New Summer What's On Guide for Eastbourne!

Visit Eastbourne has just launched the all new What's On Guide for Summer 2013, giving visitors and residents the lowdown on what's coming up in Eastbourne!

The What’s On Guide can be found in the Tourist Information Centre, located on Cornfield Road Eastbourne, in a number of hotels and is now downloadable here! 

There are many offers that readers can take advantage of including 2 for 1 at various attractions and money off at restaurants and theatre tickets!

The Guide takes you through the exciting events programme that Eastbourne has to offer this summer; including the AEGON International Tennis Tournament, Eastbourne Extreme and Airbourne! Not to mention, the Sunshine Carnival on 25 May, Beer and Cider by the Sea on 24 -26 May and all the events at the Redoubt Fortress.

If it is entertainment you are after then the What’s On guide shows a fantastic theatre line up including Gotta Sing Gotta Dance and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, along with a list of shows at the Bandstand.

Readers can also find a full events listing until September!

To pick up a guide head to the Tourist Information Centre or download the PDF here!

Magnificent Motors returns with a drive in movie night!

Magnificent Motors is famously one of the biggest FREE motoring spectaculars on the South Coast and it returns on 4 – 5 May for the 10^th time with a dazzling anniversary display of over a century of motoring and a drive in movie night on Saturday 4 May.

Returning to the show’s original seafront venue after two years in the park, Eastbourne’s Western Lawns will welcome back over 600 vintage and classic cars, motorbikes, buses and more at the two day festival.

In addition to a display of 600 classic and vintage vehicles, there will also be a drive in movie night showing classic car movie, ‘The Italian Job’.

Tickets for the drive in movie can be bought at Eastbourne theatres box office call 01323 412000/ 415555 and are £15 per car, passenger numbers not to exceed seatbelts. Walk in tickets are £5 for adults and £3 for children bring your own deckchair or blanket some limited seating will be available. Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7:30pm showing of the film on Saturday 4 May.

The drive in will also be running some great competitions! The first is the Italian Job Mini Show and Shine. Owners can pimp their minis to the style of Italian Job era. 1^st prize is two tickets to the Beer and Cider by The Sea with £10 beer tokens.

The second is a Michael Caine look-a-like competition where the best will win two tickets to Cirrus rooms Hospitality area at Airbourne.

To buy tickets for the drive in night and to register for the competitions please email events@eastbourne.gov.uk or for more information on the event and exhibiting go to www.magnificentmotors.co.uk

What to do if it’s HOT OR NOT this weekend!

 We haven’t had the best spring weather-wise so far, but as I write this post, I can see the sun poking through the clouds and not a drop of rain (or snow) in sight.

Weather reports are showing that the weekend and Sunday in particular will bring us some high temperatures and fantastic sunshine!

So we have put together a few things to do to make the most of the sunshine!

If it’s hot…

Ok this is optimistic but we are the sunshine coast after all…….

The beach!

Eastbourne has over 3 miles of wide, clean promenade and unspoilt beaches. The water may be slightly cold this time of year but a paddle wouldn’t hurt. To accompany a relaxing day on the beach, there are various cafes including the new American Airstream style café at The Wish Tower and at the opposite end of the seafront The new Outpost café at The Redoubt Fortress.

For a kid’s day out, Eastbourne has got it covered!

Eastbourne Miniature steam Railway, located on Lottbridge road, is the perfect place to visit on a sunny day. It is a railway adventure in Eastbourne with steam and diesel train journeys, line side nature walks, an adventure playground, railway style café, gift shop and more!

It wouldn’t be spring without a trip to Seven Sisters Sheep Farm! The farm is currently in lambing season and allows visitors to see over 50 varieties of sheep and lambs along side pigs, goats and chickens!

Fort Fun has both indoor and outdoor play areas so whatever the weather there is something to do there.

Similarly, Treasure Island offers an indoor soft play as well as an outdoor adventure park and golf.

Both have picnic areas and restaurants with Treasure Island offering delicious food and drink at The Beach Deck!

Or how about a day out at Knockhatch Adventure Park or Drusillas Park? Enjoy a fun, action packed visit at Knockhatch with new wave runner water ride, runaway train simulator, indoor Froggies soft play, children’s farm, jumping pillows and rowing boats! Or spend the day at Drusillas and enjoy the widely regarded best small zoo in Europe along with play areas, a maze, Thomas the Tank Engine and Lemurland.

A perfect way to see the delights of Eastbourne seafront is by hopping on the Dotto train! The Dotto train offers regular services operating from Easter – 2 November from Holywell to Harbour reach. Stops include the Wish Tower slopes, Pier, Treasure Island, Fort Fun and Soveriegn centre.

