Hastings Old Town

The old town lies in a valley between two sandstone cliffs, east of the Victorian resort, and it is still a fishing place: the Stade holds the largest beach-launched fishing fleet in Europe, boats winched up the shingle because Hastings has never had a harbour that survived, and the catch is sold from huts on the shore. Behind them stand the net shops, tall narrow black-tarred wooden towers built from the 1830s, some over ten metres, designed to dry nets in a small footprint because ground rent was charged by area. Two Victorian funiculars, the East Hill Lift and the West Hill Lift, climb the cliffs on either side. The Jerwood Gallery, now Hastings Contemporary, sits on the Stade in black tiles echoing the net shops.

What you actually see

• The net shops - tall black-tarred drying towers built from the 1830s.
• The beach-launched fleet - boats winched onto the shingle, Europe's largest.
• The funiculars - two Victorian cliff lifts on either side of the old town.
• The twisting lanes - narrow streets and passages behind the seafront.

When to go

April to October; the fishing fleet works year-round and the boats come in through the morning. Jack in the Green in early May and the Old Town carnival week in August are the local events.

Honest expectations

Hastings has real deprivation and the old town sits beside it; the contrast is visible. The beach is steep shingle, uncomfortable and with a strong undertow. The funiculars are old and close for maintenance without much notice.

Nearby

Hastings Castle stands on the West Hill; Rye and Battle lie east and north.