Brighton is blessed with great paddleboarding routes all within about a 30 minutes drive of the city centre. Below is an ever growing list of routes you can tame. If you’re looking for paddles further a field take a look at our guide to paddleboarding Sussex.
West Pier to Palace Pier
A paddle boarding route to take in the best of Brighton’s waterfront sites, if you can do this at sunset you’re in for a real treat! Start by paddling out & around the picturesque West Pier ( be sure not to get too close as there are some nasty submerged spikes which can become too close for comfort on the wrong tide ). Once out be sure to soak up the site off the West Pier looking back to shore with the i360 in the background. Head out to the large red “Jaws Buoy” and then head East towards palace pier, hopefully you’ll have a light South Westerly to push you along. Once you reach Palace Pier be sure to give a wave to riders on the fair ground rides and then hang left following the Pier back to shore. Once back at shore you can either call it a day and head to the Tempest for a drink or paddle back down to West Pier passing whatever antics might be going down on Brighton Beach that time of day.
Skill: Intermediate
Time: 0.5 – 1hr
Palace Pier to Marina
Another central route. Take your paddleboards to the West of Palace Pier and then head out and round the old structure, be sure to wave to the poor soles strapped in for a go on the Booster ride at the end of the pier. Once round you can either stay out on a similar line and head down to the Marina wall which you should see in the distance or you can comeback to shore and paddle nearer the beach. If it’s really clear be sure to keep an eye out for the sunken tug just after the pier. You can then paddle as far as you want towards the Marina and then head back. If you fancy a break be sure to stop in at Sea Lanes for a bit of food and a drink.
Skill: Beginner ( without the Palace Pier loop ) – Intermediate
Time: 0.5 – 1.5hr
Southwick to the Marina
The first of our leg burners on here. Your start point depends on how you are getting there but if you have two cars you can drop one off in the Marina where free parking is available for a certain number of hours and then head all the way back to Southwick where there’s a free parking spot near ParkerSteel. If the wind is from the East then it’s probably worth reversing this but if it’s prevailing South Westerly then you’ve got a nice run all the way down to the Marina. You’ll probably want to paddle a way out to start and then diagonally make your way East, the i360 is a good marker for this first part. You’ll pass millionaires row where the likes of local legend Norman Cook has a pad, Hove Lagoon and the King Alfred on your way to the West Pier. Once you pass the King Alfred you can stop in at Marroccos for a drink and an ice cream. Then the rest of this route is made up of the West Pier to Palace Pier and Palace Pier to Marina route.
Skill: Intermediate
Time: 3hr
Paddling the River Adur to Kings Head
More detail coming soon. Start at Shoreham RNLI and then paddle up the Adur for around 9km for pub lunch at the Kings Head. Once the tide is flowing back the other way jump back on your boards and paddle back down to Shoreham.
Make sure you get the tides right!
Skill: Intermediate
Time: 3-5hr
Last Updated on 30th January 2023 by Brighton Paddler