For those who are want a peaceful walk this weekend with a loved one or group of friends, what about a trip over the South Downs. Eastbourne lies on the eastern side of the start/end of the South Downs way providing a mostly bridle path for walkers, horse riders and cyclists!

Or if you simply want to sit in the sun over lunch and a glass of pimms, head down to the sophisticated Sovereign harbour to find a selection of restaurants and shops on the waterside. Restaurants include: Gringos, Picassos, Simply Italian and Thai Marina.

If it’s not…

Even though Eastbourne is the sunniest place in the UK and we are sure to see the sun this weekend, it is a good idea to have a few indoor ideas just in case.

For an indoor family day how about the Soveriegn Centre where you can enjoy a large family pool, baby pool, training pool and slides and splash area.

Or try out one of the many indoor soft play centres including Leo’s play den, The PlayStation, Rockys and Treasure Island.

Others can enjoy the exhibitions on at Towner with Kelly Richardson’s; Legion exhibition finishing this weekend and The East Sussex Open running throughout April.

The Eastbourne festival also runs throughout April and this weekend there are events from SKA Toons, Red Door Secret Supper Club, The Grand Éclair, The Revenge Fantasy Club and Charleys Aunt.

Whatever the weather visitors can enjoy the newly opened refurbished Redoubt Fortress. Visitors can receive a 2 for 1 on museum entrance in the 200 year old fortress and get 2 for 1 on hot drinks in the new vintage themed café The Outpost.

For more information go to www.visiteastbourne.com

Redoubt fights back against arctic chill with heart-warming offers

Despite having the coldest Easter on record, The Redoubt Fortress successfully opened for the season and warmed up customers in the new café; The Outpost after visitors browsed the refurbished interesting museum.

The Redoubt Fortress tripled the amount of visitors this Easter weekend compared to last year. Even though this time last year saw record temperatures compared to this year’s sunny but chilly weekend.

The Fortress offered free entrance to the museum over Easter and they are delighted to announce further offers! Visitors can receive 2 for 1 entry into the museum or half price family tickets for the rest of April! This also includes a FREE RETURN VISIT at a later date.

In addition the new vintage café; The Outpost is offering BUY ONE GET ONE FREE on hot drinks to warm up visitors. The Outpost is the perfect seafront café and can be visited by the public even if they are not attending the museum.

  

There is still a week left of the Easter school holidays and with these offers, the Redoubt makes an inexpensive, fun day out where kids can try on the uniforms!

The Fortress has a jam packed year of events ahead starting with the Eastbourne Bonfire Society Rock event this Saturday 6 April.

Membership to become a Friend of the Redoubt is also available, which gives discounts, special offers and newsletters, find out how to join on your next visit.

To find out more go to www.eastbournemuseums.co.uk or to print a voucher go to www.visiteastbourne.com

Reasons to come to Eastbourne over Easter!

It’s all going on this Easter and Eastbourne has a wide variety of attractions and events taking place over the Easter weekend and half term.

Easter weekend starts on Friday 29 March and Eastbourne has a jam packed list of things to do for the whole weekend starting with the grand opening of The Redoubt Fortress. The fortress is offering free entrance over the whole weekend as it opens for the season after improvements over the winter. 

Good Friday also sees the Fat Controller at Drusillas Park! As families get on board Thomas to view the park, they can meet the Fat controller at the same time! Drusillas is located just outside of Eastbourne, it is widely regarded as the best small zoo in Europe and there are an array of rides and things to do! Drusillas also welcomes Mike the Knight on bank holiday Monday 1 April.

Towner; the award winning contemporary art museum also gives visitors a reason to visit our sunny town. On Saturday 30 March Towner has events for both children and adults. There is the ‘Bunnies and Bears early years play session’ and the ‘Collection store tours.’ Both require booking.

The Eastbourne steam miniature railway is a great place to go on Easter Sunday! They are holding an Easter Eggspress event where customers get a free Easter egg on entrance to eat between rides on the fantastic miniature railways.

To follow a day at the miniature railway, visitors can go to the famous Easter Concert at the Eastbourne Bandstand. The traditional concert comes with the towns very own “Eastbourne Silver Band” and is a delight to watch. The concert starts at 3pm on Sunday 31 March and doors open at 2.30pm. Tickets are FREE but booking is essential.

One thing that can’t be forgotten over the Easter holidays is that when spring has sprung, it is lambing season at the Seven Sisters sheep farm. The sheep farm that allows visitors to see 50 different breeds of sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, chickens and rabbits, is located at the South Downs national park- Just a mile away from Beachy Head. It is an annual excitement to greet the lambs on arrival and a great day out with the family.

