East Sussex
Brighton Dating: Meet Singles in Brighton
Meet singles in Brighton and Hove and along the coast to Eastbourne and Hastings. Choose your section, make a profile and start flirting by the sea.
Your next date could live round the corner
Thinking about dating in Brighton? The city tops our member list for the county, with people from Portslade in the west to Patcham up by the Downs. Our East Sussex crowd carries on along the coast through Peacehaven to Eastbourne and Hastings, with more inland at Westfield. Your next match could be a short bus ride away, or one stop down the line.
It’s an easy city to date in. Brighton is compact, packed with places to sit and talk, and the sea is a short walk from almost anywhere in the centre, so a first date can be as simple or as planned as you like. Take a walk along the promenade and you’re halfway to a good evening already.
Plan a Brighton first date in five easy steps
- Meet at the Clock Tower. It stands where North Street meets West Street and Queen’s Road, a short walk down from the station, and it’s easy for anyone to find.
- Wander the North Laine. The streets between the station and the Royal Pavilion are full of independent shops and cafes, so you have something to talk about from the first minute.
- Lose yourselves in the Lanes. South of North Street the alleys narrow and twist, and stopping for a coffee is half the point.
- Head for the seafront. Walk the promenade to the Palace Pier, or go west past the skeleton of the West Pier towards the beach huts on Hove’s seafront. Preston Street, which runs up from the front near the West Pier, is lined with restaurants if you’re hungry.
- Finish somewhere quieter. Kemp Town and Hove both have bars away from the crowds. Look up the last train or bus before the evening runs away with you.
Rain is part of life on the south coast. If the weather turns, the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Museum sit side by side in the Pavilion Gardens, and the North Laine’s cafes are close at hand. On a fine day with time to spare, the Undercliff Walk east from the Marina, or Devil’s Dyke up on the South Downs, makes a lovely second date.
Twenties, thirties, forties and beyond
Our East Sussex members span the age range. Roughly one in ten is 18 to 24. The 25 to 34s and the 35 to 44s each make up nearly three in ten, about one in five are 45 to 54, and around one in ten are 55 or over. Put simply, the under 35s are about four in ten and the over 45s a third.
Ages of our members in East Sussex, all four sections together, today.
Easy to reach along the coast
Two coastal railway lines start at Brighton. Going east, trains run through Lewes to Eastbourne and on to Hastings; going west, they call at Hove and Worthing on the way to Chichester. Buses follow the coast road out to Peacehaven, and London is about an hour north by train, with our London page covering the capital.
Chichester, this page is for you
Came here looking for dating in Chichester? This page covers Sussex, so it’s yours too: Brighton is about an hour along the coast by train, and our Southampton page takes in Portsmouth on the other side. Your matches take distance into account either way, so a stroll round the cathedral or beside Chichester Harbour can be your first date as easily as the Brighton seafront.
Find your kind of fun by the sea
Almost all of our East Sussex members have joined Casual Encounters, the grown-up section for flirting, chemistry and no strings, which makes it the place to start if that’s your plan. Want something steadier? Try Single Encounters if you’re after a relationship, or Mature Encounters if you’re 40 or over. You sign up to each section separately.
Before you meet anyone, read our safety advice: meet in public, let a friend know your plans and make your own way home. For more on finding people close by, see singles near me, or browse every location we cover.
Brighton dating, answered
Which section should I join in Brighton?
Start with Casual Encounters if fun and flirting are the plan: almost every East Sussex member we have is in it. If you want a relationship, or company in your forties and beyond, Single and Mature Encounters are a better fit, and nothing stops you joining more than one.
Where can we go on a rainy first date in Brighton?
Somewhere indoors and central: the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum next door, or a cafe in the North Laine. They are all close together, so you can head down to the seafront if the sun comes out.
Does this page cover Eastbourne, Hastings and Chichester?
Yes. Eastbourne and Hastings are part of our East Sussex crowd, and Chichester, over in West Sussex, is covered here too.
Dating near Brighton
Your Brighton story starts with hello
Pick a section, then say hello to someone by the sea.