Brighton Short Breaks welcomes the Royal Pavilion Ice rink is due to open soon in Brighton. Whether you’re a skater, or prefer simply to spectate, a visit to the impressive outdoor rink is a great way to spend a day.

However if you are looking to enjoy skating on the rink then you must buy tickets for a chosen hour session. Be warned; if you are late to your session unfortunately your time will not be added on at the end. But fear not, the rink has a fully licensed cafe/restaurant which is open from 8am till midnight which happens to be the winner of Observer Food  Monthly Seaside Restaurant of the year.

The easiest way to secure one of the hour sessions available is to go to ticket master. For an adult an hour on the ice will cost around 9.50-11 pounds but for children under 12 it is slightly cheaper between 6.50 – 7.50. As there is little parking in the city centre of Brighton public transport is strongly advisable.

If your thinking about taking children to the rink, or even nervous skaters, the rink has its own beginners area and special “penguin” skate aids for youngsters! There is plenty of room to manoeuvre as the rink itself is 700 square metres and can accommodate up to 200 skaters.

Don’t worry if you think you will miss the rink, it will be open to the public from 10am to 10.15pm everyday from November 13th-January 16th, so there is plenty of time to enjoy the ice in Brighton. The rink should prove to be in prime location with the former Royal Palace as its backdrop and should look idyllic.

If you’d like to arrange accommodation during the month  then check our our self catering Brighton properties and see what suits you best!

BrightonShortBreaks.com™ – 0845 500 9486
contact@brightonshortbreaks.com

Brighton short breaks is excited to see that the Brighton Comedy Festival returns once more with a very amusing line up this October

A variety of talented acts from old favourite Alistar Mcgowan, to up and coming Jack Whitehall feature in this years festival seeking to entertain Hove and Albion. However the popular event is near to its closing date on the 23rd of October, so its your last opportunity to grab any late tickets. check out there website to book yours.

Acts have been introduced to the growing festival from all over the UK, America and Australia and Headliners such as Jimmy Carr are sure to make the festival sell out. With such a variety of acts there is something to everybody’s taste in comedy to ensure a few laughs and is well worth a day trip or holiday to Brighton to enjoy the shows and festivities.

The location of the festival is in the grand Brighton Dome situated on Church street (a map can be found on there website) right in the heart of Brighton and close to the Royal Pavillion. Although there isn’t a great amount of parking close by travelling by train may prove to be a wise decision as the Brighton Railway station is only a ten minutes walk away.

With the festival lasting over a period of days why not take the opportunity to enjoy a holiday in Brighton with Brighton Short Breaks and enjoy what else our city has to offer!

If you’d like to arrange accommodation during the month  then check our our self catering Brighton properties and see what suits you best!

BrightonShortBreaks.com™ – 0845 500 9486
contact@brightonshortbreaks.com

Brighton Short Breaks is looking forward to the welcome return of the Brighton World Sacred Music Festival this month.

The festival has been running for a number of years now, and is really going from success to success – with an ever increasingly impressive line-up of acts and performers.

The event is now drawing to a close and its final dates are scheduled for the 17th of October – so if you havent already gotten your tickets, then dont delay and check out their website today for more information.

Acts have been invited form around the world, and this year features the varies talents of Barbara Furtuna, from Corsica as well as the London Jewish Male Choir appearing at Brighton’s Middle Street Synagogue with its fantastic acoustics.

They quote their mission statement to be: ”to promote understanding across boundaries of religion, ethnicity, language and nation by providing opportunities to experience moments of genuine transformation through sacred music and arts”.

Certainly this has proved to be the case in previous years with people sampling and experiencing forms of Sacred Music which perhaps they may not have encountered before in their lives. There is also the recoginsed, but largely unspoken intent to aid better understanding and appreciation for other cultures and music genres as well as having a great evening out.

With the event running over a number of days it really makes sense to avail yourself of a longer term holiday home from Brighton Short Breaks, and then you can really immerse yourself in all the wonderful offerings this organised event is bringing to our city!

If you’d like to arrange accommodation during the month  then check our our self catering Brighton properties and see what suits you best!

