Lewes is the Bonfire capital, boasting the worlds largest Bonfire Night celebration on the 5th of November, with 3,000 participants and 80,000 expected spectators. This small town of 16,000 locals, grows immensely for this annual tradition.
"Imagine
a head-on collision of Halloween and Mardi Gras and you're well on your
way to picturing Bonfire Night, Lewes style – barrels of burning tar,
processions of thousands of fiery torch-bearing crowds, massive bonfires
and firework displays"
—Rough Guides, Daily Telegraph
We left Brighton at 4:30pm to catch the train to Lewes. The trains were crowded but running regularly to accommodate the mass influx of people. We arrived early and trekked our way up to our chosen vantage point, where conveniently, the
Pelham Arms Pub was right across the road.
