UK BREAK
HASTINGS
TRADITION AND INNOVATION COMBINE IN THIS HISTORIC PORT TOWN ON THE EAST SUSSEX COAST IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND
Local tip “From our pub in the Old Town, take a walk over the Firehills and along the coast, spotting seals on one side and wild ponies on the other” Tess Swan, landlady at The Crown
Hastings is home to one of the UK’s oldest fishing fleets;
Fish broth from Bayte, St Leonards
Mention Hastings and people still refer to the battle of 1066, which is a shame given the town has changed so much —since the 11th century, certainly, but over the past decade, too. Like many British seaside resorts, Hastings and its neighbour, St Leonards-on-Sea, had their heyday in the Victorian era before falling into a period of decline. Their revivals in recent years have been huge and heartening. These are places packed with independent shops, restaurants, pubs and boutique hotels, so many that a week-long visit would hardly even scratch the surface. Hastings is popular in the spring and summer, when the sunlit sea is turquoise, the seafront rides are in full swing and the entire town heads out for Jack in the Green —a day of folk dancing, parades and merriment held on May Day. But in the winter, too, it takes on an all-new Zen, when pubs feel even cosier and the sunsets even more sublime.