BrightonShortBreaks.com™ – 0845 500 9486
contact@brightonshortbreaks.com

Be a part of the modern art world this autumn

This autumn sees the return of the Brighton Art Fair to the South Coast of England.
Brighton’s stunning Corn Exchange building is cutting ties with its Regency past and hosting the sixth annual contemporary Art Fair from Friday 2nd October to Sunday 4th October, 2009.
And with over 120 new, up and coming and established artists showing and selling their work, the fair is the place to be for art lovers this autumn.
Artists working in all mediums will be exhibiting. The best of 2009′s painters, printmakers, ceramicists, photographers and sculptors will be showing off their very now work.
The fair offers arty and on the ball Brightonians the opportunity to pick up some hot and edgy contemporary works of art for between £50 and £1500. Fancy beating Charles Saatchi to this year’s Tracey Emin?
And tourists too can buy themselves a slice of the art-tastic action if they can get themselves to Brighton for the weekend. It’s always a good idea to get yourself a self catered flat for a low-key, home from home city break.
This art festival is the largest exhibition on the South Coast and attracts a capacity crowd of 5000. Make sure you buy your ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.
Go get yourself some art this autumn. Perhaps you just like the way it looks or you urgently need to break up your Ikea heavy sitting room with a unique  piece of contemporary art or you’ve got an eye for an arty investment. Go see, buy and soak up the atmostphere. What have you got to lose?

BrightonShortBreaks.com™ – 0845 500 9486
contact@brightonshortbreaks.com
www.brightonshortbreaks.com

A short walk east along the seafront from the famous pier will take you to thier new home on the beach at Brighton. The White Air crew will be there in force, doing their stuff to ensure that White Air Brighton is Europe’s Premier Extreme Sports Festival with an amazing live stage and fringe music scenes to entertain.

The festival will have something for everyone. The ultimate extreme sports village will have the biggest ever Free Sports Ramps, for Skaters, Boarders and Bikers and all the urban sports. They are planning Europes top Skate Vert comp, and  already they have the Red Arrows and Falcons Parachute display teams booked. There’ll be more than 20 “Have a Go” sports for everyone to try and World, European and British competitions on the water, on land and in the air. The organisers are alo hoping  to include new sports to White Air such as Triathlon, Beach Volleyball and World High Diving. Anyone for a Bungee Jump on the beach? Based towards the Marina, the festival is in close walking distance to Kemptown where Brighton Short Breaks has a range of flats available.

If you’re looking for excitement, adventure, entertainment, challenge and fun, from Sept 18-20 the place to be is the south coast. On water or land, there’ll be something at White Air 2009 for everyone. Watch some of the world’s best extreme athletes or test your skills and try a new sport.

Start planning your visit to Brighton now and book your self catering Brighton flat today . We are!

Thundercat Powerboats, Windsurfing, Mountain Boards, Kitesurfing, Skate Jams, Frisbee/Winddisc, Triathlon, BMX & Mountain Bikes, FMX, Paddleboards, Bocking, High Diving, Parkour/Freerunning, Wakeboarding, Skydiving, Red Arrows, Bungee, Climbing Walls, Trials Bikes, Parachutes, Beach Volleyball, Jetskis, “Have a Go”, Music and much, much more.

BrightonShortBreaks.com™ – 0845 500 9486
contact@brightonshortbreaks.com
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September offers Brighton and Hove residents and visitors the unusual opportunity of stepping through the doors of a number of public and private buildings usually locked.

September marks the start of a month of Mouth Watering Events as part of the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival with some great new events and ideas!

This coming September marks the return of the very successful Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival. The festival is a celebration of the best of food and drink available in Sussex and has become a particular favourite event in the  city’s  calendar.

Brightons Famous Pavillion

Last year over 50,000 people enjoyed the vast array of displays, stalls and opportunities to sample and explore East Sussex produce.  This year an even greater number of people are expected – drawn by the outstanding reputation of the event – as well as the exciting new ideas the organisers have brought to the 2009 event. As well as focussing on the local producers of meats, vegetables, cheeses, ciders, wines, etc etc this year they are also introducing the idea of ‘Open House Dining’ – an event where people host tv style ‘Come Dine With Me’ events in their own home. If you’re interested in participating in that then go to the Brighton and Hove Food and Wine Festival website and sign up!

