My sister recently celebrated her birthday in the UK and as a special treat because we had Fiona (my daughter’s car), I drove us down to Hastings for the day; 1066 country. I love Hastings, it’s one of my favourite places to go. I remember my very first trip there a few years ago…I nearly didn’t leave again LOL
We set off right after breakfast and on the way we stopped at a field that looks over Pewis Marsh, most of which covers the ancient medieval town of Winchelsea, largely abandoned in the 15th century. The field contains the remains of the west wall of St John’s Hospital; an almshouse for the poor.
a day trip to 1066 country on 21 October – celebrating my sister’s birthday
1066 marks a very special year in the history of England and the UK, and it was in fact on the 14 October 1066 that King Harald lost his life at the ‘Battle of 1066’ in an area that is now called Battle.
Reaching Hastings after a fab drive through the country, we started off at the fantastic Hastings Pier; we walked right to the end to admire the view and marvel at the history.
Hastings Pier. with a remarkable history the pier played a part in the war
From there we walked along the promenade to see the amazing new sculpture installed on the beach in honour of the arrival of the Vikings.
Norman Long boat sculpture on the beach at Hastings, by Leigh Dyer to mark the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings
After that we meandered along and discovered the little train that takes you from the beach-front to the fishing village/harbour….so it was all aboard and off we went to Rock-A-Nore Station – pay on the train. It was too much fun….we felt like kids again!!
a train ride to Rock-A-Nore Station, Hastings
Then it was back down to earth and a meander through town…we were planning on looking for the ‘Piece of Cheese Cottage’ and stumbled upon it quite by accident.
The Piece of Cheese Cottage, Hastings
The architecture in Hastings is too twee and quaint for words and we had such an amazing few hours just ambling about photographing every last detail.
Hastings architecture
By now we were in dire need of a sit down and refreshments so stopped off at the nearest pub where we made ourselves comfortable in two old armchairs.
time for a bit of R&R
After that we headed over to the fishing village where we visited the Fishermens Museum …a marvellous collection of nautical artefacts and a fabulous old ship lodge comfortably together.
the delightful fishing village in the old harbour
We ambled about admiring the collection and then climbed the stairs to reach the deck of the Enterprise RX278.
The RX278 Enterprise – lodges comfortably now in the Fishermens Museum
The fabulous Fishermens Museum
the Fishermens Museum – located inside a church built on the Stade in 1852, which fell out of use after the Second World War.
The funicular to the top of the East Cliff enticed us and before too long we were on our way to the top. The United Kingdom’s steepest funicular railway is not only a structure of national importance but also a source of immense local pride.
The East Hill Lift provides access to Hastings Country Park which overlooks the Old Town and Rock-a-Nore.
taking the cable car to the top of the east cliffs at Hastings
As we were about to step out the cable car the attendant said to my sister “there go the Russian ships” – my sister was like “yeah right!!” but ohmygosh….yes it was indeed the Russian Navy enroute to Syria using our waters to get there. Very provocative. I knew they were due to sail past the English coast round about that time, but didn’t expect to actually see them. We spent some time enthralled in conspiracy theories.
the view from the East Cliff across Hastings Old Town – you can see the pier in the distance
Then it was off on a jaunt across Hastings Old Town to see the ruins of the marvellous Hastings Castle on the West Cliff.
a map of Hastings Old Town & The Stade
Part 2 of a day trip to Hastings – follows Sunday 27th at 19:10
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