The gorgeous Old Town of Hastings in Sussex is set between two imposing chalk cliffs and serviced by a couple of creaky old funicular railways. They link the old-school seaside town with the imposing Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian villas up on the grassy hill tops looking out across the hazy English Channel towards France. 

There’s change in the salty air here, as the town struggles to hold on to its unique and charming character. Hastings is a town of two halves, the ancient higgledy-piggledy Old Town, with the Bourne Stream running through the middle, and the ‘new town’ with its ubiquitous chain stores, fast food joints and chintzy seaside ‘stick of rock and candy floss’ kitsch and, of course, the jaunty sea front and pier with its roller coasters and dinky-toy train. The ongoing challenge in the Old Town is to preserve its distinctive character as it faces the pressing problem of dereliction and the endless march of modern regeneration and gentrification. It’s become a battle for the older residents to hold on as the tourists flock and people from other parts of the UK swarm in search of a piece of this English seaside gem. 

Some of the oldest surviving buildings in the medieval Old Town are on All Saints Street, dating back to 1450 and Old St Helen’s Church is reported to be the only structure left from 1066 (other than the ruins of Hastings Castle) and the original Battle for Hastings. 

Just in front of the Old Town, on the shingle beach cut in half by the aforementioned ‘dinky-toy railway’, are the unique (to Hastings) tall, thin wooden sheds called ‘Net Shops’. Painted matt black, and standing in close proximity to each other are a jumble of sheds, all different sizes, some of them reaching three stories. The Net Shops were traditional storage buildings for the Hastings fishing fleet and used to stow gear made from natural fibres such as cotton nets, hemp ropes, canvas sails etc., to protect them from the elements and dry them out. We had only recently read an article on the ‘Best Fish ‘n’ Chips in England’ and noticed that one of those mentioned was in Hastings, Maggie’s, situated right amongst the Net Shops. We were told we wouldn’t get in, but after pounding the streets of the Old Town, we managed to walk in after 2pm and get the best table in the joint, looking out to sea across a jumble of fishing boats. The Cod ‘n’ Chips and Mushy Peas were indeed  the best ever! 

Another highlight of Hastings for me was Bottle Alley, a 480-metre-long lower deck that runs along the sea front promenade from Hastings Pier to Warrior Square towards St Leonards. Built in the 1930’s, it earned its nickname from the many pieces of coloured glass bottles embedded into the concrete panels that run the entire length of the alley. On a blustery cool June day with a struggling pale sun trying its best to make an appearance, the vanishing point perspective and colour-graduated panels looked quite magical.