Lots of attention will also be given to the incredible wealth of bars and restaurants in the Brighton and Hove area that do so much work to attract visitors and make our city one of the best culinary destinations in the country!

The 2009 festival will run throughout September with major public events every single weekend.

Of course, Brighton Short Breaks is happy to accomodate any visiotrs to our lip smacking, mouth watering city so see our property pages to see whats available and where!

BrightonShortBreaks.com™ – 0845 500 9486
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This coming weekend sees the start of the 27th Brunswick Square Festival.

Brunswick Square is one of the most famous and elegant of all the Brighton Squares, and houses a very strong community of neighbours and weekenders down from London and the like! The local residents have made it one of their greatest traditions to get together once a year and raise money towards the upkeep of the lovely gardens and well as raise money for local causes.

Amazingly this is their 27th year for the Brunswick Festival and its due to take place on 16th & 17th August in Brunswick Square from 12 noon-6.30pm.

As in previous years there will be live music, bric-a-brac & craft stalls, great food and a host of free activities for all the family!

The event has proved to be very popular with locals as it gives an opportunity to say hello to neighbours, and familiar faces in a relaxed and friendly environment. It also offers great opportunities for visitors to the town to go along and join in the fun – especially for families with young children.

Brighton Short Breaks offers a number of properties to rent for short holidays and stays  in the Brunswick area of Brighton and Hove and its proved to be one of the most popular holiday destinations within the city!

If you’d like more information form the organisers then contact them at brunswickfestival@hotmail.com

BrightonShortBreaks.com™ – 0845 500 9486
contact@brightonshortbreaks.com
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View From Brighton Nudist Beach

Brighton Short Breaks Celebrates 30 years of Nudism. It was 30 years ago this week that one of the truly great things in  Brighton was established.

On August 9, 1979: Brighton Beach was given permission to go set aside an area dedicated to the freedom of sun bathing and sea bathing nude! In the true tradition of Brighton and its liberal attitudes it was the first major resort in Britain to allow a portion of the beach to be designated for use by nude bathers – and its still something that it proudly defended by its users – both occasional and regular.

The beach is generally populated by a fairly broad section of society. Yes, there will always be the occasional person who drifts through purely to get a glimpse of something that seems otherwise to be missing from their lives – a naked breast, a bare bum, or the bits at the front even! Excuse my tone – but the amazing thing about the beach is that once you’ve gotten over the initial awkwardness of taking off your kit – it does eventually feel so much more natural (hence the word naturist!) and comfortable, to the extent that finding myself on a beach which demands swim wear, I feel positively encumbered by clothing!

To celebrate the event I spent (admittedly a rather cloudy) afternoon down there yesterday and was interested to see who uses this facility, hard fought for originally by Councillor Eileen Jakes, a 47 year old Grandmother in 1979, who believed the beach would be an asset to the town (as it was then) and in the face of fierce opposition from Councillor John Blackman – who objected to it on the terms that it brought the town into disrepute and would attract even more ‘deviants’ – ( I should say that Brighton takes pride in its cultural diversity in a  way that no other city in the UK does – and we laugh dismissively at the term ‘deviant’)Looking around the busy beach, its very interesting to see the types of people who are attracted to it.

There are a large number of gay men – but that’s to be expected given the population of Brighton. There are also a great number of straight couples. In both groups the age range is very broad ranging from late teens through to octogenarians. Having warmed myself thoroughly, given the anniversary, I was keen to ask one or two of my fellow nudists what it is that attracts them so much to the beach.This required a certain amount of tact – given that we British are pretty slow to strike up a conversation with any stranger next to us – and I was particularly aware that striking up a conversation with  a stranger when both myself and they were totally naked seemed to present particular challenges. So – I took the easy route and scanned the beach for a familiar face and spotted a friend of many years  Peter Drewhurst – a fine figure of a (naked) man at 42 years of age! I asked him why this was his beach of choice.‘

Brighton Nudist Beach

The main reason I started coming to this particular beach was because its much more peaceful – mainly because it doesn’t really appeal to families so there are no screaming mums and kids running up and down!’It would seem that this slightly antisocial view is fairly prevalent – and I found it repeated a couple of times chatting to people…. But to paraphrase Peter , I think it would be better expressed in the terms that the nudist beach is more of a an ’adult’ beach as the complete absence of any facilities in terms of shops or cafes means its difficult to keep young children happy for too long with the temping sights of funfairs and ice creams vans off in the distance.So accepting the potential for greater peace and quiet here, what then makes the new arrival, searching for tranquillity, then decide to take off their pants?

