With three months to go until the Edinburgh Festival kicks off, Britain's second-biggest arts-fest has landed in Brighton.  FringeGuru's co-founder Richard Stamp has packed his bucket and spade for a busman's holiday on the South Coast.  Wish you were here?  Find out as we blog our very first visit to the UK's number 2.

Here's one big similarity between the Brighton and Edinburgh Festivals: neither of them's at all conducive to a good night's sleep.  So if today's final Postcard is a little rough around the edges... I guess that's a fair reflection of how I'm feeling today.

The reason for last night's late night?  Put it down to Le Scandal, playing nightly at 10:30 down at the Udderbelly.  This burlesque variety show took in a few vaudeville staples, including a jazz band, a comedy juggler, and a good old-fashioned escapologist.  But the show was stolen by a heart-stopping display by circus performers Arial Duo: to a pounding soundtrack, they laid on minute after muscle-popping minute of the most impressive acrobatic rope-work I've ever seen.  (And believe me, I've seen quite a lot over the years.)

And then, of course, there was the striptease.  To be honest, I've always been shy of burlesque for exactly that reason, but if you're OK with Benny Hill you'll be OK with this one.

Le Scandal is loud, raucous, and tremendous fun; I can't think of a better way of topping off my trip to Brighton.

I can't leave the city without a quick nod to one of the shows I didn't manage to see.  As far as I can tell, it's the most over-subscribed, pre-booked, filled-to-bursting and generally popular event of the Fringe.  To take part you'll need a hard hat, strong boots... and an even stronger stomach.

Step forward, the Brighton Sewer Tour!  This slightly perplexing tourist attraction, recently named - I'm honestly not making this up - the Best Place to Visit in Brighton and Hove, sees visitors disappear into the system underneath Brighton Pier, to pop out of a manhole by the Udderbelly an hour later.

It's sold out for the whole of the Festival period, but there are dates available later in the year.  Or for those who'd like the education without the pong, here's more than you could possibly want to know about Brighton's Victorian sewer system.

And so - as my time in Brighton draws to a close - what lessons could England's largest Festival send to its big brother in the North?

There's a simple message, I think: biggest isn't always best.  It's easy to get swept up in the Edinburgh hyperbole (2,000 shows!  250 venues!  And that's for the Fringe alone.)  And it's true, there's a special buzz up North which is simply missing here.

But Brighton has something else again - an uncomplicated, genuine, energizing spirit.  It's a place where the locals, far from leaving town, come to shows in their lunch hour.  It's a place where you can hear a recommendation on the street and not suspect you're being taken for a ride.  It is, above all, a gentler Festival.

Don't get me wrong - to me, Edinburgh will always be the greatest show on Earth.  But I did love to be beside the seaside.  So, goodbye, Brighton... I'll see you next year.