Brighton and Seven Sisters

• On 31 May, I went to Brighton. It was in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park where I saw the name of the town for the first time; it is the place where Mr Rushworth and Maria Bertram visit on their honeymoon, or in Pride and Prejudice, where Lydia Bennet's romance with George Wickham begins. When I referred to my travel book, I realized that I could make a day trip to Brighton. From the novel I learned that it was the favorite resort of all London, so I decided to visit there to make the most use of the fine weather. I could see that the atmosphere was indeed enjoyable as I expected from Austen's description; being invited to stay at Brighton, Lydia imagines what excitement awaits her there:"a visit to Brighton comprised every possibility of earthly happiness. She saw with the creative eye of fancy, the streets of the gay bathing place covered with officers". Although Brighton in Austen's works is associated with immorality, I just went there for fun as a tourist.
• Reading through the chapter of tourist attractions in the south coast, I found that Brighton was near to Seven Sisters, where you can see the most popular white cliffs of Great Britain. Finally, I made a plan to visit the two places within a day.
• There were some other reasons why I wanted to go to Brighton; there is a famous building, Royal Pavilion which Queen Victoria's uncle George IV had built over 40 years; since he came to the town, he liked the site very much and made up his mind to have a retreat there. The building is really unique as you can see. In addition, I would like to see the clock tower which was presented to the town of Brighton by James Willing Esq, in commemoration of the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign. Furthermore, for Seven Sisters, I hoped to get some pieces of chalk rocks of the cliffs as a souvenir.
• From Woolich Arsenal, I transferred two times at London Bridge and East Croydon. It took about 2:30 hours to get to Brighton, and costed £21.90 for a return ticket. Arriving at Brighton station, I could even see the ocean in the distance, so I got excited heading to the beach. On the way to the beach, I met the clock tower that I was willing to see. Getting to the beach, I was impressed by the magnificent scenery. In spite of a premature season(still the end of May), the beach was already filled with sun-worshipers because of the fine weather. The scene reminded me of William Powel Frith's Ramsgate Sands, though I knew that it described a different beach. Since the weather and the place created a beautiful pictures, I shot lots of photographs.
• The idiosyncrasy of the Royal Pavilion did surprise me very much. I thought that I had never seen such a palace in Britain since I came to this country. It did derive from the very mixture of the Oriental and European tastes.
• Looking around the busiest part of Brighton, I took the bus no.12 to Seven Sisters. It took longer than I expected. You have to estimate about 40-50 minutes to get there. Getting off at a stop called Seven Sisters Park, I started walking to the viewing spot by following signs. Since the walking course is very popular, I saw lots of visitors coming back. The footpath was also fantastic, you can see one of the most beautiful natural panorama on your way to the beach. Although I had to walk 40 minutes at least, I was not bored at all because I could see the lamb and cows. The breathtaking scenery somewhat reminded me of the wallpaper of Windows XP. As a matter of fact, it was better than that definitely. When I got to the beach, I looked up the cliff and felt awed by the magnificence. I could pick up some pieces of chalk rocks and put them into my backpack as important souvenirs. Leaving the beach, I climbed up the hill, and this time I looked down the beach, which was really scary.
• I wanted to take a picture of seven linking cliffs because the name was derived from it, but I couldn't because I was on the spot. I've learned from another website that if you want to see the whole cliff, you had better go to Seaford and climbed up the hill facing the cliff. Anyway, I had a really good time in Brighton, and I will never forget this fantastic experience.