Peter: ‘ Well, initially I was a bit shy and kept  my swim stuff on – but after a while I felt a bit of a hypocrite so took my trunks off just not to seem churlish! And after a while you get so used to it that you don’t want to put them back on! And in practical terms – getting In and out of the sea and then lying in wet swimming things is uncomfortable so being naked makes much more sense!’Next I approached a man and a woman sitting close by who had heard the topic of our discussion and were delighted to know they were some how celebrating the anniversary of the nudist revolution in Brighton.They were Rachel and Dave Partington, who had driven over from Kent to enjoy the beach and were regular visitors.Both in their early 30’s, for both of them they felt it was a much more relaxed way of enjoying the elements.Rachel: ‘ Dave was keener than me at first – men seem to take to it more readily than women I think – and I used to keep by bikini bottoms on at first – but soon it seemed a bit pointless covering up when, really, no one was batting a n eyelid – and now it’s the best way to be I reckon.’

Dave: ‘ The drive is over and hour and a half to get here sometimes , but we still prefer to come over here than sit n a beach back in Kent with our clothes on.We’ve been coming here for a few years now and know so many people to say hello to that it makes it a really nice atmosphere!’One thing I did notice whilst I was sitting there myself is the large number of people who seem to be regulars and spend much of their time walking up and down the beach pausing to chat to a individual here, a couple there – and clearly there’s a regular crowd who have good reason to be grateful to Councillor Eileen Jakes.The one thing I did find all the people on Brighton’s Nudist Beach reluctant to relinquish – was their sandals and flip flops – especially getting in and out of the sea as the stony beach makes for uncomfortable walking – but a small price to pay for the joys of Nudism.

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Self catering flats offer the most cost effective way of staying in Brighton for Pride 2010 – but make sure you get your reservation in early!

Brighton Pride Rules!

Brighton Short Breaks  were able to make sure dozens of visitors to Brighton Pride 2009 were fully  and comfortably accomodated  – however dozens  more were left without a place to stay overnight  and had to resort to making do with a day trip to Brighton  on jammed trains standing all the way there and back. With the revels going on well into the night in the St James area, as well as the many clubs and bars that put on special events, then those people who didnt plan ahead really missed out!

Brighton Pride Celebrates

If you are considering visiting Brighton and Hove for next years Brighton Pride then you need  to book early. We will  start receiving queries about next years events as early as  this week – from a mixture  of visitors, including those who had a great  time this year and are determined to get their accomodation in place – as well as those visitors who were sadly disappointed at not securing accommodation for this years amazing event.

The final dates for Brighton Pride 2010 have not been announced yet – but with over 70 events for the weeks covering the Brighton Festival through to Brighton Pride they are looking forward to record visitor numbers.  Generally you’ll find that most places will need you to book for a minimum of two nights – some even go as far to insist on a three night booking – so do your research and make sure youre getting the best deal for you. Last minute bookings ARE occasionally available but certainly at Brighton Short Breaks we had none – so dont reply on them!

Generally we find its more couples and groups of friends that come down for Pride and the Festival and so self catering flats and apartments can really offer first rate value, as you can avoid costs on catering as you’ll have access to a fully fitted and equipped kitchen , as well as getting the optimum number of people into one room over night and sharing the expense! And if it buckets down like it did this year – you’ve even got a washer/drier to get your group fresh clothes!

Brighton Gay Mens Chorus

Thanks to Kevin Payne for the great photos!

www.brightonshortbreaks.com the leading self catering holiday specialists for Brighton tel: 0845 500 9486 or email contact@brightonshortbreaks.com