[Sussex] Lesser-known seaside town locals say is 'cheaper Brighton' is UK's craft beer capital

[Oh_aye]

Up the Worthing!

Pretty seaside town locals say is 'cheaper Brighton' is UK's craft beer capital

Henry Burrell visited Worthing in West Sussex, a seaside town not far from Brighton which provided inspiration for literary greats Oscar Wilde, Harold Pinter and Jane Austen

www.mirror.co.uk

The day Worthing arrives will be the day its residents stop self consciously comparing it to Brighton.

To be fair that tends to be more the dfl's than those born and raised their

 

[Blue3]

Couple of other notable places;

Dome cinema - beautiful and amazing value.

G-Lite - superb Italian cafe / restaurant. The Cannoli in there? To die for, darlings.

Brew Bar on the beach. Lovely spot for a summer ale.

The Dome is an absolutely beautiful building always my first choice to go and watch films and definitely a lot more cost effective than the big multiplex's

 

[sully]

The only problem with Worthing is that it's crap.

I take it you haven’t visited for a good few years, then.

When I first came to Worthing for work, I thought I’d arrived in a town that time had forgotten, about 30 years behind the times.

Now, I live here and love it. Things have changed a huge amount in those 10 years.

 

[Blue3]

Worthing is Brighton’s little brother and I hope it stay that way

I personally think Rustington has a good selection of shops with plenty of free parking and littlehampton just round the corner and the best sandy beaches for miles around

 

[Left Footer]

Regularly see reports of anti social behaviour in Worthing - especially around the area where McDonald's is.

This was a shocking incident last year - https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/23891938.worthing-mcdonalds-knife-attack-teenagers-sentenced/

And have seen issues at Worthing train station with young 'yoofs' on a few occasions. And saw this a couple of days ago - Police crackdown on anti-social behaviour on trains

Feral people eat at McDonalds shocker.......

 

[Brovion]

Couple of other notable places;

Dome cinema - beautiful and amazing value.

G-Lite - superb Italian cafe / restaurant. The Cannoli in there? To die for, darlings.

Brew Bar on the beach. Lovely spot for a summer ale.

I tell you what, the Dome pretty much sums up the revitalisation/reimagining of Worthing. Back in the 60s/70s the Dome was the epitome of the term 'flea pit'. There was just the one screen, and the whole pace had a dirty, run-down air. It was not a pleasant place to visit and more than once the Council considered demolition. Worthing itself as a whole could at best be described as 'gently boring'.

Now the Dome's had a complete new lease of life. It's not just that it's been done up, there's the second and third screens they added (don't know where they found the space), and the upstairs space in the dome itself. (We had my mum's 80th birthday there). It's a great place to visit - as is Worthing itself now which is way more interesting and varied than it used to be.

Pity about Brooklands, but I'll let that pass. (Newer residents won't know about it).

 

[Zeberdi]

Regularly see reports of anti social behaviour in Worthing - especially around the area where McDonald's is.

This was a shocking incident last year - https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/23891938.worthing-mcdonalds-knife-attack-teenagers-sentenced/

And have seen issues at Worthing train station with young 'yoofs' on a few occasions. And saw this a couple of days ago - Police crackdown on anti-social behaviour on trains

I regularly see reports of anti-social behaviour in just about every town in the UK these days and throughout the rail network. I can name half a dozen towns in Norfolk that make Worthing look like a peaceful, sleepy retirement village!

This isn’t a Worthing specific issue. All seaside towns and cities have a disproportionately high level of anti-social behaviour/drug and alcohol related issues in part due to poverty, transient populations, tourist influx, seasonal highs and lows etc but are generally safe places to live in the UK.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) - Seaside towns have 33% higher crime than the UK average.

Violence and sexual offences - Seaside towns have 34% higher crime than the UK average.

Criminal damage and arson - Seaside towns have 29% higher crime than the UK average.

Public order - Seaside towns have 14% higher crime than the UK average.

