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Maritime Heritage Trail
Think Hastings, think 1066. Now, think Hastings, but think smugglers, shipwrecks and the biggest beach launched fishing fleet in Europe. Hastings, together with the two 'Antient Towns' of Rye and Winchelsea, were important defenders of the English monarch, long before the Royal Navy was created and the sea and coastline of this part of the south coast of England were witness to significant events in our maritime heritage.
Begin your tour with a day in Hastings, starting with the Smugglers Adventure , to learn about the all too violent history of smuggling along the Sussex and Kent coast in the 17th and 18th centuries. Take the West Hill Funicular Railway up to the top of the West Hill for this. After your visit, head down to the Old Town via the steps to Coburg Place. This is the area of town where the fishing families still live. A tour with an experienced Blue Badge guide will bring to life the history and ghosts of the medieval streets and tiny courtyards or 'twittens' (tiny passages leading to pretty courtyards).
On the Stade (a word dating from before 1066, meaning 'landing place') you will find fishermen working on their boats. Visit the Marine Stewardship Council website for further information about the methods of fishing practised by this accredited fleet. The unique Hastings Net Shops - nearly 50 black wooden sheds standing in neat rows on this shingle beach - will provide photographers with a fascinating subject. Nearby you will find the Fishermen's Museum, based in what was originally the Fishermen's Church, the Shipwreck and Coastal Heritage Centre, an award winning museum for Archaelogical and Historical interest and Underwater World, home to more than 70 marine species from around our shores.
While you are down at the fishmarket, why not sample some smoked fish or the more traditional jellied eels, or perhaps buy the catch of the day to take home for your dinner? Hastings Lifeboat Station and visitor centre is a great place to visit for those of all ages with an interest in the important work of this organisation. For a bird's eye view of all of this, take a ride up to the top of the East Hill in the East Hill Funicular Railway.
For day two of your tour, spend the morning in Rye, home to the creator of that most famous of pirates, Captain Pugwash. Begin with a visit to the Rye Heritage Centre, where the town model will tell you the story of Rye throughout the ages, before you set off, with an audio guide available from the centre, to wander the maze of perfectly preserved medieval streets. Also based at the Heritage Centre, What the Butler Saw! enthrals young and old alike. In Rye Castle Museum the history of Rye as an 'antient' town of the Cinque Ports is told and just beyond the museum in the Gun Gardens views out towards the sea show only too clearly how Rye was once a coastal town before the sea retreated. An even more splendid view can be had from the church tower over the rooftops of this beautiful town.
After lunch to the 'antient town' of Winchelsea, once a Head Port of the Cinque Port Confederation and the major port of Sussex. Its importance was such that, when Old Winchelsea was destroyed by the sea, King Edward I personally provided its present site on the hill of Iham. Visit www.winchelsea.net for a walking tour of the smallest town in England. Call in on your way to Winchelsea Court Hall Museum where exhibits include maps, models, pictures, seals, local pottery and items of daily life from the area.
Other ready made itineraries to make the most of a day in 1066 Country:
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