Brighton Lodgings

The City of Brighton & Hove acts as a magnet for lesbians and gay men from all over the world attracted to its bohemian atmosphere, open minded attitudes and raffish air. Brighton has now long been known as Britain’s number one gay resort.

Kemptown is known as the ‘gay village’ and has a thriving and diverse scene ranging from leather workshops, pink parlours, and techno clubs, to specialist boutiques, hotels, estate agents and kickboxing classes.

There’s something for everyone. Why not bring your loved one and have a commitment ceremony on the naturist beach!?

Brighton has a thriving and diverse gay scene which ranges from leather bars, to country and western line dancing, to techno clubs. Brighton has long been known as the number one gay seaside resort in the south of England.

As well as the usual tourists and visitors Brighton also acts as a magnet for lesbians and gay men from all over the UK and abroad who are attracted by its bohemian atmosphere, easy going attitude and raffish air. This has led to one of the largest populations of lesbians and gay men in the UK. Much of the Brighton gay scene is concentrated in the Kemptown area of Brighton, the focal point being St James’s Street and the Old Steine.

Gay capital of the South
With its laid back, bohemian atmosphere and reputation for cheeky, free thinking, Brighton has long been considered the UK’s gay capital. In a unique, cosmopolitan atmosphere where boundaries between gay and straight merge, the city offers a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for lesbian and gay visitors.

The Gay Village
Kemptown, known as Brighton’s ‘Gay Village’, offers a thriving and diverse scene to gay and lesbian visitors - everything from pink parlours and funky clubs to specialist boutiques and hotels.

Whilst across the city, gay friendly five star luxury sits comfortably with traditional B&Bs and smaller exclusive contemporary hotels, with some fabulous lesbian and gay owned establishments offering attractive packages to gay visitors.

Dancing divas and disco queens…
An array of gay and lesbian pubs and clubs in the St James’s and Kemp Town district offers a multitude of entertainment for the disco diva or dancing queen! Regular disco and cabaret nights, special party-nights, live music and diva and drag shows abound for dancing feet to boogie the night away.

Many of the clubs in the city host specific gay nights, from trashy handbag and midnight caberet to the best in club dance. And for those for that don’t want to strut their stuff into the early hours, Brighton offers a range of more tranquil gay friendly cafes, tea shops and Regency splendour to help you relax in style.

Designer labels to pink pampering…
And with shopping to die for gay and lesbian visitors are spoilt for choice. Bask in antique or designer label shopping in The Lanes, pick up a second hand bargain or the latest vintage and club culture fashion in the trendy North Laines or indulge in a spot of pink pampering in Kemp Town. To top it all off, sashay into one of the gay and lesbian run café bars to re-fuel with an energy boosting expresso, organic juice or relaxing latte.

Brighton is commonly referred to as the Gay Capital of the UK, and there’s certainly a thriving gay and lesbian community in Brighton. T.

Gay Bars & Pubs
Kruze Bar - 7 Marine Parade
Legends - New Europe Hotel, 31-32 Marine Parade
The Queen’s Arms - George Street
Brighton Rock - St James’ Street
Couch 33 - St James’ Street
The Aquarium - 6 Steine Street

Brighton is famous for is annual Gay Pride Festival, but its thriving lesbian and gay scene is worth visiting all year around.

Brighton Pride is an event, and wider organisation, which promotes equality and diversity, and advances education to eliminate discrimination against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. The major event is an annual summer festival held in the first week of August. The 2005 summer event attracted 120,000 visitors.

The Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard is a telephone helpline that describes itself as ‘providing a service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual & trans communities since April 1975′ and is one of the oldest in the UK.

Also based in Brighton is the UK charity the Gender Trust set up in 1990 that aims to help transgender people with gender identity issues.

The city also has the Allsorts Youth Project, which recently passed a unanimous resolution to include transgender young people and those who are unsure as members of Allsorts at their Annual General Meeting on the 21st November “to support young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or unsure (LGBTU) of their sexuality”.

Both Brighton and Sussex universities have their own LGBT organisations, sometimes working together, to cater to the needs of the ever increasing number of LGBT students. Widely regarded as one of the best LGBT groups in the country, LGBrighTon is for Brighton University students and The Sussex Uni LGBT has members from Sussex University.

