On 21 Jul 2010 at 10:15am ooo wrote:
can anyone please recommend a car park if driving in from london direction into brighton at the weekend?
I'm aware this is not a lewes based question and that i haven't used CAPS in my sentence, this is merely because i'm too lazy to hold down my shift button. I'm also aware it would be much better to get a train but the person asking me is insisting on driving even if brighton is a traffic hellhole at weekends.
thank you
On 21 Jul 2010 at 10:22am Extra wrote:
Parking in Brighton is extremely expensive, as much as £20 per day. You can park free at the Marina for four hours and walk or catch a frequent bus to the city, or try the park and ride scheme, or, park free on street on the outskirts and bus to the city. If your friend is prepared to pay, there are numerous car parks in the central area adjacent to the sea front, which are well signed.
On 21 Jul 2010 at 10:28am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Churchill Square is about £1 an hour and £2 for the first hour, if you can get in there. London Road is quite cheap, but a long way out from the centre, and you have to access it from New England Street which might be complicated if they don't know Brighton and haven't got satnav. North Street is punitively expensive but as a result usually has spaces.
Depending on which bit of Brighton they want, on-street pay and display parking in Kemptown, of which there is a surprising amount, might be a better option.
They are deffo mad to drive though, especially if it's a nice day. I headed up the A23 the other Sunday, and even at 10 am the traffic into Brighton was backed up quite a bit north of the A27.
On 21 Jul 2010 at 10:51am Down and Out wrote:
Pretty much what ACT said. North St, Church St and the one under the Town Hall are all a fiver an hour. If I have to drive, I try to use Trafalgar St although there's sometimes a bit of a queue. Depends where exactly you're going but London Road is cheap and I don't think it's that far. If you're early, and you know where you're going, and you can find a space, street parking in Hanover / Albion Hill is the nearest freebie to town.
I think the best bet on a weekend is to get off the A23 early (at Hurstpierpoint) and head in via Ditchling / Lewes Road / Queens Park Road; or Devil's Dyke and Dyke Road.
On 21 Jul 2010 at 3:55pm MC wrote:
To straight to the seafront, along the Old Steine to the Brighton Pier. Turn right at the seafront. Carry on till you get to West Street (about five roads along, just after Middle Street) and turn right into West street. Carry on up West Street, do not turn first left (probably signposted to a car park, but take the left turn into the car park after this. This is one of the Churchill Sqaure car parks but is the cheapest central car park in Brighton. Eight hours for eight pounds.
Your friend is mad to drive to Brighton from London on a sunny weekend.
On 21 Jul 2010 at 3:57pm ooo wrote:
cheers. yeah he's nuts i know. i've known people cue for almost 2 hours on the seafront carparks on sunny weekends. i'll suggest the more out of town options then leave him to it. THANKS
On 21 Jul 2010 at 3:59pm ooo wrote:
queue
On 21 Jul 2010 at 4:02pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I was going to say £5 an hour for North Street and some of the others, D&O, but it seemed so ludicrous, I thought I must have misremembered.
I'm glad you've confirmed what I thought, and that I'm not going bonkers.
On 21 Jul 2010 at 4:45pm jrsussex wrote:
In the summer of 2007 I visited Brightonn by car on a Saturday. I spent almost an hour in various traffic jams tryong to find a parking space (finished up extremely frustrated and in no mood to enjoy the rest of the day) and when I did find a space I remember being horrified by the cost, can't remember exactly what it amounted but I have not ventured into Brighton of a weekend since.
On 21 Jul 2010 at 4:53pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
It's best avoided, but unfortunately for us wage slaves there are time when one needs things Lewes just can't provide, like a decent range of books, walking boots or decent make-up, and we don't have much alternative but to go in on a weekend.
Saturdays aren't too bad if you get in early, ime. Although I did once make the mistake of driving in on Pride weekend - I had no idea it was on and I was stuck for over an hour. I'll never do that again!
I go in over the racecourse and cut through Kemp Town to the sea front, and don't usually get held up until I get well past the pier.
On 21 Jul 2010 at 4:56pm Penguin wrote:
Go by bus, it only costs about £3 from Lewes for an all day ticket and you don't need to queue or park.
On 21 Jul 2010 at 10:33pm Brixtonbelle wrote:
go by train. even easier and cheaper.
we always used to park on street over in hove on streets leading to seafront when we drove down from london. nice walk along the beach, lunch then shopping and pub. always a good day out. turn right at the roundabout as you come of the A23 and follow signs to hove. it's easy and avoid central brighton traffic.
On 22 Jul 2010 at 7:44am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
But it takes erffing ages and you don't have to lug all your shopping about, which is quite a chore when you live at the top of the Nevill.
When you're an accomplished shopper like me, it can often take 3 trips just gettign it in from the car.
On 22 Jul 2010 at 9:43am penguin wrote:
Get a taxi from the bus/train station then. It would still be much cheaper than driving.
On 22 Jul 2010 at 9:53am penguin wrote:
Depends where you live Brixtonbelle. I live at the top end of the town, just a short walk from a bus stop, and the bus drops me right at Churchil Square, or wherever I want to go really, so much quicker and easier than the train. Also the ticket is valid for any other buses you want to catch in the city during the day. The train couldn't do that.
On 22 Jul 2010 at 9:55am Down and Out wrote:
Not true penguin - you get a Plusbus ticket for the train and it's valid for all Brighton buses too.
