We had aimed to leave for Brighton at 9am but it was closer to 10am when we finally set off. The traffic on the M1 was busy and there were some mad idiots about, as usual! On the M25 we heard there'd been an accident at Junction 20, just after we joined it from the M1. Of course, this slowed us down considerably and that set the tone for the rest of the journey on this horrible motorway...this section really is the road to hell!
We crawled past Heathrow and saw lots of planes and then crawled some more until we reached the Cobham services where we stopped and ate our picnic lunch. The services were extremely busy with people, no doubt, heading off on holiday or coming home.
We left the M25 and joined the M23 and thankfully the traffic improved otherwise I would have suggested turning around and going straight back home! We made it to Brighton by 1.30pm and the town was very busy which meant that we crawled all the way to the front to try and find a parking space. I had never seen so many people walking along the front and of course, the new attraction - British Airways i360 - is now open which meant that it was busier than ever!
Regretting very much coming to the seaside resort we turned right into the town where we saw a sign for parking. And then we stopped and barely moved again as the queue to get into the multi-storey car park was huge... By now we were all very frustrated so we decided to get out of the queue and head towards Worthing, a town a bit further along the coast to see if it was any quieter.
We drove out of Brighton and the scenery became a bit depressing with the town of Shoreham looking particularly industrial. We were on the lookout for somewhere to park and maybe have a drink but there was nowhere. Eventually, at Worthing we saw signs for parking and went into a large multi-storey. It tells you how busy it was when we had to go up to the fifth floor before we found a space!
As we all needed the loo and I was gasping for a drink we went into the first one we found and it was probably the mankiest pub in Worthing...typical! Sophie and I dashed for the loo and it was like being in the toilets of a seedy nightclub. We joined the boys in the bar and looked around the pub that really needed a serious re-vamp. Even our table was sticky with spilt drinks...yuk!
We quickly downed our drinks and emerged into the warm sunshine. Driving in I'd spotted Worthing Pier so we headed there and I said I would treat everyone to an ice-cream. The pier was lovely (it dates from 1862) and we had great views out to sea. The tide was out and there were lots of people going out as far as they could.
We strolled along and it was very windy but a few people were sitting behind windbreaks and lapping up the fierce sun. On the way back I treated Sophie and Mike to a delicious whippy ice-cream with two flakes and we threw the end bits to the gulls who were wading in the shallow water beneath the pier.
By now we'd all had enough and it was almost 4pm so we decided to head for the pub I'd chosen - the Seven Stars at Leigh, a pub we'd visited back in 2013 when we were flying out from Gatwick. I asked Sophie to find me the postcode and then we programmed this into Gladys. We took the A23 out of Worthing and she was obviously not happy with the choice of road as she kept shrieking at me to turn around. Keith told me to ignore her and we carried on up the A23 until we reached the M23. Even then she kept telling me to make a U-turn so I asked Sophie to check the postcode again and she discovered it was a Tunbridge Wells address!
Luckily her Google maps app was working so that directed me to the pub door...thank goodness! There was a large group of people sitting outside the pub and they all stared at us as we got out of the car, probably because we looked windblown and slightly mad at being cooped up in the car for most of the day! We found a seat in the lovely lounge area and were told that we could order food at 6pm.
Keith said the pub looked different to how he remembered it and I suppose it was three years ago we'd last visited. It hasn't seemed that long! We sat and had a drink and then at just after 6pm we made our way into the dining room to order. Unusually, we all had a starter - Sophie chose cheesy garlic bread, Mike had deep fried Mozzarella balls, Keith opted for smoked mackerel on toast and I went for Calamari with a sweet chilli dip. Of the four of us I was the only one pleased with the food...Sophie said her garlic bread was tasteless, Mike's balls disappeared in two seconds flat and Keith said he could have done with a bit more mackerel!
With the mains, Sophie had, after a long deliberation, ordered the Cajun Chicken burger with the addition of cheese and bacon and Mike went for the same but with Jalapeno peppers as well. Keith and I ordered the fish and chips. When Sophie's burger arrived it was without the cheese so she sent it back and looked very annoyed indeed. We'd all started our meals before hers reappeared but it was minus the bacon which she hadn't noticed before. She looked absolutely furious now and to make it worse the meal certainly didn't live up to her expectations.
Our fish and chips were OK but nothing compared to the meal we'd had in Aldeburgh. Maybe we should have gone there today instead?! Keith's beer was also awful and looked flat and cloudy. All in all, not the best of days!
We left at around 7.30pm and thankfully had a good journey home, arriving at just before 10pm. I'm just hoping that next year, our Silver Wedding Anniversary, will be much. much better!
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