A visit to Hastings

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Last weekend we visited Hastings and St Leonard’s-on-Sea, on the south-east coast of England. Hastings (as in the battle of Hastings) and St Leonard’s have basically merged into one big town with a promenade that stretches for several miles. It was all built up in the late 19th century to accommodate the influx of visitors who came to take the sea air and indulge in sea bathing, which was seen as a health-giving activity in Victorian times. All the buildings along the front are big Victorian edifices, now a faded version of their former glory. We stayed at the Royal Victoria Hotel, which must have been fantastically grand in its heyday. Nowadays the furniture is showing it’s age, there are many little things which need fixing, and the carpets in our room were actually threadbare in places. It did have spacious rooms, a piano bar with a grand piano, fantastic sea views and a very imposing staircase though. Just a few steps across the road is the beach, which is all shingle (small pebbles) and stretches for 3.5 miles. You can spend a lot of time strolling along the promenade, or wandering the strandline on the beach looking for ‘treasure’! You can see the hotel in the link. Meanwhile here's a picture of the beach - can you see how well the young seagulls are camouflaged? All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2026.