Hastings (England)

town in East Sussex, on the south coast of England

Hastings is a seaside town in East Sussex in southeast England. It's run down, but has budget accommodation and several sites of interest. Hastings is most famous for the battle that took place there in 1066 between King Harold's English and William the Conqueror's Normans. Nestled between the rugged beauty of the East and West Hills, the town's main attraction is the medieval Old Town, with its narrow passageways, antique shops, boutiques, cafe's and Europe's largest beach-launched fishing fleet. The town also boasts a hill-top castle, two funicular railways, the Georgian church of St Mary in the Castle, 18th-century net shops, and access to Hastings Country Park, a 660 acres (270 hectares) Nature Reserve with woodland glens, beaches and cliff-top views.

Understand

View of Hastings from East Hill

The town lent its name to the 1066 battle, although the battle took place nearby Battle (these were imaginative times…). The Normans made Hastings one of the Cinque Ports responsible for England's maritime defence, but in the late Middle Ages, its harbour was swept away by the sea.

The town grew from its medieval origins into a Victorian seaside resort, and the majority of the town's architecture dates from this period. Today, along with St Leonards on Sea, Hastings forms a fairly large urban area on the south coast of around 100,000 inhabitants.

Away from the Old Town, Hastings largely retains the character of a Victorian seaside resort, with seafront squares, grand Victorian facades, elegant parks and a pier. However, the town suffered from the post-war decline in the seaside tourist industry in England and while there has been significant investment in regenerating the area, parts of the seafront have seen better days. In 2022 the population was 92,340.

More recently, it was the setting for the World War II-era detective TV show Foyle's War.

Visitor information

Get in

Narrow passageways in old Hastings

By plane

From London Gatwick (LGW) take the hourly direct train. From other airports travel into the London city centre for the train from Charing Cross.

By train

  • 🌍 Hastings railway station. In the town centre, 200 yards back from the seafront. It has a staffed ticket office and machines, a coffee shop and toilets, but the waiting rooms remain closed. There is step-free access to all platforms. (updated Jun 2024)
  • 🌍 St Leonards Warrior Square station. On the line from Charing Cross is a mile west of Hastings railway station. (updated Jun 2024)
  • 🌍 West St Leonards station. A further mile west of St Leonards Warrior Square station. (updated Jun 2024)

Trains from London Charing Cross run every 30 min and take 1 hr 40 min via London Waterloo, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Robertsbridge and St Leonards. The last train leaves at 23:45.

Trains from London Victoria run hourly and take 2 hours via Clapham Junction, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Lewes, Eastbourne, Bexhill and St Leonards.

Trains from Ashford International run hourly and take 40 min via Rye and Winchelsea. Ashford has fast trains from London St Pancras, but Eurostar no longer stops there.

Trains from Brighton run hourly and take 75 min via Lewes, Eastbourne, Bexhill and St Leonards.

By bus

National Express and Megabus don't run to Hastings, and there is no direct service from London.

Stagecoach Bus 99 runs every 20 min from Eastbourne, taking 75 min. Bus 100 / 101 runs every 20 min from Rye, taking 45 min.

There isn't a bus station. Buses may stop at the railway station, at Priory Meadow one block south, or along the sea front.

By car

From London and M25 follow A21 south. From Dover and Folkestone follow A259 via Rye; this continues west to Eastbourne.

Get around

Buses 20, 22, 22a and 26 run along the seafront every 5-10 min between Hastings castle and St Leonards.

Bus 304 / 305 runs hourly via St Leonards and takes 30 min to Battle station and abbey. It continues to Robertsbridge and Hawkhurst.

24 / 7 taxis (☏ +44 1424 247247) used to be reliable but went to the dogs in 2022.

