Brighton Beach (Palace Pier)
Brighton's steep shingle beach beside the Palace Pier is home water for Brighton Swimming Club, founded in 1860, whose sea section has used an arch just east of the pier since the 1870s and swims through the winter. Expect a sharp shore dump and sideways tidal currents: swim parallel to the beach, keep clear of the groynes and pier, and avoid high tide in a strong onshore wind.
Photo: Lauren · CC BY-SA 2.0
Latest reading · SwimScore 81/100 (Get in) for a typical swimmer: air 19°C, wind 14 km/h, waves 0.3 m, UV 0. Updated .
Know before you go
- Best conditions
- Calmer days with light winds; the council advises against swimming at high tide in strong onshore winds, and notes that northerly winds flatten the sea but raise the risk of being swept out.
- Getting in
- Open public shingle beach beside Brighton Palace Pier, whose entrance faces the southern end of the Old Steine where it meets Marine Parade.
- Parking & transport
- Brighton railway station is about half a mile (0.8 km) from the seafront.
- Lifeguards
- RNLI lifeguards patrol daily 10am to 6pm from 23 May to 6 September 2026, including at Palace Pier East and Palace Pier West. There is no beach lifeguard service outside the season.
- Water quality
- Two designated bathing waters meet at the pier: Brighton Kemptown (sampled east of the pier) was rated Excellent and Brighton Central Good by the Environment Agency in both 2024 and 2025. The council advises waiting at least 48 hours after heavy rain before swimming.
- Season
- Swum year-round by club members; lifeguarded season runs from late May to the first weekend in September.
- Who swims here
- Brighton Swimming Club, founded on 4 May 1860 and described by the club as England's oldest, has kept a sea section running daily apart from the Second World War; its Christmas morning swim dates from 1885 and the Pier to Pier race from 1936.
- Watch for
- Steep shingle and a powerful shore dump make getting in and out hard at high water
- Lateral tidal currents, strongest on spring tides
- Fixed currents around piers and groynes; never jump from them
- Deep scour hole beside the groyne about 130 m east of the Palace Pier
- Offshore (northerly) winds can carry swimmers out to sea
- Cold water shock
- Facilities
- Council Seafront Office with a direct link to the coastguard · RNLI lifeguard posts at Palace Pier East and Palace Pier West in season
Sources: brightonsc.co.uk, brighton-hove.gov.uk, brighton-hove.gov.uk, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, web.archive.org, assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
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Details
- Location
- Brighton, England, United Kingdom
- Type
- ocean
- Coordinates
- 50.8177, -0.1342