Top Beaches Day Trips from Brighton
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Beaches Day Trips from Brighton include Rottingdean Beach, Lancing Beach, Newhaven West Beach, Cuckmere Haven, East Preston Beach, Birling Gap Beach, Elmer Beach and Pagham Beach.
Brighton sits at the heart of the Sussex coast, with chalk cliffs rising to the east and a long shingle shore running west toward Chichester, so a day at a different beach is never far off. Head east along the undercliff for Rottingdean, then on past Newhaven to the river mouth at Cuckmere Haven and the dazzling chalk of Birling Gap, both set against the Seven Sisters.
Turn west instead and the coast opens into wide shingle and sand: Lancing with its lagoon nature reserve, the quiet local shore at East Preston, the offshore rock islands of Elmer, and Pagham beside its bird-rich harbour near Bognor Regis. Some lie just a few miles out, an easy hop for an afternoon, while others are a longer run along the coast road for a proper day out.
Between them you get everything from rock pools under the cliffs to shingle spits, saltmarsh birds and seawalls built to hold back the tide. Here are eight beaches for a day trip from Brighton.
Rottingdean Beach
Photo: David Gearing via Geograph.org.uk
Rottingdean Beach Only a few miles east of Brighton, Rottingdean Beach is a shingle shore below white chalk cliffs in the village of the same name. At low tide the rock pools open up for exploring, and a paved undercliff walk runs along the base of the cliffs all the way back toward Brighton Marina, popular with walkers and cyclists.
Above the beach, the village keeps an old windmill and a cluster of historic houses. A seawater bathing pool once stood on the shore here but was lost to storms and filled in, so today it is the natural rock pools and the cliff walk that draw people down.
Lancing Beach
Photo: Marathon via Geograph.org.uk
Lancing Beach West of Brighton, between Shoreham and Worthing, Lancing Beach is a long shingle seafront that gives way to a firm strip of sand at low tide. Just behind the coast road lies Widewater Lagoon, a saline pool kept as a local nature reserve and known for its birdlife.
A promenade follows the shore, with a sailing club and marked zones for swimming and windsurfing, while inland the tower of Lancing College Chapel rises above the fields. Dogs are welcome along the beach all year round, which makes it a handy choice for a walk with a four-legged companion.
Newhaven West Beach
Photo: Mike Faherty via Geograph.org.uk
Newhaven West Beach The sheltered sandy beach that once lay inside the harbour arm has been fenced off by the port owners since 2008 on safety grounds, the end of a long dispute, so shingle and a promenade now make up the shore you can actually reach. It lies on the western side of the harbour mouth at Newhaven in East Sussex, under the cliffs by the breakwater, with the promenade running along from Fort Road.
West of the breakwater the beach is shingle backed by cliffs, and Newhaven Fort stands on the height above. The climb to the clifftop fort earns a fine view.
Cuckmere Haven
Photo: Kurseong Carl via Geograph.org.uk
Cuckmere Haven A longer run east along the coast from Brighton brings you to Cuckmere Haven, where the Cuckmere River meets the sea over a shingle beach at the foot of a wide green valley of looping bends. It sits right beside the white chalk of the Seven Sisters, and the row of coastguard cottages above the shore makes one of the most photographed scenes on this coast.
The beach is reached on foot, about a mile down the valley from the car park at Exceat, so bring sturdy shoes. The old river meanders lie beside a straighter cut channel across the flats.
East Preston Beach
Photo: Peter Jeffery via Geograph.org.uk
East Preston Beach Between Rustington and Angmering on the West Sussex coast, East Preston Beach is a quiet, local stretch of shingle and sand, a longer drive west of Brighton. Wooden groynes break up the shore, and firm sand opens out as the tide draws back for easy walking and paddling.
A small sailing club and a beach kiosk sit above the pebbles, with Edwardian villas and a caravan park behind. This is a low-key spot rather than a busy resort beach, the kind of place to spread out a towel without fighting for space on a sunny afternoon.
Birling Gap Beach
Photo: Anthony Hole (deceased) via Geograph.org.uk
Birling Gap Beach At a break in the great white wall of the Seven Sisters, Birling Gap is a shingle and chalk beach reached down a steep metal staircase bolted to the cliff, a longer drive east of Brighton. The staircase has to be rebuilt every few years as the cliff keeps retreating.
At low tide a wide platform of chalk is uncovered, full of rock pools and worth searching for fossils. Above stands a row of former coastguard cottages, and the sea is slowly claiming them: the cliff wears back about a metre a year, and those at the end of the terrace have already been demolished.
The National Trust runs the site, with a clifftop cafe.
Elmer Beach
Photo: Basher Eyre via Geograph.org.uk
Elmer Beach Near Middleton-on-Sea in West Sussex, a longer drive west of Brighton, Elmer Beach is a shingle shore best known for the line of large rock islands built just offshore. These stone breakwaters, put in during the 1990s to hold the coast against the sea, have trapped sand and gravel to leave a run of curved little bays behind them.
The shore is pebbles at high tide, opening to sand as the water drops, so time a visit for the ebb if you want somewhere to sit. Rock pools form in the sheltered water between the islands, good for a poke about with children.
Pagham Beach
Photo: David Howard via Geograph.org.uk
Pagham Beach The longest run west from Brighton, near Bognor Regis, Pagham Beach is a shingle shore running along Pagham village beside the mouth of Pagham Harbour. A long shingle spit guards the harbour entrance, its channel shifting over the years, and rows of old railway carriages converted into beach houses give the place its quirky character, along with a sailing club on the shore.
The rusting remains of a wartime Mulberry harbour caisson show offshore at low tide. Next door lies the Pagham Harbour nature reserve, a wetland of saltmarsh and mudflats where terns nest in summer and Brent geese gather through winter.
FAQs
Which beach near Brighton is best for rock pools?
For rock pools close to Brighton, Rottingdean is only a few miles east and opens up pools at low tide beneath its chalk cliffs. Further along, Birling Gap uncovers a wide chalk platform full of pools and fossils when the tide drops.
How far are the Seven Sisters beaches from Brighton?
Cuckmere Haven and Birling Gap, set against the Seven Sisters, lie roughly 21 and 25 kilometres east of Brighton, a longer coastal drive. Both are reached on foot, so allow time for the walk down to the shore.
Are there quiet beaches west of Brighton?
Yes. Head west of Brighton to East Preston, between Rustington and Angmering, for a low-key shingle and sand beach, or on to Elmer near Middleton-on-Sea, where offshore rock islands shelter a run of little bays.
Conclusion
With chalk cliffs to the east and open shingle to the west, Brighton makes a fine launchpad for a day exploring the Sussex coast. Close at hand, Rottingdean offers rock pools and an undercliff walk; a little further east the river mouth at Cuckmere Haven and the white cliffs of Birling Gap deliver the drama of the Seven Sisters.
Head west instead for Lancing's lagoon, the quiet sands of East Preston, the rock islands at Elmer and the harbour birdlife at Pagham. Some are a quick hop for an afternoon, others a longer coastal drive worth setting a full day aside for.
Remember that several are reached on foot and that the tide changes each beach, so check times before you set out. From cliff-foot pools to shingle spits, these are the beaches for a day trip from Brighton.
