4 trains & 5 buses: Brighton, UK

Public transportation and I are the epitome of a love/hate relationship. First, I love how quickly it is to get around. Then, I become painfully aware of how many people are coughing around me. Then, the Tube breaks down and I have to take an Uber. Then, I see the Uber bill and remember how much I love public transportation.

As much as my negative feelings toward it grow, last weekend, public transportation made a gorgeous last-minute day trip possible. Patrick crafted a plan to go to Brighton for the day, and he triumphantly played dad and mapped the route for us.

Train 1: London –> Brighton

Bus 1: Brighton –> Devil’s Dyke 

We happened to be there on a beautiful sunny day when a group of paragliders were sailing over the hill, adding even more color to the bright green landscape. That’s one great thing about England–even when it’s cold and there are no leaves on the trees, the grass is so green.

Attempting to paraglide via scarf.

Adding the next three to my ongoing collection of “Millennials in Europe”:

Mara gets a special shoutout for best shoe choice of the day. As we struggled through grass, mud and rocks, Mara wore her LL Bean boots with pride.

Also she’s my go-to unsuspecting model and only complains a little bit about it.

This is Mara summed up in one picture–ll that’s missing is coffee.

Bus 2: Devil’s Dyke–>Brighton

Before getting on this bus, we embarked on a mission to beat the sunset and arrive at our next destination before dark. It was bold, and we were up to the challenge.

Train 2: Brighton–>Seaford

Bus 3: Seaford–>Seven Sisters

It was after getting off this bus that I thought I broke my camera, only to discover when I got home that it was actually on self timer and I didn’t notice. Despite my utter obliviousness, I managed to get some gorgeous shots as we sprinted over a gigantic hill to get to the coast.

But all the trains and busses and running over a hill and rolling my ankle and drenching my shoes with mud was worth it for this:

It got dark quickly, but not too quickly for a moody silhouette photo.

Bus 4: Seven Sisters–>Seaford

Train 3: Seaford–>Lewes

Bus 5: Lewes–>Three Bridges

Train 4: Three Bridges–>London

Our group was surrounded by so much beauty both in the city and in the country, all in one day. England is unreal.