Brighton

Brighton is a city on the south coast of England.

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove (formed from the previous towns of Brighton, Hove, Portslade and several other villages) on the south coast of Great Britain. Formerly part of the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, it remains part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex.

North towards London
Take the Bus 5A towards Patcham and get off at Ridgeside Avenue. Follow the road Northwards (the direction the bus was going if you came from the city centre) until you get to a big roundabout. You want to take the A23 towards London. Several spots are available to hitchhike from, with space for cars to pull over.

There is also a modestly frequented petrol station, if you want to talk to people.

East towards Dover
Walk up Preston Road, wait somewhere near the park on the opposite side in a place where the cars can see you from the traffic light, such as just before the big bend. It's better if you have a sign saying something like "M25 East"

You can get dropped off in one of the laybys on the A23, before it turns into the M23 and from there you must only accept a lift that's going at least as far as Clacket Lane Services. Clacket Lane is an excellent place to hitch from, as is Maidstone Services further on. These are the only two service stations between Brighton and Dover (apart from Pease Pottage, but that's no good going in that direction, only to be used hitching to Brighton)(Disputed). Do not get out anywhere other than these service stations and you will move quickly. In the service stations just walk up to people and ask "Are you by any chance driving in the direction of Dover?" or something similar. Super-quick hitching guaranteed.

Free Train
The train route between London and Brighton is very rarely checked. It is even more rare that it is checked after 9pm at night. There are 2 companies which do this route. First Capital Connect(FCC) and Southern. Southern is checked more, FCC very rarely. Theoretically you don't need to have a ticket if you travel after 9pm any day.

You can take a train from Preston Park(no barriers, one station after Brighton station, walkable from the center) that stops at either Elephant and Castle(no barriers, south London) or Blackfriars(barriers open in the evening, a bit more central than Elephant) or Farringdon(this HAS barriers but from here you can change between national rail and underground and try to get to another station without barriers in other parts of London. One such station is Finsbury Park. There is a lot stuff to know about free transport in London, best bet is to ask your local squatter.)

Alternatively, if you do feel anxious jumping the train, make your way to Hove station. The barriers are open from around 8pm. Around 8.30 or 9pm you can(REALLY EASILY, esp @9pm) find day travelcards that people threw away between Hove and London zones 1-6 in the SMALL bins around the station. There is a bin just next to the barriers and some others around. This covers the trip from Hove to London and transport within all of London on the underground. It will get you through underground barriers and on buses until about 4 or 5 in the morning. So if you leave around 9pm you should get to london around 10 or 11pm.

Hitching is still a great way to travel in this country, but hitching into central London is a pain and quite expensive depending on where you get dropped off.

isin: South East England

trash:Brighton