24 Hours in Hastings

Using the Visit 1066 Country website, lifestyle blogger Squibb Vicious, also known as Haydy, planned a jam packed 24 hour trip to Hastings. This stay was her very first trip to the area so she really wanted to see all the main attractions! Here, Haydy shares some of her top recommendations:
 

Where to Stay

Moore House is an ideally located hotel to call your home for the night!
I booked room RX4 as you’re able to select your room on booking as they’re all slightly different with it being a boutique hotel and the big windows and the stunning jellyfish wallpaper caught my eye!

The location was spot on as it was in the middle of the High Street. I was able to go everywhere by foot and the breakfast offering was wonderful; I recommend the sourdough toast with homemade guacamole and smoked salmon.

📍 57 High Street, TN34 3EN
💰 £157 – booked directly to get the best rate
 

^{Moore House}
 

Where to Park

The Bourne Car Park was perfect for Moore House as it’s less than a 5 minute walk away. There is a a cut through straight onto the High Street of Hastings' Old Town. This cost just under £11 for 24 hours.

📍 104 The Bourne, Hastings TN34 3BD
The following morning, move the car down to St Margaret’s Road Car Park as this will be closer to the plans in this itinerary.
📍 39 St Margaret’s Rd, Hastings, TN37 6EH
All car parks and parking tariffs for Hastings can be found here.

 

What to Do
 

The West Hill Lift*
 

If, like me, you’re a sucker for anything slightly old fashioned, the original Victorian coaches on this short but sweet funicular railway will be one for you to try. The funicular railway even goes through a tunnel which is rather rare for these!

This journey on the West Hill Lift saves you walking up A LOT of stairs to take in some lovely views over Hastings seafront; you can see all the way to Beachy Head in the west and out across the English Channel. During the summer there’s a little cafe up there too.

📍 43 George St, Hastings TN34 3EA
💰 Adult Return – £4.20 / Child Return – £2.60
 

Smugglers Adventure*
 

Hastings and many of the surrounding towns are filled to the brim with stories of smugglers. These smugglers helped the locals get their hands on items such as tea, silk and tobacco; not quite the things that pop to mind when you think of smuggling in this day and age right?!

Smugglers Adventure takes you through the smuggling caves where these items had been bought in land and stored. There are over 70 life-sized characters that truly bring the story to life. It’s such a fun way to learn about a huge part of the town's history without even realising! 

📍 St Clement’s Caves, Hastings TN34 3JJ
💰 Adult £10.75 / 3-12 years £8.75
 

^{Squibb Vicious at the Shipwreck Museum}
 

Shipwreck Museum
 

There are an incredible amount of artefacts on show at the Shipwreck Museum from many of the ships wrecked on the English Channel from the Goodwin Sands in Kent to Pevensey Bay in East Sussex. There are amazing displays of bottles, bones, and even jewellery from the bottom of the sea.

There are lots of hands on displays and even a real dinosaur foot print too!

📍 Rock-a-Nore Rd, Hastings TN34 3DW
💰 Free entry
 

Hastings Fishermen's Museum
 

Hastings is very rich in fishing history and even now, fishing plays a huge part in the town's income so it makes so much sense to visit the Fishermen’s Museum to learn a little more. There’s a lot to take in and see so set aside at least an hour to do this if you want to do it in detail.

You can also learn about Hastings' annual celebration of Jack in the Green, an annual folk custom that was revived in Hastings in 1983.

📍 Rock-a-Nore Rd, Hastings TN34 3DW
💰 Free entry
 

^{The Courtyard at Source Park}
 

Source Park
 

Source Park is a huge underground skatepark home to two skateparks which are combined with Source Skate Co. and Source BMX shop, and an open courtyard home to plenty of places to eat and drink. It’s such a cool space right on the seafront.

You can even book lessons in skateboarding and BMX if you’re in the market for a new adrenaline filled hobby!

📍 White Rock, Hastings TN34 1JA
💰 Free entry to observe, sessions start from £13

 

Where to Eat & Drink
 

Maggie's Fish & Chips*
 

You can’t visit the seaside without getting fish and chips, it’s like an unwritten rule so we popped along to Maggie’s on the seafront.

Having been around for as long as I’ve been alive, the team at Maggie’s have really nailed their batter; I’m such a stickler for batter and this one was just right. The fish is direct from the market below their cafe and the specials are straight off the boats with the morning catch so it’s real fresh!

Highly recommend a glass of the Picpoul as it compliments the fish and chips perfectly on a summers day.

📍 8-9 Rock-a-Nore Rd, Hastings TN34 3DW
 

^{The Stag Inn}
 

The Stag Inn*
 

Down the oldest residential street in the heart of Hastings Old Town, The Stag Inn is a 16th Century pub that has a tiered garden that makes you feel just so at home. They have 2 bars, stunning inglenook fireplaces, and a dining room where the food is rumoured to be pretty darn good.

A great selection of local beers also caught our eye so we tucked into a couple of them taking in the sunshine and really feeling like we weren’t in England anymore!

📍14 All Saints’ St, Hastings TN34 3BJ
 

Porters Wine Bar
 

Our final stop was next door to our hotel, so it would have been rude to not stop for a night cap, right?!

We did just stop in for a final glass of wine, but the value for money was so good that we actually bought a bottle and spent the rest of our evening chatting with the lovely staff. The bar had a lovely ambience and often have live music for you to while away the hours too.

📍 56 High St, Hastings TN34 3EN
 

^{Porters Wine Bar}
 

Follow Squibb Viscious on Instagram @squibbvicious

Cover image by @boburke1

* All entries marked with asterisks were gifted.