Brighton has run an electric railway since 1883
- Volk’s Electric Railway, 1883
- The oldest operating electric railway
- Wired his house before the country
- A dense digital studio cluster
How Brighton & Hove grew
The short version, in order. Pick a year.
Volk’s Electric Railway opens
Magnus Volk opened his electric railway along Brighton seafront on 4 August. It is the oldest operating electric railway in the world and still runs on a third rail at 160 volts.
Volk’s Electric Railway, open since 1883
Magnus Volk opened his electric railway along Brighton seafront on 4 August 1883. It is the oldest operating electric railway in the world and still runs, more than a hundred and forty years later, on a third rail at 160 volts.
Volk was an inventor of the sort Brighton has always attracted: he wired his own house for electricity before most of the country had any, and then built a railway largely to demonstrate that the idea worked.
The city has kept that streak. Brighton now has one of the densest concentrations of small digital studios in the country, mostly consisting of people who wanted to work for themselves by the sea.
What that means if you trade in Brighton
Brighton is design-literate to an unusual degree, which cuts both ways. A cheap-looking website is punished faster here than almost anywhere, and an over-designed one is spotted as compensation.
It is also seasonal and heavily independent, with a customer base that will actively choose the local operator over the chain if given a reason.
What Brighton & Hove businesses ask us for
Look considered
This audience reads design fluently. Clean and plain beats decorated.
Handle the season
If summer is your quarter, take bookings early and say when you are full.
Brighton or Hove
They are one authority and two identities. Customers notice which one you claim.
How well do you know Brighton & Hove?
Five quick questions. Get all five right and you win a 10% off discount code for your website. Every answer is somewhere on this page, so have a read if you get stuck.
Brighton & Hove quiz · 1 of 5
When did Volk’s Electric Railway open?
Common questions
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