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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Hastings
Give Hastings one full day and one night: Old Town, castle and The Stade on foot, then a second day only if you add Battle or Rye.
Hastings is a south-coast seaside town in East Sussex, about 1 h 40 min by train from London Charing Cross. The draw is the medieval Old Town, the hill-top castle ruins and The Stade, home to a beach-launched fishing fleet and the tall black net huts. The seafront is mixed: Victorian terraces and a pier sit beside stretches that have seen better days. Most visitors see the core in a day and use the town as a base for 1066 Country.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Dec–Feb (many seafront places shut or on short hours)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £55–85 excl. bed · Mid £85–140 excl. bed · High £140+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 999 · Police non-urgent 101 · NHS non-urgent 111
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | £3–4.50 |
| Fish and chips | £10–16 |
| Pint of beer | £4.50–6 |
| Castle or museum entry | £5–12 |
| Bus ride in town | £2–3 |
| Taxi across town | £8–12 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- LGW · London Gatwick
- Direct hourly train to Hastings, about 1 h 30 min.
- LHR · London Heathrow
- No direct train: cross London to Charing Cross or Victoria first.
Typical fares
- Train London Charing Cross → Hastings
- about 1 h 40 min, every 30 min; off-peak return about £40–60
- Train Hastings → Rye
- about 20 min
- Bus Hastings → Battle
- bus 304/305, about 30 min, hourly
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The centre is walkable: station to Old Town about 15 min, Old Town to The Stade about 10 min. Buses 20, 22, 22a and 26 run along the seafront every 5–10 min between the castle and St Leonards. Bus 304/305 runs hourly to Battle, about 30 min, and on to Robertsbridge. Two funiculars, the East and West Hill Lifts, climb the cliffs. Trains link Hastings, St Leonards Warrior Square and West St Leonards.
See and do
Known for
- 1066 battle and castle ruins
- Old Town lanes and antique shops
- The Stade net huts and fishing fleet
- Two cliff funiculars
- Hastings Country Park
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Battle | Bus 304/305 from the station area, hourly, about 30 min; or train to Battle station | About 45 min |
| Rye | Train from Hastings, about 20 min; or bus 100/101, about 45 min | About 30–50 min |
| Eastbourne | Train west, about 45 min; or Stagecoach bus 99, about 75 min | About 50–80 min |
| Brighton | Train via Lewes and Eastbourne, about 75 min | About 1 h 30 min |
| Robertsbridge and Bodiam Castle | Train to Robertsbridge, then taxi or a long walk to Bodiam | About 1 h 30 min |
| Newhaven | Train west via Lewes, about 1 h | About 1 h 15 min |
Sleep
- Old Town (High Street, George Street)
- Best for a short stay: pubs, cafés and the castle on foot. Book early, few rooms.
- Seafront and White Rock
- Hotels facing the beach between the pier and the station; 5–10 min walk to the Old Town.
- St Leonards-on-Sea
- Quieter, one mile west, with its own station and a growing food and drink strip.
- Battle or Sedlescombe (inland)
- Country hotels and B&Bs; only worth it with a car.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Single / return ticket, please | Single / return ticket, please |
| Where is the beach? | Where is the beach? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Parts of the seafront are run down; stick to the Old Town, White Rock and St Leonards for eating and sleeping.
- The beach is shingle, not sand: bring shoes you can walk on pebbles in.
- Check opening days for the small museums and the castle before you travel; some close out of season.
- Seafront parking fills on summer weekends; the train avoids it.
- Last train back to London leaves in the late evening: check the time before a late dinner.
Hastings is a normal British seaside town and safe by day. At night the seafront and some town-centre streets are quiet and poorly lit: stay near lit areas, keep to the Old Town and White Rock, and treat late-night drinking crowds as you would anywhere.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Hastings yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- 1066 battle and castle ruins
- Old Town lanes and antique shops
- The Stade net huts and fishing fleet
- Two cliff funiculars
- Hastings Country Park
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Hastings Borough Council — visiting: www.hastings.gov.uk/visiting/
- Hastings Borough Council: www.hastings.gov.uk/
- Visit 1066 Country — Hastings Castle: www.visit1066country.com/things-to-do/attractions/hastings-castle-and-1066-story-p44433
- Hastings Country Park: www.hastings.gov.uk/countryside_nature/naturereserves/naturereserves_hastings/hcp/
- Wikivoyage: Hastings (England), revision 5224934 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5224934
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Hastings
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Hastings; the US embassy is in London, and most countries' embassies are in London.
Tipping: 10–12.5% in restaurants if no service charge is added; not expected in pubs.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/hastings-england). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.