Eastbourne Pier

The pier stretches out into the English Channel like a Victorian confidence trick - all ornate ironwork and faded grandeur, proper old-school seaside theatre. You can walk the full length for free, past amusement arcades that smell of chips and salt water, past the occasional fisherman hoping for mackerel, past families queuing for the arcade games that have somehow survived since 1980.

It's the view that gets you. On a clear day you can see across to Pevensey and beyond, and on a grey one it's all moody and atmospheric - the kind of place that makes you understand why Victorians went mad for seaside holidays. There's a bar halfway along, fish and chips stalls, and the usual pier attractions: a small theatre, amusement machines, nothing revolutionary. But that's partly the charm. It's not trying to be Blackpool.

Historically minded types will appreciate that this bit of Sussex has serious defensive credentials - Pevensey's famous for its Norman castle just down the coast - and the pier itself has that reassuring permanence, the sense that it's been here through wars and economic slumps and the rise of package holidays to Spain.

If you're staying at one of the nearby parks - Pevensey Bay is practically on your doorstep at 3.4 miles, or Warren Wood if you want something a touch classier - a pier walk works well as a casual afternoon. Allow an hour, longer if the arcades trap your kids. Best on a blustery day when it feels properly atmospheric rather than chintzy.