Brighton is one of the UK’s most famous seaside towns – it’s quite large so it’s probably a city – on the South coast of England, around an hour from London it’s the place where capital dwellers desperate for a more laid back lifestyle tend to decamp. It has all the charm of a Georgian seaside set up with all of the sophistication demanded of a crowd used to the delights of London.

It’s a very good-looking, cool place to visit and no doubt its even cooler to live in, although the house prices will dictate who lives where and how close to the seafront. It’s well-known for its gay scene and as a result it has an almost San Francesco-esque easy-going, party nature about it. Good bars and excellent restaurants sit cheek by jowl alongside boutiques and quirky independents.

We stayed in a B&B courtesy of AirBnB – a website where you can stay with real people, well worth a look if you get the chance. Staying with our host Joy in her handsome seafront Georgian townhouse really made the trip. It was quite unusual staying with someone you’ve never met before but I guess it’s the same in a traditional B&B, except this is someone’s house but it worked our for us really well.

The main thrust of the visit was to see the mighty BSP (review here) and fit around their awesome club night Krankenhaus various foodie experiences. It’s quite  a trek from Leeds to Brighton, around four hours on the road longer by rail oddly, but worth it. The south coast offers us northerners quite a different seaside experience: the sophistication of West London alongside the rough and readiness of a provincial town. The poshies seemed to win out, and although we didn’t visit the down at heel areas there’s plenty of evidence they exists. You could argue that’s what makes our cities and towns interesting and vibrant.