Brighton is a bustling seaside town with three main spots. Go west to find Shoreham beachie; there’s not much happening eastwards until you get to Camber Sands (a fun beachie).
Southwest windswells during the autumn and winter months provide most of the waves. The Pier offers slow peeling lefts and rights at low tide, best for longboarders. The Wedge is a right which has some shelter from westerlies and breaks off the stone breakwater; popular with bodyboarders. On a big swell, better quality rights break over the chalk-and-flint reef at The Marina which works best around mid tide. It can get pretty crowded, so is best for experienced surfers only.
Southwest windswells during the autumn and winter months provide most of the waves. Expect surf when there’s a big SW swell pushing up the Channel. Look for a big low in Biscay or further afield and follow its progress, if it heads NW, you know you stand a good chance for waves.
On a SW wind you’ll find Brighton pumping with a large number of surfers out, and bodyboarders charging the gnarly shore dumps. Brighton goes off when there is a big swell pushing up the Channel, with a SW or W wind, and as the wind turns NW it goes offshore.