Another beautiful day in May and I needed to go to the coast. Not wanting to lie on the beach all day I remembered that I had yet to visit Eastbourne’s new (2009) contemporary art gallery building the Towner. So, network railcard in hand, what better than mixing art with a swim all in the same place! Whilst I know Eastbourne fairly well having been visiting there since I was child – my lovely Aunt and Uncle used to live there and work in a major hotel – leaving the station to get to the gallery was not obvious due to a lack of signs to Towner. As it turned out it involved a different walk to my usual, and I came across ‘chic Eastbourne’ for the first time ( yes, there is such a thing), an area known as Little Chelsea based around the beautiful Victorian Town Hall. Finally arriving at the gallery after a couple of diversions, including picking up The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying – an essential Eastbourne read – in an Oxfam bookshop for I kid you not only £2.50 – I found a large modern building within the cultural quarter that did not initially have the ‘wow’ factor. (Perhaps I am spoilt, see Woking below).

A bookshop / reception on the ground floor, then a walk up to the first floor via a flight of steps or take the interesting lift – well check it out for yourselves, I won’t spoil that one.  The stairs give excellent views looking over Devonshire Park – tennis fans take note. The Just Giving exhibition on Level One was sadly spoilt because of the need to tell us who the Just Giving donors are on top of every art work. I’m pleased they have donated work but it actually does spoil the work. The main exhibition space on the next floor is breathtakingly spacious, though oddly had an exhibition of the smaller paintings of a new-artist-to-me Elizabeth Magill. Good paintings, I am still not sure why they were hung in the big space that way (answers on a seaside- postcard please curator). There is of course the obligatory ‘modern’ cafe, though with an outside space with another lovely view. I am very impressed that this building is there, even if the work this time (and all free on this occasion) didn’t quite get the pulse going. Comparison spotters may wish to go to (my highly recommended) The Lightbox in Woking for a modern gallery built about the same time (well 2007, but what’s two years between art galleries?) or perhaps check out the other seaside town galleries in Bexhill and Margate. Not sure if Bognor has got in on the act yet!

The gallery is minutes from the beach, and a quick walk and a change of clothes and I was in the sea, quite brisk that day even for me. Followed by a walk to Beachy Head and back, as stunning as ever, what more could finish the day off than to see a half-naked man on roller skates skating along the promenade pushing a pram  with a small baby in tow. It’s true, though I couldn’t tell if the few months old baby was enjoying it or not as he was too fast! Oh, Eastbourne is post-post -modern these days. The trendy cafe in Terminus Rd called Central Eating -lovelychipsandmore and also exhibiting art – perhaps should think about having a skaters and babies morning.