There is also fun at the Observatory science centre! From Good Friday to Easter Monday, visitors can go to the centre for a hands-on science trail whilst discovering the domes and telescopes of the world famous astronomical observatory. There is also an alternative Easter egg hunt over the Easter weekend and exhibitions over the holidays.

To find out more about these attractions and to see what else is on over Easter go to www.visiteastbourne.com

Eastbourne joins in with English Tourism Week!

The UK’s sunniest place will be joining in the fun of English Tourism Week from 16 - 24 March, with some great offers and daily prizes to be won. 

Residents and visitors will be able to test their knowledge of tourism in Eastbourne by entering the competition each day on Facebook and Twitter for the chance to win a range of great prizes from concert tickets to fish and chips!

English tourism week was set up by VisitEngland and is a week long celebration of events from 16-24 March. The week will highlight all the fantastic things to do and see in England and Eastbourne.

Eastbourne and Tourism go hand in hand as 4.9 million visitors come to Eastbourne each year and spend an average of £261 million annually. Further more, £102 million is spent just by day visitors alone! Eastbourne thrives on tourism as it brings over 7000 jobs to Eastbourne and a whopping £346 million to the local economy.

Eastbourne was the first town to hire out quadricycles. To celebrate this and English tourism week, Ride and Joy are offering half price hiring on both weekends of English tourism week - 16/17 and 23/24 March. They can be found next to the open air tennis courts on Eastbourne seafront and are a fantastic way to see the delights of Eastbourne.

Also celebrating the week is The Grand Hotel. The hotel, named ‘Downton-by-Sea’, is a white palatial landmark on Eastbourne seafront and are offering a complimentary upgrade for anyone who books a bedroom and a complimentary glass of bucks fizz for anyone who books full afternoon tea from 16-24 March.

Visiteastbourne.com will also be getting involved in English tourism week, showing offers on their website and holding a week long quiz on social media sites, giving daily prizes! Prizes could include anything from fish and chips to Bandstand tickets.

For more information visit www.visiteastbourne.com, Facebook.com/visiteastbourne or Twitter.com/visiteastbourne.

What to do this Mothering Sunday?

It seems like Christmas was just the other day and yet Mother’s day is here already!

Every year thousands flood into their local supermarket to grab flowers and chocolates for their mum. But here in Eastbourne we have some amazing places to visit to make it an extra special day! There are plenty of things to do this Mothers day and if this week is anything to go by, then the weather should make a great day too!

From café’s to restaurants, attractions to walks; and salon’s to spa’s; Eastbourne has an array of different ways to treat your mum!

Anyone for Afternoon Tea?

There are many lovely tea rooms to take your mum for afternoon tea.

Let’s start with the famous Grand Hotel. The Grand hotel is the only seaside 5 star hotel in the UK and they serve an incredible afternoon tea. If you fancy spoiling mum to a relaxing, luxury afternoon then this is the place to go! Surrounded by gorgeous settings and a view of the sea, guests can enjoy a high tea, Champagne high tea or a children’s high tea.

Other Eastbourne hotels also offer great Afternoon tea!

For a more casual affair, why not try Dickens Tea Cottage, on South Street. It is a lovely quaint tea room offering a selection of cream teas, sandwiches and more. The old fashioned tea room is a great destination for Mothers day. There is also Pistachios in Princes Park and The Beach Deck on the promenade offering tea and cake as well as evening meals.

So that’s afternoon tea covered, what about a spot of dinner.

Go somewhere different like The Belgium Café- famed for their freshly prepared seafood specialities, including 50 different ways to enjoy mussels. The Belgium Café is situated on Eastbourne serene seafront where diners can dine al fresco during the day or experience the relaxed atmosphere inside. As well as a great seafood menu there is also a great selection of meat and poultry dishes, salads and vegetarian options.

What about some Italian at either Mo Mambo or Mo Mambo Mania? Both located in the town centre, customers can expect to receive an authentic Italian extensive menu. In addition there is a special lunch menu so you can choose when to take your mum! Mo Mambo also offers specialty dishes such as Veal, Ostrich, Kangaroo and Springbok for a more unusual but exciting Mothering Sunday!

Instead (or as well) of eating out, you could buy mum a voucher for a luxury pampering session. Salons are in abundance in Eastbourne, all offering slightly different services- a great gift for mother’s day! Try Jasmines or The Retreat for a pamper voucher!

Or bring some food to Mum! Grab some cakes from The Truly Scrumptious Cake Company located on Cornfield road next to Pizza Express.

We hope these ideas will help you treat your mum on Mothers day! Let’s hope for good weather and remember to book as soon as you can because places get very busy!

Find out more at www.visiteastbourne.com