Walking the cliff tops above Hastings through part of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is one of the highlights of a trip to this part of the southern coast. Better still, you can avoid the lung-busting climb up East Hill by taking the wonderful funicular railway to the summit. The East Hill funicular is the UK’s steepest and was completed in 1902. Sadly, it wasn’t working, leaving me no choice but to climb a steep staircase to the top.
The spectacular views over the ocean and the town below are worth the effort. It was a day of brilliant sun mixed with occasional downpours, the light patterns across the land and water were beautiful. Yellow gorse and white weeping cherry created blocks of brilliant colour as the sun illuminated them. The weather had put many people off and as I walked to Fairlight Glen I barely saw another person.
Coming back down East Hill the path deposits you just above the The Crown pub, which is rightly known for great food, friendly staff and a cosy atmosphere. I’d worked up an appetite and we found a table in the snug around the corner from the bar. Local beers and locally sourced seafood made for a perfect lunch. Hastings has a number of good food pubs, but this was the one we returned to most often.
A long lunch successfully navigated, we went for a walk through the old town and back down to The Stade, home to Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet. The Old Town stretches up Bourne Valley between the East and West Hills and is really only two streets. Those streets are crammed with lovely old buildings though, some dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Only in the 18hth century did Hastings grow beyond this tiny historic area.
It’s remarkable how this part of Hastings retains its identity. The Victorian seaside resort that blossomed here in the 19th century did so almost independently, leaving this ancient part of the town largely untouched. The Old Town has a laid back charm and a wealth of interesting buildings, while the Victorian-era town feels unloved, not to say a little rough around the edges.
Late in the afternoon we went back uphill from the Old Town to West Hill. This lovely green space offers glorious views over Hastings but the main reason to venture up here is to visit Hastings Castle. It was only after climbing up that we discovered it had a £6.25 per person entry fee. Hastings Castle is a ruin, a significant ruin for sure, but a ruin. The price seemed a bit steep. Instead we decided to take the West Hill funicular to town. It too was out of commission.
We walked back down the hill and, as the sun began to set, we headed west along the 1930s promenade to the pier. It’s a hard waterfront to love, too many once magnificent buildings slowly decaying in plain sight, but if you direct your gaze out to the ocean, it is quite magical. We arrived at the pier, which has its own mini version of Hastings’ history: once majestic, then allowed to go to ruin, then revived only to fail in a world that had moved on.
We walked onto the pier, there were no more than a dozen other people there, and got a view down the coast to the town that only being suspended over water can give you. The soft light made the rusty iron of the pier and the wet sand and stones of the beach glow a warm reddish colour. We really enjoyed Hastings but, as we watched the sun set on our time here, it felt like a town with a less than certain future.
