Brighton Station, originally built in 1840 to connect eastward to Shoreham and westward to Lewes but by 1846 it became the end of the London to Brighton line (the train terminates here, please take all your belongings with you). I love how it curves round to suit the terrain because its built on the side of a hill. The roof has been renovated but the Victorian interior is still authentic and true to itself. And I love this station because of the London trips that I also love to take, but also because I love travel and travelling and being on the move. The train trip to London is just as exciting as London itself for me, I settle into my seat with coffee, my music in my ears and a good book, while taking in the passing countryside, the South Downs and then the promise of London itself as we crawl through Clapham Junction and on to Victoria, catching sight of the splendid bridges and ever changing skyline on the way. And trains have always done that for me; way back about over fifty years ago I travelled on a steam train from Gorebridge Station (round the corner from my then Scottish house) and travelled to Pitlochry in Fife to visit the new hydroelectric dam (it was a school trip). The train chugged through Midlothian into Edinburgh and then across the Forth Railway bridge into the Kingdom of Fife, and it was magical, but most of all it showed me how big the world was. I have lived in Brighton longer than any other place in my life and yet the adventure continues. Yesterday I was in Brighton, Kemptown and onto Rottingdean, Telscombe Cliffs and the Peavehaven, along the coast - and from the road I could see the waves crashing over the sea wall into the Marina. I have been here twenty-five years next year and this station is the start and end of the adventure. Abbi sent me this track all the way from Oklahoma because she is looking forward to coming home next Saturday. Isn't there something else happening that day, seems to ring a bell... nope I can't remember, her and Dan coming home for Christmas is enough - her bike is in Oklahoma, I wonder if I can hire her one for the three weeks... hmm I should check that one out:
