light appreciating the expanse of the world’s busiest shipping lane, it dawned on me how much I love seeing nature being nature.

Whether it be the contrast of where the land meets the sea or the ever-changing majesty of the mountains, you just can’t get that earthly connection in south west London.

I love the fact you can watch the sun come up over Newhaven and follow it all day as it drifts from the east before finally dipping into the sea over Worthing Pier. I haven’t ever even known which way north was in Weybridge.

Even as I walked around the town for the past two months I rarely had any idea what celestial direction I was heading in.

You don’t have that problem here in Brighton. You’ll rarely meet anyone in Brighton who has no idea which way south is.

I realise the south coast isn’t exactly perpendicular to the south pole but roughly speaking if you stand on the beach and look at the left hand windmill you’re not far off.

I even went for a run last evening up the Downs and again revelled in the evening sun dipping out to sea lighting up the sky before saying goodnight.

There’s a drama to it you don’t get everywhere in the UK.

I don’t care what anyone says, we do have a micro climate here and to savour the sun rising and falling, especially into the sea at both ends of the day is one of the most captivating and enlightening sights and one of the main reasons I love coming back to Brighton.

It’s my home now and I shan’t be leaving anytime soon.

Christopher Keeping, Address supplied