To me, this is how a pier should be - simple, unspoiled, stylish and practical. It was rebuilt in 1935 following a major fire, and has been preserved in this same form ever since. Very few piers can boast this admirable status. This has also been recognised in the form of a series of 'Pier of the Year' accolades. It won this award in 2006, and has been hovering in 2nd and 3rd place for the last few years as well. It is the only prominent Art Deco Pier, remaining in the UK.

At the shoreward end is the Pavilion Theatre, built in 1926 and designed by Stanley Davenport Adshead, architect of the underrated Colwyn Bay Pier Pavilion of 1934. Worthing's is a very theatrical building, with fancy domed roofs and attractive off-white stucco walls. The main length of the pier is sheltered with tiled glass screens, partially decorated with bright colours. Benches are distributed across its length. Midway down the pier is the amusement building. The interior is unremarkable: a small arcade with a plain, suspended ceiling. However, the exterior is outstanding and rather iconic. Towards the end of the pier is the Southern Pavilion, again with very attractive Art Deco styling. It acted as a cafe, which was excellent, with interesting teapots and large servings of cake. The furnishings and decorations in the pavilion are firmly Art Deco, and looked very distinctive.

The weather was very poor on our visit, resulting in the upper tier of the pavilion to be closed. It also resulted in us spending much longer in the pavilion than expected, which was certainly not unpleasant. Even in the rain, the pier is still a very enjoyable place to walk, unless you had a camera with non-weather-sealed lenses like I did.

This is definitely one of my favourite piers in the UK.