Distant Places, The Pier at Eastbourne

After a year of lockdown and cooling my heels close to home, distant places beckoned. I felt an urge to travel further afield – to far-off Eastbourne, eighteen miles away, and the gilded domes and cupolas of its fabulous old fun pier. I set off at 3:45am in order to be there before sunrise, pedalling by lamplight across the darkened marsh and around the long arm of Pevensey Bay, arriving in Eastbourne just as dawn’s early light illuminated the old pier’s Arabian Nights superstructure against a backdrop of storm clouds. Thunder was rumbling in the air, adding a sense of drama to the scene. It was the first time in a year I’ve journeyed so from home on my bicycle and I was reminded yet again of how much travel and romance can be had so close at hand.