A long weekend was in store for us to celebrate Brighton Pride in early August so we left home around 19.00 on the Thursday evening. We arrived at the Caravan Club site just north of the marina two hours later having driven through horrendous thunderstorms and parked up in the Late Night Arrivals Area with another van and caravan. The site were very kind and checked we were ok despite being outside of their working hours. A quiet night and as soon as the office opened at 09.00 we were booked in and settled on the pitch but not before we ensured that the appropriate bunting was hung out!

We had brought our electric bikes to get into Brighton city centre as Jo’s knee is not in a great state, making walking any distance painful. We went on a trial bike ride down to the marina to test the knee and with the bike battery on it was far less painful than walking and probably helped loosen it up with low impact exercise. Back to the van before meeting friends, Caron and Yvonne, in town for dinner at Tutto. Great to catch up with the city really buzzing, ready for the weekend.

We had decided that we would go to watch the Pride Parade just before it entered Preston Park as it would be less crowded and managed to find a spot to safely leave our bikes then sit and wait for the parade. Great fun to watch all those involved but also with a serious message regarding all those in our community who can’t marry or be themselves around the world.

We then cycled up to the park, locked up our bikes and then needed to blag our way past security with two heavy batteries in our rucksacks. The nice security lady was worried we might use them as weapons but luckily her manager decided we weren’t thugs!

It was a great afternoon wandering round the park although it was very different from the last time we were there in 2013. The marketplace was tiny and there didn’t seem to be any local LGBTQIA+ organisations with stalls. It was all about entertainment with several dance tents as well as the main stage. By 18.30 Jo’s leg was really aching so we spent the rest of the evening relaxing in Dora. Sunday was a far more relaxed affair as we didn’t get to the park until 15.00 so the morning was spent watching the Olympics.

Over the two days we saw a great drag act called Rose Garden, Gok Wan dj-ing, singers from the 90s and bigger stars like Sophie Ellis-Bextor, S Club, Gabrielle and Mika. They were all great but Mika was amazing as the headline act on the Sunday.

Thank goodness we had the bikes to get back each evening to the campsite as trying to organise a taxi would have been nigh on impossible! After a lazy breakfast on the Monday morning, we packed up our pitch and headed home. A lovely weekend and a very civilised way to celebrate Pride.

Distance travelled this trip: 198 miles