famously 1 2013 Hastings & St Leonards Visitor Guide 2 3 M25 M20 Ramsgate LONDON M2 Ramsgate - Oste M26 nd The most famous A228 Canterbury M25 Maidstone A21 A28 M20 A2 M23 Tonbridge Gatwick A259 Ashford Dover Tunbridge A28 Wells A262 town in the world. Dover - Dunk A22 A26 B2086 A2070 irk Folkestone A268 Tenterden A259 Channel e A21 Tu A28 A268 nnel London. Berlin. New York. Paris. A23 B2089 Rye Battle A26 A22 A259 Calais over - Diepp Any of these, could claim to be the most famous city in the world. D A27 A27 A259 Hastings But only one town can make a similarly bold claim. Brighton Bexhill Newhaven Eastbourne A town that’s synonymous with the most famous battle in history. Boulogne Newhaven - Dieppe And with a date that’s so well known we don’t even need to print it. Our town... Places to visit in 1066 Country 22 cultural Events in Hastings & St Leonards 24 famously 6 St Leonards 28 Trails in 1066 Country 29 famously authentic 10 Itineraries 30 Accommodation 36 How to get here 45 famously famously welcoming 14 Tourist Information Centres 45 Accommodation Finder 46 Attractions 48 hastings famously historic 18 Eating Out 50 4 5 Dieppe “Several towns lobbied hard to win the Jerwood Gallery. Hastings won…” 6 7 Hastings famously cultural Although it only opened in 2012, the Jerwood gallery has already become an emblem of the town’s world class culture. Visually synonymous with the Stade, 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. its 8,000 hand-glazed tiles were carefully chosen to complement the striking net huts. Rowan Moore of the Guardian, identified it as one of the finest examples of architecture in the world, alongside iconic landmarks such as London’s Shard, the China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing and the Louvre Lens in France. In his review of the gallery, Moore described it as “...a beautiful addition to the many juxtapositions – of cliff and sheds, work and distraction, ancient castle and seaside tat – that make this part of the coastline what it is.” Inside, the gallery is home to figurative and abstract works dating from the First World War to the 1960s and contemporary works by artists associated with Jerwood, along with several winners of the Jerwood Painting Prize, including Craigie Aitchison, Maggi Hambling and Prunella Clough. Alongside the gallery you’ll find the Stade Open Space which hosts a number of major public events 3. throughout the year, from music to outdoor theatre. 7. 8. There are also plans to open “Classroom on the Coast” - a centre of excellence for seafood cooking, in the impressive Stade Hall. 1. The America Ground 2. A Banksy original on 3. Just one of Ben Eine’s 4. Art in shop windows 5. Australia’s most 6. Some of the town’s 7. The ruins of Hastings 8. Glimpses of our mural marks an unusual St Leonards beach – street art shutter pieces is a recent initiative in famous contemporary galleries selling artworks Castle stand proud on acclaimed, month-long moment in the town’s Very St Leonards! Hastings and one that artist Anthony Lister the town’s West Hill. arts festival Coastal history where we had shoppers and artists recently painted Currents our very own revolution! appreciate! this mural in St Leonards. 8 9 “Throughout Hastings & St Leonards, there’s a feeling of truth and authenticity. A sense that what you’re experiencing hasn’t been merely made but earned….” 10 11 Hastings 6. famously authentic Hastings is home to Europe’s largest beach- launched fishing fleet, one of the oldest of its kind in the world. A thousand years of hard-earned craft 4. and technique are written into every inch of the little boats that work from the steep Stade shingle beach. When the boats come ashore usually in the late morning, they’re winched up the beach where 1. their catch is unloaded into boxes and taken to the nearby Fishmarket where the fish are sold wholesale. Above the market is Maggie’s, an award-winning fish and chip café with spectacular sea views. Freshly landed fish, smoked fish and seafood can also be bought fresh off the boat from the small sheds that line the Winch Road. Hastings has always been a sustainable fishery and in 2005 was awarded the Marine Stewardship Council’s certified status for Dover Sole, Mackerel and Herring. The traditional netting techniques used by the fishermen are not only a testament to a way of life that has been lost from most parts of the world but also a genuine example of living history. So if you’re tired of everything tasting like it comes 2. 3. 5. 7. 8. from nowhere in particular, why not try something that’s authentically Hastings? 