It was really windy, cloudy and although we didn't get rained on, we were cold. That didn't stop the kids from wanting to play on the beach, which they did for as long as Richard and I could handle it. Then we we went to the Brighton Pier, played some games in the arcade, and just watched the crazy waves crash into the pier and the shore. There was actually a guy surfing that we watched for a bit too.
It wasn't at all the Brighton experience I've read about in Jane Austen books, but it is always nice to get out of the city for a day.