Brıghton

London-by-the-Sea, they call it, or Doctor Brighton, after the Georgian physicians who prescribed a plunge in the briny for whatever ailed you. Then the Prince Regent turned up, built himself an Indian palace topped with onion domes, and the fishing village of Brighthelmstone never quite recovered its composure.

Two centuries on, the town still dispenses its cure by the sea. Day-trippers pour off the London train for the pier and a cone of chips along the front, which is a fine tonic in itself, though the stronger stuff is kept a few streets back.

VoiceMap’s self-guided audio tours lead you into the North Laine and its twittens, the narrow alleys where Brighton’s rebels and revellers left their mark. Meet Martha Gunn, the formidable bathing “dipper” who dunked fashionable visitors into the waves, then slip into the passage where Quadrophenia restaged the Mods’ seaside skirmishes of 1964. And if a gig at the Concorde 2 tempts you off course, just hit pause.

Pop in your earbuds, wander off the front and take Brighton at your own pace – doctor’s orders.