1. The 660 acre Hastings 2. The East Hill Lift is the 3. Some of our local 4. St Clements Caves 5. St Leonards is a 7. Hastings Pier will 6. Burtons St Leonards 8. Hastings Old Town Country Park Nature UK’s steepest funicular marine wildlife can be were reputedly used by bohemian wonderworld rise from the ashes after is a rare example of an offers antiques shops Reserve is home to some railway. seen in the Blue Reef 18th century smugglers with a uniquely a multi million pound immaculately preserved and galleries to the of the most precious Aquarium. and are now home to serendipitous shopping Heritage Lottery grant Regency new town. discerning shopper. wildlife in the world. Smugglers Adventure. experience. award. 12 13 “When you visit Hastings on May Day Bank Holiday Monday, you become part of a family. A big green dancing and singing family….” 14 15 Hastings 5. famously welcoming Hastings’ Jack-in-the-Green Festival of Morris Dancing traditionally takes place over the first weekend in May and is renowned for its rough- 4. around-the-edges charm, rowdy swagger and warm heart. Every year, thousands of residents, visitors (and several thousand bikers!) take part in May Day celebrations that are the envy of every other town in the UK. 1. The climactic May Day procession goes further. It makes everybody feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. A living, breathing throng of dancers, drummers and revellers takes to the streets in a centuries-old tradition that marks the hallowed passage of Spring into Summer. The town is turned into a playground of light and sound and colour, roads are closed and people are united in a glorious green ecstasy that’s unlike anything you will experience anywhere else! Like all the events that take place in our town, the procession is about far more than rituals and spectacle. It’s an open embrace to anybody who wants to express themselves, an invitation to leave the ordinary behind and become part of a unique 2. 3. 6. 7. 8. community. A community that doesn’t care who you are or where you’re from. Only that you are present. And prepared to be painted green! 1. Hastings is home to 2. Hastings Week 3. The St Leonards 4. Hastings Old Town 5. The first Hastings 6. Stade Saturdays is a 7. The Hastings Half 8. In a very short space the National Town Criers climaxes in Hastings Festival brings together Carnival Week is a Herring Fair took place regular programme of Marathon is one of the of time, the Hastings Championship. Day, a celebration of the people from all across celebration of everything in 2012 and was a outdoor performances UK’s premier road races Seafood and Wine famous battle together the community in a the town’s oldest phenomenal success. that takes place and attracts thousands of Festival has established with one of the UK’s celebration of diversity. community has to offer. throughout the Summer spectators every year. itself as a mainstay of our biggest seafront bonfire on the Stade Open events calendar. and fireworks displays. Space. 16 17 “Hastings is at the heart of one of the most important historical regions in the whole world...” 18 19 Hastings famously historic Hastings and 1066 Country are so closely 4. intertwined that it isn’t possible to tell the story of one without that of the other. The 31 mile 1066 Country Walk is, for many people, the best way of discovering the profound connections between Hastings and its surroundings. The route takes 7. you across a rural and coastal landscape that’s rich in ruins, and relics and resonates with the most famous moment in English history. 1. At first glance, the nearby market town of Battle, with its dominant Abbey gateway, might not seem to have any connection at all to Hastings, but the 5. Abbey grounds are home to the site of the Battle of Hastings itself, a fact that’s celebrated with an annual spectacular re-enactment. At Pevensey, you’ll find the original landing point for the Norman invasion but the castle, with its layers of fortifications, tells the story of two other major conflicts: the Roman occupation and the Second World War. A little away along the coast, you’ll encounter Bexhill-on-Sea, birthplace of British motor racing and home of the thriving Sovereign Light Cafe 2. 3. 6. 8. immortalised in Battle supergroup Keane’s fifth consecutive number one album, ‘Strangeland’. Further along the coast is the Medieval and Georgian splendour of Rye , once home to literary icons Henry James, EF Benson and Rumer 1. Bexhill’s De La 2. Bedgebury National 3. Rye’s Mermaid Street 4. Batemans in Burwash 5. Built in 1385 Bodiam 6.