More Hastings, less speed

After several group trips this year, this is my first, and probably last, solo trip of 2025 for some quiet photography. It's almost 4 years since my last stay in Hastings in 2021/22, but nice to be back.

Hastings and its neighbour St. Leonard's abound in Art Deco and Victorian mansions. The Bo Peep is probably the only pub of its name in the country, while another curiosity looks a bit like a phone box but is actually a Victorian weather station.

My excursions from Hastings are mixed. In Newhaven, the promises of sunshine at the railway station must have made on a different day, but Bexhill is more promising. What the hippos think of Eastbourne's weather is not recorded.

The best for last. A 101 bus takes me to Winchelsea, an exclusive village that seems little changed from its reconstruction after a flood in 1287. It's best seen in the low morning sunlight. A couple of miles leads to Winchelsea Beach, which I know already but this is the first time the sun is out. Note how the commemorative benches are all different! Despite the biting wind, the surreal, other-worldly atmosphere is hugely impressive. And not a soul to be seen.

At Rye Harbour the pill box of 1940 is a reminder that this area has seen various attempted and successful invasions, from the Romans to the Normans and others. It still being daytime, I resist the urge to visit the Water Works but some other time, perhaps!Read more