Eugenius Birch's West Pier was originally built in 1916. Pic courtesy West Pier Trust
The pebble-strewn beach between the seafront and the Channel in Brighton has become a divide between past and future.
On the nautical side stands the skeleton of the West Pier, a relic of one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country in the early 20th century.
The i360 is being built in Holland and will stand opposite the West Pier
On the bandstand looming overhead, builders finally began work this week on an observation tower which will be nine times the size of a London Eye capsule and is expected to attract 500,000 visitors each year.
Some of the oldest parts of the West Pier have survived
Amid this poetic counter-positioning of ancient and state-of-the-art structures, tours are being held every Sunday, unravelling a few secrets behind the old pier and the history of the city it belongs to.
Tours will take place every Sunday from this weekend
One of the guides is Geoff Mead, a real enthusiast with a background in geography, and among the quirky miscellany of facts he divulges lie insights into how Brighton almost took on the design of an American coastal resort and why the oldest structural parts of the pier have outlasted various newer components.
Builders have begun working on the i360 following protracted planning procedures
He doesn’t have any revelations on the identity of the arsonists who caused irreparable damage to the icon six years ago, and anyone hoping to scale its remains will find their hopes vetoed for safety reasons, but this is a tour of tall tales to mark the spirit of the landmark as its 600ft replacement heads towards completion in 2011.
The i360 is expected to be completed in 2011
It is a fitting latest chapter for a story worth hearing.
Tours start this Sunday (March 8 2009) and continue every week at 11am, tickets £5. Meet at West Pier root end decking. Booking advised. Call 01273 321499.
