Starting Line - 1902

On De La Warr Parade in Bexhill-on-Sea sits a brass line embedded in the pavement - the Starting Line from the very first motor racing event held on a public road in Britain, way back in 1902. It's a proper moment of automotive history, right there under your feet, easy to miss if you're not looking for it.

This wasn't some organised circuit. It was a 7.5-mile stretch of seafront road, and they simply raced cars up and down it. The whole thing feels almost mad now - modern traffic is thick enough without imagining early Edwardian motors tearing along at speeds that would have seemed insane. The brass marker itself is unassuming, the kind of thing you'd walk past without thinking, which is precisely why it's worth hunting down. For petrolheads and anyone interested in transport history, it's a genuine thrill. Families with younger kids might find it underwhelming - there's no visitor centre or interpretation boards, just that line and the sea view.

Bexhill itself is a decent enough seaside town with beaches and that wonderful Art Deco De La Warr Pavilion nearby, so you're not making a wasted trip. If you're staying at Park Holidays UK or Combe Haven just down the coast, it's an easy walk to find. Allow perhaps 20 minutes to locate it and absorb the moment. Summer's the obvious time, when the seafront is busy and the light's good for photos. Free to see, naturally - it's just a line on a pavement.