Drugs - Seaside towns have 9% higher crime than the UK average.

Shoplifting - Seaside towns have 30% higher crime than the UK average.

All Other Crime - Seaside towns have 13% higher crime than the UK average.

Total Crime - Seaside towns have 19% higher crime than the UK average.


That said, I love living by the sea and the cosmopolitan vibrancy of English seaside towns - it is one of the things I most miss about Brighton.

A study of crime in the UK's seaside and coastal resorts

An in-depth study of crime levels in 70 UK seaside resorts and how crime increases during the tourist season.

chillisauce.com

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

I regularly see reports of anti-social behaviour in just about every town in the UK these days and throughout the rail network. I can name half a dozen towns in Norfolk that make Worthing look like a peaceful, sleepy retirement village!

This isn’t a Worthing specific issue. All seaside towns and cities have a disproportionately high level of anti-social behaviour/drug and alcohol related issues but are generally safe places to live in the UK.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) - Seaside towns have 33% higher crime than the UK average.

Violence and sexual offences - Seaside towns have 34% higher crime than the UK average.

Criminal damage and arson - Seaside towns have 29% higher crime than the UK average.

Public order - Seaside towns have 14% higher crime than the UK average.

Drugs - Seaside towns have 9% higher crime than the UK average.

Shoplifting - Seaside towns have 30% higher crime than the UK average.

All Other Crime - Seaside towns have 13% higher crime than the UK average.

Total Crime - Seaside towns have 19% higher crime than the UK average.


That said, I love living by the sea and the cosmopolitan vibrancy of English seaside towns - it is one of the things I most miss about Brighton.

Where did I say it's a Worthing specific issue I regularly see police announce dispersal orders for Worthing town centre and surrounding areas. I was just adding to the comments about how things are in Worthing these days.

 

[Jack Straw]

I was in Worthing for a dentist appointment yesterday. Had caught the train in and was a little early - so got a few steps in walking around the shopping area. Walked past Greggs … a chap came out with a pastie. He took one bite and that was it. Bloody seagull swooped down and took it straight out of his hands. Poor old boy. Was hard to keep a smile off my face though when he was telling me it was the last one in the shop

Why did all the other seagulls leave?

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Pity about Brooklands, but I'll let that pass. (Newer residents won't know about it).

Whats happened to Brooklands? Used to go there as a kid. Memories of artificial rocks for climbing, boats and a miniature railway plus catching tadpoles in the stream by the bridge.

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

I take it you haven’t visited for a good few years, then.

When I first came to Worthing for work, I thought I’d arrived in a town that time had forgotten, about 30 years behind the times.

Now, I live here and love it. Things have changed a huge amount in those 10 years.

I jest. Yeah I've been plenty of times. There's lots to like to be fair.

Hard to beat a summer evening stroll along the seafront if you ask me. Crabshack is a fave. Love what they've done with splashdown and the paddling pool area. Modern art-deco architecture, it's certainly on the right track.

 

[bobbysmith01]

Worthing born and bred, moved away due to work in the late 90’s but came back after 5 years of living in outer London, you don’t know how good Worthing is until you move away. The prom, the downs, good restaurants and bars. Needs a bit of a facelift to be fair and as someone said Teville gate needs sorting, but rather live here than Brighton, although love visiting there but could never live there. Met a couple of Brightonians in the Excellent Signal Post in rowlands road who said they come to Worthing at least twice a week for food and drink as ‘Brighton full of tourists and boring places to eat and drink’

 

[Zeberdi]

Where did I say it's a Worthing specific issue I regularly see police announce dispersal orders for Worthing town centre and surrounding areas. I was just adding to the comments about how things are in Worthing these days.

Woa! I didn’t say you did

You raised what could be interpreted as a negative aspect of the town so I was pointing out that social disorder on the trains and in the town centre is not a reason for anyone to draw negative conclusions about Worthing - all seaside towns have these issues.

