Day trips are one of my favourite things to do on weekends, but it’s been a hot minute since I last went on one. It must have been back in November, when I went to one of the Christmas Markets! I usually prefer to travel in the warmer months, when days are longer and there’s a better chance of sunshine. However, I always like to go on one or two winter trips as well. The weather conditions might be a bit harsher, but there’s far less tourists and I enjoy exploring new places away from crowds.

So, last Saturday, I decided to go to Hastings. I had previously spent a June bank holiday weekend there and enjoyed it greatly. I’ve been planning to go back for ages, and the time finally came. My plan was to have a walk on the beach and on the cliffs, and to visit one of my favourite coffee shops. Join me as I relive that day!

Getting to Hastings from London

As usually, I went on my day trip by train. I took a direct train from London Charing Cross to Hastings. The journey took around 1 hour 45 minutes.

I booked my ticket a few weeks in advance, and for the UK standards, it was pretty cheap.

Coffee time

Once I got to Hastings, I headed straight to towards Hanushka Coffee house. I have no association with that cafe, I simply fell in love with it during my previous visit to Hastings. Their coffee was tasty, their cakes were delicious, and the decor was just perfect for me – it featured hundreds of books stacked on bookcases along the walls, and lots of houseplants. I loved it!

They have two locations, one in the Old Town, and one in the Western, less touristy part of Hastings. The two locations are about a 10-15 minute walk apart. Whilst the one in the Old Town is located in much nicer surroundings, the cafe itself is really tiny. For that reason, I went to the one on Robertson Street, which is much bigger. It wasn’t too busy and I had no trouble finding an empty table. I treated myself to a cappucino and a strawberry cheesecake. Yum! Fuelled with the treats, I was ready for the rest of the trip.

A walk on the beach and searching for seashells

When I left the cafe, I headed towards the beach, which was just a couple of minutes away. It was about an hour before low tide – perfect time to walk on the beach and search for marine treasures. I had high hopes for it – I remember finding lots of large seashells during my previous visit to Hastings, as well as crabs and other animals.

This time, it took me some time to find the first seashells. There weren’t too many, to my surprise! I did end up finding some beautiful large ones though and had to exercise a lot of willpower to resist collecting them all. I did end up taking a few, but not too many. I already have tons of seashells at home, from various places in Europe, and I have no idea what to do with them anyway.

By the way, I booked my train tickets a few weeks in advance, taking a bit of a gamble on the weather. It was rather gloomy, windy and cold, but at least it didn’t rain, which is always the most important to me. I would have loved some sunshine and blue skies, but overall, it wasn’t too bad! I made sure to wear a lot of layers and survived just fine.

Hastings Pier disappointment

I wanted to go on the pier next, but to my surprise, it was closed. Looking at Google reviews, it seems to be closed most of winter. I have no idea why! The weather conditions were perfectly fine, there was no storm in sight, and the pier itself is fairly modern and definitely not falling apart. I would have loved a walk on the pier. It’s not huge, but the views from piers are always nice. Oh well, next time!

A visit to the Hastings Old Town

Next, I decided to continue strolling on the beach and walk towards Hastings Old Town. The Old Town isn’t huge, but it’s charming, with nice architecture and independent shops and cafes. I especially love one of the residential streets filled with unique, old houses. Some of them had plaques with dates when they were built, and the oldest one I saw was from mid 15th century!

East Hill walk

From the Old Town I headed towards the East Hill. There’s an old funicular that you can take to reach the top of the hill, but I decided to climb the stairs instead. After a few minutes, I could enjoy the wonderful view of the sea and the centre of Hastings. I could also see the West Hill – located on the other side of the Old Town – and I could just about see some of the remains of Hastings Castle, which I visited during my previous visit to Hastings.

I didn’t spend much time on top of the East Hill. There’s a Nature Reserve there and I hoped to have a little walk along the trail. Unfortunately, it rained the night before my trip and there was mud everywhere. I saw some dog walkers return from their hikes and their legs were covered with mud until knee level, so there was no way I was risking getting dirt all over my nice pair of jeans.

Back to the beach

So, instead of having a walk on the Hill, I returned to the beach to breathe in some fresh air and look for more seashells. There were hardly any people on the beach and I found it super relaxing and therapeutic. Living in one of the busiest areas of London, I always appreciate being able to spend some time away from the crowds.

West Hill views

I decided to walk up the West Hill – the second of the hills in Hastings – to enjoy the views. It was a bit of an exercise, but not a long one. The West Hill is famous for the ruins of the Hastings Castle, which I had visited in the past. I wouldn’t have been able to visit it this time as the ruins of Hastings Castle are closed for the winter.

Sunset fiasco

I hoped to finish the day with lovely sunset views, but that wasn’t meant to be. It was cloudy the whole day and there was no pretty sunset whatsoever – it just gradually got dark. I’m yet to experience a decent sunset by the sea in the UK, actually. If anyone knows a place on the coast, not too far away from London, which gets nice sunset views – let me know!

Journey back home

Finally, it was time to head back home. I didn’t stay in Hastings until very late – I needed to get back home at a reasonable time, having a busy schedule the following day too. I took a train from Hastings around 6:30pm and got to London Charing Cross just after 8pm.

I thoroughly enjoyed my little trip to Hastings. It’s one of my favourite coastal towns in England, and I don’t know why it took me so long to return there, since my last visit. I can’t wait to go again!

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