On 22 Jul 2010 at 12:02pm Narrow Minded Norm wrote:
I went to Brighton once, saw a couple of poofs holding hands. Never went again.
On 22 Jul 2010 at 12:14pm Dumpy wrote:
ACT - why not drive past the prison, park in Montague Road and then get the bus to Churchill Square? Driving to Brighton is a mugs game!
On 22 Jul 2010 at 1:51pm Penguin wrote:
Yes it is possible to do that Down and Out, and nothing against trains, but doesn't it costs £2 on top of your normal train fare which is, I believe, £4 return. You still end up having to use the bus, which would have only cost you £3 if you had just used it in the first place. Also, the bus is likely to drop you nearer to your home when you get back to Lewes. I certainly find it easier and quicker from where I live. Like Dumpys suggestion though !
On 22 Jul 2010 at 3:21pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
A taxi from the station is £5 now. Add that to the train or bus fare and it's a lot dearer than driving if you're not goign to be thee long.
The bus must be at least £3 return, exactly the same as the parking charge for 2 hours in Churchill Square which is all I usually need (I'm often in and out agian in less than an hour). In my 50mpg car, the fuel is less than £2.
It takes a lot longer. It rarely takes me more than 20-30 minutes going via Kemptown, the bus goes all down the Lewes Road and takes forever. There are times when I've been back indoors with everything I went for in barely 90 minutes.
There are other benefits. If I can't get what I want in central Brighton, I can jump back in the car and go somewhere else, or come back via Sainsburys with the food shopping if I need to, or stop at the garden centre. And I can pick up burgers from Uncle Sam's for lunch and get them home still nice and hot or go and visit friends en route. None of those things are viable by public transport.
On 22 Jul 2010 at 5:18pm Penguin wrote:
Sorry AC-T, having read your first couple of posts it appeared that you thought driving/parking in Brighton was best to be avoided, and I was just suggesting alternatives. Not saying youb are wrong, but I can't see how, with a 20-25 min drive to Brighton, that you could be back in Lewes in 90 mins having loaded up your car with enough shopping to warrant three trips to the car and back. Yes, a bus is £3 return, but it doesn't take forever as you say, remember there are bus lanes which mean you don't sit in the same queues, so probably not much more than your drive via Kemptown, and certainly much less stress. Works best for me anyway. £3 and a short walk at this end, which to be honest isn't much different to the walk from the car park to the shops in Brighton. Yes, you could go do all sorts of things if you took your car, you could go for a drive in the country or even zoom up the M23, but I thought we were talking about driving to and parking in Brighton. Personally, if I wanted to do the food shopping or go to a garden centre, then I wouldn't consider doing this on a trip to Brighton anyway, and as for taking an Uncle Sams home, I would much rather eat mine straight away!
On 22 Jul 2010 at 10:42pm LewesSigner wrote:
Possibly not going to be popular suggesting htis with Brighton peeps. If you drive into Brighton from A23 south way, you will get sent round by Preston Circus Firestation. IF you stay to the left and follow the road round to Ditchling Road, there are side roads you can park in for free, and not miles up the hill.
Its a 10 minute walk down to the Lanes and then a nice wander for 10 mins or so to get to the town centre.
Otherwise London Road tends to be the cheapest car park. If I'm not staying long and cant be bothered doing the walk described above I park in Whitecross Street as it is one of the nicer ones however NCP. There is a car park near Whitecross Street, behind the station which I think is about £7 for the day.
AVOID DOME CAR PARK, that is VERY expensive...
Train or bus is best tho!
On 22 Jul 2010 at 10:58pm brixtonbelle wrote:
Me, hubby and kids can get return to b'ton with family railcard for about 7 quid. Takes 10 mins on train and no traffic, no bus lanes, no jams, no roadworks.
On 23 Jul 2010 at 12:30pm I Hate You Butler! wrote:
I think the point is, you can go by train fairly cheaply, and apparantly quickly, but there is only one place in Lewes where you can get on it, and only one place in Brighton (sensible for shopping) to get off it. Same coming back. There are several places in Lewes you can catch the bus, so almost certainly closer to your home than the railway station, and likewise in Brighton you can get off actually in Churchill Square, or the Old Steine or wherever you want. Plus you can then get on another bus and go somewhere else without any extra cost (as there would be with a Plusbus ticket). So, add on your walk to the station in Lewes, plus your walk from Brighton Station to Churchill Square, and I bet you would not be any quicker going by train.
On 23 Jul 2010 at 6:19pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Penguin, you completely underestimate my skills as a shopper! If spending money against the clock was an olympic event, I'd be a shoo-in for the team. Forty minutes is plenty of time to go to Boots, Waterstones & M&S, last time I went I got a pair of shoes in Terra Plana as well and was back at my car in well under an hour.
I was agreeing with OP that it is bonkers to drive down from London and park, assuming that they're not driving 50-odd miles for a trolley dash-style shopping trip, but something a little more leisurely. Then it really isn't worth taking your car.
But today, for example, in addition to central Brighton, I went to Holmbush, Hangleton, Ovingdean, Rottingdean and back to Ovingdean before coming back to Lewes. Trying to do all that by bus in 4 hours and still have time for a decent lunch would have been impossible. I'd probably still be waiting. (Actually, I'd probably still be trying to find out where to catch one or other of the buses)
On 24 Jul 2010 at 6:38pm self wrote:
park just off The Upper Lewes road, no parking restrictions there and a ten minute walk into town