Any before you come back at that, I wasn’t accusing you personally of drawing negative conclusions but anyone who might read your post and think that might be a reason not to live in Worthing!

Don’t take my post as a personal attack, it wasn’t meant as one.

 

[Hotchilidog]

Worthing is alright. Some cracking pubs, great football team and a nice seafront. It's definitely not Brighton and this is a good thing, wouldn't want them to be the same.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Whats happened to Brooklands? Used to go there as a kid. Memories of artificial rocks for climbing, boats and a miniature railway plus catching tadpoles in the stream by the bridge.

Brooklands Park - Adur & Worthing Councils

Brooklands Park is currently undergoing restoration to return it to the jewel in the crown destination of Adur and Worthing open spaces.

www.adur-worthing.gov.uk

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Whats happened to Brooklands? Used to go there as a kid. Memories of artificial rocks for climbing, boats and a miniature railway plus catching tadpoles in the stream by the bridge.

Not sure what there is to 'pity' about Brooklands. Clearly it's no longer the playground it was when we were kids, with the railway around the lake, waterfalls and paddling pools, massive kids playground and a pitch and putt course... but ...

It does have a brand new extensive play area for kids, a new cafe, and has been developed into a well thought out wildlife / open space, with acessible pathways and a mixture of planting / wilding which makes it feel like a little bit of coutryside near the sea.

We walk the dog there from time to time and it's always bustliong with people, the play park is very popular, the cafe busy and lots of families either with or without dogs.

In fact, in lookiong up the overall plan for the park, it is designed as

an outdoor interactive classroom and science learning resource supporting the wider STEM curriculum. Schools and families will find new opportunities for learning about habitats, ecosystems, forces and materials. The Parks department will also be piloting new planting schemes to feed into how we respond to the issues of climate change and sustainability.

Plus towards the back of the park, there are some very nice areas to pick blackberries, which my dog Bruce really appreciates.

Brooklands Park Masterplan - Adur & Worthing Councils

Three key principles were distilled from the original concept and used to develop the masterplan: LEARNING: Brooklands Park will become an outdoor...

www.adur-worthing.gov.uk

 

[Brovion]

Whats happened to Brooklands? Used to go there as a kid. Memories of artificial rocks for climbing, boats and a miniature railway plus catching tadpoles in the stream by the bridge.

Yes. The paddling pools, the climbing rocks, the boats you could hire on the lake, the 2 pitch 'n' putt courses, the go-karts, the par 3 golf course, the putting green, the miniature railway round the lake .... all gone.

Instead they've made it a sort of 'wild space' with contemplative walks and no vulgar entertainments. This would be great in somewhere like a large deprived inner-city, but as small-town Worthing has the Downs to the north and the sea to the south in wasn't a facility that was really needed. What we do need is somewhere for families to play; generations of Lancing and Worthing residents have happy memories of playing there as a family day out - walking around looking at long grasses isn't the same. Plus of course the Peter Pan playground was lost when they built the new swimming pool, so that's another family facility lost.

(At one stage they said the removal of the Brooklands facilities was 'temporary' as it was where the Rampion wind farm cables some ashore and they dug a lot of it up. But after construction was finished they just left it).

 

[stewart12]

I like Worthing. As mentioned before it doesn't need to be like Brighton and really the two major differences are the lack of students and fewer tourists. I imagine if one of the uni's had a campus there it would quite rapidly transform and would just be a full on mini Brighton

As it is, it has a lot of the good stuff- good pubs, restaurants, architecture, seafront etc

 

[Papa Lazarou]

What it really needs is a dedicted cider bar, with Chillean Cider. @Bozza

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

We’ve been informally looking at Worthing as an option if we decide to sell as still deciding to extend or not.

Are there any areas / schools we should consider avoiding?

Looked at a few houses near St Andrews high school and also around Broadwater (grove and cissbury Road just off the parade) but don’t know the area at all.