HASTINGS & ST LEONARDS - GOING OUT
1066 Country general website - Hastings/Sussex Tourist Information
Adventure/Crazy golf (3 courses to choose from) - Old Town seafront (1/2/3 courses: Adult £7/£12/£15; Conc £5.50/£8.50/£11; Child under6 £3.50//£6/£7.50) open until 10pm during the summer and 4pm in the winter (weather permitting!)
Miniature Railway - opposite the Albion pub on East Parade to Rock-a-Nore - 10” gauge railway est.1948. A very short trip!
Trampolines and go-karts near the ferris wheel and Swan Lake pedaloes
Smugglers Adventure (Caves!) on the West Hill - tunnels with costumed actors and sound effects £11.75, 12 and unders £9.75 (all tickets valid for 6 months!)
The Source - indoor BMX/Skateboard Park - No children required - worth a look just for the sculptural curves of plywood and to marvel at what was once the largest underground swimming baths in Europe (TBC) FREE entry, plus coffee shop
Hastings Castle - ruins/visitor centre
Fisherman's Museum - maritime history of Hastings, in the old church, Rock-a-Nore Road. Open daily. FREE entry but donations welcome
Blue Reef Aquarium - underground aquarium with sharks, seahorses etc. Rock-a-Nore Road. Adults £9, Kids 3-12 £7, Seniors £8
True Crime museum - just yards from our front door we haven't been here yet, it's guarded by cut-outs of the Krays and boasts the LARGEST collection of Crime Memorabilia in the UK (Adult £7.50, Conc £6.50, Child £5.50)
GALLERIES:
Hastings Art Gallery & Museum - John's Place, Bohemia Rd, Hastings TN34 1ET - museum dedicated to local history and global artwork and culture Open 10am-5pm daily except closed Mondays FREE ENTRY
Hastings Contemporary art gallery - Modern British Art and temporary exhibitions - open Tues-Sun & bank holidays 11am-5pm. Adults £9, £8 senior, Child 5-16 £3.50 and FREE on FIRST TUES of the month 4-8pm only? Nice balcony cafe via gallery entry only.
Big Yin Gallery, 1 London Road, St Leonards - black-owned, artist-led space from artist Euan Roberts (Leyton alumni) & Ruth Spencer.
Various galleries on Norman Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings TN38 0EJ - some are frustratingly open Saturdays only - PROJECT 78 (No 78); Stella Dore (street art, No 64) ; Lucy Bell (fine art photography, often by famous photographers/sitters, No 46); New Gallery (classic contemporary paintings No 42); Baker Mamonova Gallery (inside Kino Teatr No 43-53).
Hastings Arts Forum - 20 Marine Court, St Leonards - exhibitions of local members and invited artists
Electro Studios Project Space, West St Leonards - Artist-led, short-burst exhibitions usually open weekends only
CINEMAS:
Odeon Queens Road opposite Turret Grill/Registry Office - All the current blockbusters, with an occasional indie
Electric Palace High St, Old Town, Small indie cinema with a bar
Kino Teatr 43-53 Norman Road, St Leonards - leather armchairs, bar and vaulted ceiling!
THEATRE/MUSIC:
Blackbox music venue - 10 George Street, Old Town
Kino Teatr 43-53 Norman Road, St Leonards - dance, talks, films, music
Hastings Pier - occasional ticketed outdoor gigs, 80s/90s events etc
The Piper 1 Norman Road/Western Rd - pub with an upstairs music venue
White Rock Theatre - opposite the pier - Comedy, panto, tribute acts, classical music
WALKS:
Fairlight Cove to Hastings Old Town (2 hours + bus journey) - take Lydd/Dover 101 bus (one an hour?) to Fairlight Cove £2.80 single. Worth it for the journey up and over the dramatic ridge out of Hastings! Get off at the little roundabout at Fairlight Cove and follow paths back through the Glen to Hastings. IMPORTANT NB final part was closed due to landslip - exit via Barley Lane, continue on to East Hill for views over the Old Town/Fishing fleet or walk down to High Wickham/The Bourne in the Old Town for refreshments in the Stag or the Crown
CYCLING:
Hastings to Eastbourne via Bexhill - 90 mins+ 17 miles - largely off-road cycle route along promenade in Hastings, heading west through St Leonards, Bulverhythe, Bexhill and back
DAY TRIPS:
Battle Abbey - 7 miles/21 min drive - Ruins, museum & 1066 battlefield (English Heritage) - Non-member Adults £10, Kids £6, Car park £4.50 - opening times change frequently, see website
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill - 6 miles/20 min drive or 28 min by train, every 15 mins - Cool, modernist building with gallery, cafe and a great music/comedy venue!
Towner Gallery, Eastbourne 17 miles, 45 mins by car, bus (every 15 mins?) or train
RYE - 13 miles/30 min drive or 20 min on the train, once an hour - small, pretty, medieval harbour town with cobbled streets and junk shops
Camber Sands - (east of Rye) 16 miles/40 min drive - expansive sandy beach and dunes
Dungeness/Derek Jarman's garden/RSPB nature reserve - (further east of Rye) 27 miles/55 min drive - eerie, beautifully bleak shingle landscape with a lighthouse to visit
LEWES - 29 miles/1 hr drive west via A259/A27 - 1hr on the train, once an hour - pretty town with bric-a-brac/antique shops and eateries (inc original Bills)
The Cricketers pub near Berwick, prettiest country pub with good ales/food menu
Charleston The Bloomsbury Group's decorated farmhouse near Lewes - Open Weds-Sat March to Oct Adults £12.50, ground floor only (if you can't manage the stairs) £8.50
GARDENS TO VISIT:
Great Dixter house & gardens - 12 miles/30 mins drive - Tudor hall house with exuberant, creative and exotic gardens, not to be missed at any time. Tearoom and nursery. Open Tues-Sun plus bank holidays from 1 April-29 Oct! - Adults House/Garden £11, gardens only £9
Sissinghurst Castle Garden - 23 miles/50 mins drive - A historic, iconic garden with cafe/tearoom. Former home to Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson (National Trust) - March-Oct Adults £12.50, Winter £6
Merriments gardens and nursery & tearoom - 15 miles/30 min drive - 4 acre RHS Partner Garden, open from April-Sept, daily. Charge for the garden? (TBC)
Bateman's - 17th century house with a 20th century garden made by Rudyard Kipling (National Trust) - open year round, prices vary