Well no visit to Brighton is complete without a glimpse of the pier. And it's even better if your visit includes a stroll along it, whatever the weather. We knew that our visit on 1 December was unlikely to be the best pier strolling weather, but although it was a tad blowy we decided to do just that.

The skies here are deceiving. It was another mild day, but perhaps not as warm as it looks.

The Brighton Pier - or to give it its full name the Brighton Marine Palace and Pier, opened in 1899 and as the Brighton Pavilion was built as a pleasure palace, this is a pleasure pier. It was also known as the Palace pier but is often informally referred to just as Brighton pier. When it was built it cost a record £27,000 - wow.

Well every visit to the seaside needs a seaside snap...

And yes, that is the Brighton Wheel you can see overlooking the beach there.

THERE WEREN'T MANY TAKERS FOR DECKCHAIRS EITHER...

Well you know me and ironwork. And well you know me and that thing I have about looking up...

You can imagine then just how happy the next shot makes me...

In the distance you can see the remains of the West Pier which closed in the mid-seventies and was then damaged by fires and storms. In 2010 it was partially demolished and this is all that remains. It's almost like the pier's last stand...

And while it was a nice stroll, it was a bit blowy so a few cobwebs were shifted in just a short walk. But oh, what a walk...