The Brighton Our Story Project was set up to collect and preserve our lesbian and gay history community in the area.

In 2000 the award-winning and large scale LGBT community survey, Count Me In, led to the development of an LGBT Community Strategy 2001-06 for Brighton & Hove. Spectrum developed from this process to work with local services and planners in implementing the strategy, and to provide infrastructure and community development support for the LGBT community. Its aim is to act as an independent voice, negotiating the rights of LGBT people locally with specific focus on the needs of marginalised sections of the LGBT community.

The Clare Project is a local support group for transgender and transsexual people that was set up in 2001.

Count Me In Too! is a second study which in June 2007 published its ‘Initial findings Reports’ in partnership between the University of Brighton and Spectrum aiming to identify gaps in the original research and update the strategy.

Two free magazines are distributed in the city: Gscene describes itself as ‘the gay and lesbian lifestyle, listings and community magazine for Brighton and Hove’ and 3sixty that describes itself as ‘your online guide to gay life round the south.’

Brighton is located on the south coast of England, and together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton and Hove. Brighton is one of the largest and most notable settlements by the sea in the United Kingdom.

The ancient settlement of Brighthelmston dates from before the Domesday Book (1086), but it emerged as an important health resort during the 18th century and became a popular destination for day-trippers after the arrival of the railway in 1841. Brighton experienced rapid population growth reaching a peak of over 160,000 by 1961. Modern Brighton forms part of a conurbation stretching along the coast, with a population of around 480,000.

Brighton is a popular place to visit; welcoming 8 million tourists each year. With its hotels, restaurants, shops and entertainment facilities, which additionally serve a substantial business conference industry. The modern city of Brighton and Hove is also an educational centre with two universities, a medical school and many English language schools.

The Royal Pavilion is a former Royal palace built as the home for the Prince Regent during the early 1800s and is notable for its Indian architecture and Oriental interior design. The building and surrounding grounds were purchased by the town in 1849 for £53,000.

Brighton Pier (originally and in full “The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier”, and for long known as the Palace Pier) was opened in 1899. It features a large funfair, restaurants and arcade halls. The funfair has been criticised for its high prices, with rides costing up to £8.

The West Pier was built in 1866 and has been closed since 1975 and theoretically awaiting renovation, which faces continual set backs, in part because the owners of the Palace Pier, the Noble Organisation, have opposed all plans put forward. The West Pier is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the United Kingdom, but suffered two catastrophic fires in 2003. Plans for erecting a new landmark in its place – the i360, a 183 m (600 ft) observation tower designed by London Eye architects Marks Barfield – were announced in June 2006. Plans were approved by the City council on 11 October 2006.

Created in 1883, Volk’s Electric Railway runs along the inland edge of the beach from the Brighton Pier to Black Rock. It is the world’s oldest operating electric railway.

The 11th century St. Nicholas Church remains a place of worship and is the oldest building in Brighton, commonly known as “the mother church” of Brighton. Other notable churches include St. Bartholomew’s, and the Church of St. Peter, prominently sited in the heart of Brighton on an island between the main roads to London and Lewes.

A major attraction is the seafront, which has a variety of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and amusement arcades, principally along the strip between the two piers. Being less than an hour from London by train has made the city a popular destination with residents of the capital as they have all the culture they would expect from a city with the added benefit of the fresh sea air. Brighton beach has a designated official nudist area (south of the easterly part of Kemptown). Brighton’s beach has recently been awarded a blue flag.

Since the 1978 demolition of the open-air swimming lido at Black Rock, the most easterly part of Brighton’s seafront, the area has been developed considerably and now features one of Europe’s largest marinas. However, the site of the pool itself remains empty except for a skate park and graffiti wall, and further development is planned for the area including a high-rise hotel which has aroused public and media debate, mirroring the situation with proposals for the site of the King Alfred leisure centre nearby in Hove.[citation needed] In addition, part of the Eastern side of the beach has been redeveloped into a beach sports complex, which has versatile courts for anything from volleyball to ultimate Frisbee, which opened to the public in March 2007.

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