Recently I’ve been going through my old photos for my new travel blogging Pinterest board. There are a few gaps where I’ve been to places but not blogged about them, and Sussex is more than overdue a proper post (there’s a short blog entry about it here: Is it really England?).

Joe’s family lives on the south coast of England in East Sussex – I always joke that it’s closer to France – so I’ve mentioned it before on the blog since we go a few times a year.

It’s a couple of hundred miles from where we live, so not the quickest journey, and it’s awkward due to the combination of having to travel through London and then get multiple little local trains (local trains in this country are slow because they stop at a million places). On the plus side, there’s direct access to London itself and it’s fairly easy to go between the different towns and cities, so it’s a great place to visit if you’re travelling around and want a classic English seaside experience.

The only thing you won’t get is sandcastle building opportunities, because unlike the north west where I’m from, these beaches are pebbly (for lovely sandy beaches I thoroughly recommend North Wales).

Travelling to East Sussex is tiring for us, but always worth it because it’s beautiful year-round. Especially in the summer, which is when these pictures were taken; the winter is windier but still enjoyable.

Because we don’t go all that often it’s still something of a novelty in many ways, although there’s a comforting familiarity in many others. There always seems to be something new to see or explore, and it really is one of those places that has something for everyone – even a city girl like me.

Joe’s parents absolutely love where they live, and it’s so beautiful it’s not hard to understand why.

While my favourite place to visit is the beach, there’s plenty of opportunity for cliff, countryside and even forest walks. There’s a lot of historical places to visit too, like Henry VIII’s wife Anne of Cleves’ house in Lewes. And there’s lots of scope for urban adventures too as Brighton is so near by. Not only does it have a traditional English pier, but there are lots of independent pubs and bars and one-off local events too.

Brighton is the quirkiest city I’ve ever visited; it’s very laid back and the people are pretty crazy (in a friendly and intriguing way). It’s full of little backstreet shops and interesting surprises around every corner, like a cinema with giant legs on the roof and lots of quality cartoon graffiti art.

Brighton is also home to a huge digital festival that spans at least a couple of weeks every year. They do everything from screening films on the cliff face to formal conferences, so as you can imagine it’s right up my street.

If you’re interested in web- and technology-based things, it’s well worth timing your visit for particular events in the Digital Festival. Brighton gets pretty busy around that time, but it’s the best series of events in the UK for that kind of thing in my opinion.

East Sussex is very much my second home now, and it’s a calming and relaxing place to escape to.

View the rest of the photos on Flickr, or check out my other travel blog posts.