Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 11 | Saltdean

Day 11 - Saltdean Stroll & Fishy Pie

Technology fails and that’s not really the problem. The problem is we are so damn dependent on it that even a tiny failure gets to your nerves! In other words, the cycle booking app did not work when we arrived at Saltdean today for our Tour De Seafront! C’est la vie! When all technology in this world fails, the only thing you can do is stand up on your own pair of feet! So that’s what we did. We walked.

Saltdean Undercliff Road

Saltdean is a nice little coastal village just outside of Lewes. The first thing that you notice when you go to Saltdean is the vibrant blue sea in contrast to the bright white cliff walls and a nice, wide undercliff path that runs all along the sea right into the town of Brighton. This undercliff road is very popular amongst walkers, cyclists and beginner cyclists all alike.

This picture is from years back!

As you walk along this path, you can see the overhanging cliff walls with numerous little pigeon nests. You would also find some areas of those overhangs have nets around them - a protection net for loose rocks and pebbles coming off the cliffs at regular intervals. On the other side of the walk, the turquoise blue sea meets the horizon. On a windy day, you would get sprayed on by the waves lashing against the bottom of the path. As a matter of fact, as per the Brighton & Hove City Council documentation, Saltdean is believed to be named after the salt-spray that covered the grass after storms!

A huge splash in Saltdean, picture from a very windy day

A very cosy little cafe used to sell carrot cakes on this undercliff road. I have had numerous coffees and cakes here. But now, it has been replaced by a posh looking cafe that seems to be selling cafe latte and cappuccino as opposed to just coffee and tea sold in the earlier one. I twitched my obnoxious nose at it and passed on.

We went around the Brighton marina (it is the biggest man made marina in Europe!), admired the extremely patient anglers there, checked out the boats a couple of which were steaming out into the sea and then made our way into the touristy town of Brighton. When you approach Brighton from this side of the Marina, you get on to the nude beach first and then the town pier. However, there were no nude people like the first time I was here. This end of the town was now way busier than the otherwise quietness that I remembered from my early visits. A new walking path has been laid out right on the pebble beach here, making it very easy to walk. This probably explains why this part of the seafront is not so quiet anymore, which in turn probably explains why all the peace-seeking sun-soaking nude people are gone too!

Stretching all the way to Brighton

Anyway, I found Mr.Whippy ice cream truck. So I was happy having my vanilla ice cream with a chocolate stick. In my defence, not that I need to defend, it was quite hot. And quite strangely, when it gets hot, the heat in Sussex gets hotter than the heat in Kolkata, at least, to my skin, anyway!

I checked out my first rented place right on the seafront and then also had a look at the travelodge hotel where I had stayed my very first few days in England. But by now as we got to the Brighton pier, I was quite hot. A perfect nostalgia stroll started taking a toll due to the heat and also, not to forget the crowd ! Holy cow ! Looked like the entire English community was in Brighton this weekend. I know, it does sound odd coming from someone born and brought up in the crowded city of Kolkata, but I do not want heat and I do not want crowds when I am on holidays ! I get that everyday, don’t I ! We realised it was the weekend and we had made a rookie mistake of choosing the wrong day for this visit. Brighton over the weekends gets extremely touristy.

The only decent picture could be captured given the crowd and the heat!

So, again, I twitched my nose like a local, pah-ed at the crowd and walked aimlessly in the Brighton lanes, spotting the old hangout spots, restaurants from the past, wondered about the new shops and then as the legs started giving up, hoped in a bus back to Saltdean where our car was parked.

All's well that ends well. And this evening ended with one of my most favourite experimented dishes ever i.e. a baked salmon & broccoli pie. Oh yes! If you have never tried it, you must. Here is the recipe that we broadly follow but of course with our own convenient tweaks -  Italian Broccoli & Salmon Bake. I do enjoy cooking when it is not absolutely essential and I have the right company! We were extremely hungry and tired after that long walk in the heat and crowd. So, the fishy pie was hoovered up in seconds and we called it a night!

P.S. Nothing beats the smell of a freshly baked pie…mmm.