Hastings
net huts, lanes and chips
A proper working fishing town with tall black net huts, a tangle of old lanes and big free clifftop views if you walk up. Salt air and chips.
Free to visit · Hastings · East Sussex · Charing Cross → Hastings · TN34 3DW
Hastings is the salty, slightly ramshackle seaside that has not been polished smooth for tourists, and it is all the better for it. The shingle beach, the tall black timber net huts and the maze of old town lanes are free to wander, and the fishing fleet still works off the beach.
Walk up onto the East Hill cliffs for a huge free view over the town and the Channel, or follow the front for fish and chips eaten out of the paper. The old funiculars charge a small fare but legs are free and the views from the top are the same.
Getting there from London: Charing Cross to Hastings, around 1h30, advance singles from £18 each way. The beach, the old town and the clifftop walks are free. Only the funicular railways charge a small fare.
Getting there: Hastings station is a ten minute walk to the seafront, with the atmospheric old town a little further along the front to the east. Everything is walkable.
Best time to go: Come for the catch of the day and a bright afternoon. The cliffs above the old town give the best free views if you walk up.
Official site: https://www.visit1066country.com/destinations/hastings
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