See

  • 🌍 Hastings Castle, Castle Hill Road, West Hill, TN34 3AR, ☏ +44 844 549 9088. (updated Oct 2017)
  • Pier. 
  • 🌍 Hastings Country Park, 148 Martineau Ln, TN35 5DR, ☏ +44 1424 451050. 660 acres of woodland glens, and cliffs falling within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 
  • 🌍 The Stade (in the old town). The home of Europe's largest beach-launched fishing fleet, and the historic net huts. 
  • 🌍 Smugglers Adventure, St Clement’s Caves, TN34 3JJ, ☏ +44 1424 422964. 10AM-5:30PM. A set of caves (St Clements Caves) in the hills above the town. 
  • 🌍 Blue Reef Aquarium (previously Underwater World), Rock-A-Nore Rd, TN34 3DW, ☏ +44 1424 718776. 10AM-5PM. An aquarium. 
  • 🌍 St Mary in the Castle, 7 Pelham Crescent, TN34 3AF, ☏ +44 1424 715880. A grade II listed former Georgian church beneath the castle in the Regency Square - Pelham Crescent. The space is now used as a gallery, theatre and performance venue. (updated Oct 2017)
  • 🌍 Hasting Contemporary Gallery, Rock-A-Nore Rd, TN34 3DW, ☏ +44 1424 728377. M closed, Tu-Sa 11AM-5PM. A contemporary (but controversial) charity run art gallery on The Stade. Adult £9, discount for locals. (updated Mar 2020)
  • 🌍 Fishermen's Museum. A museum in a former church on the fishing industry and maritime history of Hastings. Daily 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM. (updated Mar 2020)
  • Shipwreck Museum, Rock-a-Nore Road (next to Fishermen's Museum). Museum of artefacts from shipwrecks in the English Channel. (updated Mar 2020)

Do

Hill Street in Old Town

Buy

  • Pearl & Queenie, 16 George St. Beautiful jewellery. A Victorian styled boutique which showcases the work of more than 30 top British designers, handmade in all manner of materials from gold, silver, leather, glass, acrylic and even wood. A treasure trove of jewels with many featured in the UK's top fashion magazines. A must-see shop if not only for the designs on show but for the interior which boasts bow-fronted cabinets and saucy antiquities. 
  • Vintage clothes. This place is a bit of a hidden treasure. Lots of vintage clothes shops and brick-a-brack – some are run by people who also have stalls in Portobello Road (London) later on in the week. One of them has the flatmate of Peaches Geldof as an assistant at the weekends! Prices range from what you'd expect – £60 for a decent 1940s dress, to little treasures – £15 for a vintage Laura Ashley maxi-dress.

Eat

Fishermen's museum and net huts on the stade
  • 🌍 Hollypark Organics, Hollypark, North La, ☏ +44 11424 812229. Organic food shop. 
  • 🌍 Trinity Wholefoods, 3 Trinity St, ☏ +44 11424 430473. Organic food shop. (updated May 2017)
  • 🌍 Blue Dolphin Fish Bar, 61B High St, Hastings TN34 3EJ, ☏ +44 1424 547150. 11:30AM-10PM. (updated Oct 2017)
  • Goat Ledge is a beach hut on St Leonards promenade serving seafood and ice cream, open 8AM-9PM.
  • Farmyard, 52 Kings Rd, St Leonards TN37 6DY (in front of Warrior Square station), ☏ +44 1424 420020. M-Sa noon-3PM, 6PM-11PM, Su noon-6PM. Excellent little bistro and wine shop in St Leonard. (updated Dec 2022)

Drink

  • 🌍 The Jenny Lind Inn, 69 High St, TN34 3EW, ☏ +44 1424 421392. Try the Jenny Lind when it's got local strong cider. (updated Oct 2017)
  • Albion is a grand trad pub at 33 George St facing the Ferris wheel. It's open Su-Th noon-11PM, F Sa noon-midnight.
  • 🌍 The Crown, 64 All Saints St TN34 3BN, ☏ +44 1424 465100. Daily 11:00-23:00. Atmospheric free-house pub, gets great reviews for food. (updated Nov 2021)
  • 🌍 The John Logie Baird, 29-31 Havelock Rd, TN34 1BE, ☏ +44 1424 448110. A typical Wetherspoons pub. Named after the inventor of television. (updated Oct 2017)
  • Brewery: Brewing Brothers "The Imperial" is a microbrewery on Queens Rd. Their main outlet is The Courtyard on the central beachfront, open Su-Th noon-10PM, F Sa noon-midnight.

Sleep

North Lodge, Burton St Leonards

Town centre

Many hotels are on the seafront.

North

Ecclesbourne Glen

North-west

Connect

As of May 2022 Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill have 4G from all UK carriers, and you might get 5G with Three.

Go next

  • Bexhill is the large resort east of Hastings.
  • Battle is where the battle of 1066 was actually fought.
  • Rye is the most attractive of the "Cinque Ports" that defended medieval England.
  • Robertsbridge is a pleasant village near must-see Bodiam Castle.


Routes through Hastings
London ← Royal Tunbridge Wells ← Battle ←  NW  SE  → END
END ←  SW  NE  → Tenterden → Ashford
Eastbourne ← Bexhill ←  W  E  → Rye → Folkestone


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