Day trips from London: Hastings Cinque Port
I’m continuing to showcase places around London that you can explore as a day trip. The first one in the series was set in Surrey, near the Box Hill - you can find this destination here: Day trips from London: Surrey, Box Hill
This time we set sail to the south coast of England, to the pretty seaside town of Hastings.
Link to the Google Maps with all points of the route marked:
Some of you may probably heard of the Battle of Hastings that was fought in October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. William’s victory in that battle was pivotal for history, and it took place several miles to the north-west of Hastings.
Besides the famous battle, the town was one of the medieval Cinque Ports - a set of important harbours. Later it was a popular seaside resort, and nowadays it’s a large fishing port with plenty of history and stunning nature to enjoy, easily accessible by train.
Hastings is a seaside town, so let’s go straight to the sea and head towards the Hastings pier.
If you arrived by train, then on your way to the pier make sure to visit the Holy Trinity Church. This Gothic Revival building sits on a tricky piece of land, and beautiful both outside and inside, Grade II listed for a reason.
From the pier take a stroll along the beach enjoying a refreshing breeze from the sea. You will notice the West Hill with the Hastings Castle ruins on top of it (check opening times here: https://www.smugglersadventure.co.uk/visitor-info/opening-times/).
Whether for the castle or just for the view - it’s worth getting on top of that hill. You can either walk or use the West Hill Lift funicular that’ll take you straight to the top in a jiffy (check details here: https://www.visit1066country.com/things-to-do/cliff-railways-west-hill-p411571).
There’s plenty of things on that hill - the aforementioned castle, a tiny lighthouse looking tower, “Smugglers Adventure” entertainment inside tunnels, and sweeping views around of course (try to see France far far away).
Don’t stay too long atop the hill as there’s more to do. The prettiest part of town sits in the gap between the West and East hills. And there’s a bunch of little streets to explore.
Descend from the hill via Cobourg place, then explore the following streets and passages in whichever order you prefer: Swan Avenue, Oak Passage, Rock-a-Nore Road, East Bourne Street, The Creek, Oxford Terrace, Crown Lane. Pubs, restaurants, and dozens of pretty colourful houses to admire there with occasional cats on backyard fences.
The adjacent seafront area has more to offer - small boating lake, little train to ride with your kids (at this point you probably have heard its whistle many times), plenty of fresh seafood, traditional black fishermen houses, and Hastings Contemporary Art museum (check opening times here: https://www.hastingscontemporary.org/)
Make sure to visit a vast area of the beach where fishing boats are parked with all imaginable fishing tools scattered around.
From there you can also notice another funicular, the East Hill one. Unfortunately, it is not in operation.
A great option to enjoy the sunset is at the top of the East Hill, with the old town, the pier, the castle - all lit by stunning golden light of receding sun.
Use Tamarisk Steps to climb the East Hill, and if you have time before the sunset, you might walk further east and explore the vast Hastings Country Park with ponds, caves, a mock castle and even a waterfall. The park is huge though, so if you really want to fully explore it then you might want to return another time specifically for it or stay overnight.
Have you been to Hastings already? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you for joining me on this adventure, and see you on another one soon!
