Study, work or travel in the UK. British
culture and life.
A guide to Hastings & St Leonards
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Study, work or travel in the UK. British
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A guide to Hastings & St Leonards
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Sections:
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Summary |
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| Facts & figures | ||
| Features | ||
| Environment | ||
| Entertainment | ||
| Transport | ||
| Further information | ||
| Links |
 Hastings Castle |
 The pier |
 East Hill cliff railway |
 The streets of Hastings |
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Hastings
and 1066 Country |
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Hastings
Today (picture book) Author: Nick Hanna, Tim Cross Publisher: Seachange Publishing Date: December 2001 |
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AA
Street by Street Hastings (street map) Publisher: AA Publishing Date: February 2002 |
| Subject | Name |
| Population: | 81,400 (over 60 years old: 24.2%) |
| Region: | East Sussex, in South East England |
| Location: | See: map |
| Visiting from abroad: | The nearest major international airport is at Gatwick. For
further information, see: Travel/Transport/Air Ferry services from France operate from Dieppe to Newhaven, or from Calais to Dover |
| Visiting from London: | Hastings is 90 kilometres south-east of London |
| By train: 1.5 hours from Charing Cross station (or 2 hours from Victoria station). Cheap Day Return ticket (off-peak) with Young Person's Railcard (2002): £12.20. | |
| By coach: At least 2.5 hours by coach from London Victoria | |
| Language schools: | 8 schools which are recognised by the British Council (2002). A complete list of local language schools can be found at http://www.hastings.gov.uk/language_schools. About 35,000 students come to Hastings each year to study English. |
There are beautiful views from the surrounding hills, which you can see by
walking or taking the cliff railways up the East or West hills. The main road
through the town can be busy, creating some noise and air pollution. South England
is more sunny than other parts of the country, but by the coast there can be
strong winds. There are many seagulls.
There is some begging, drunken behaviour and drug-related crime, mainly around the town centre. Many asylum seekers (refugees) have been given homes in Hastings. The town suffered decline over recent years and has a high rate of unemployment, but recently much has been done to regenerate the area. Operation Columbus is a campaign by Sussex Police which tries to help visiting students to stay safe: see http://www.sussex.police.uk/youth/columbus. Because there are a large number of language school students arriving in July and August, there can be some tensions with local people at this time of year.
In 2001/02 there were 26.9 offences of violence against people per 1,000 people,
much higher than the English average of 10.8.
In 2000, Hastings was ranked the 27th most deprived out of the 354 districts
in England.
Hastings offers cheaper accommodation than in many other parts of the south-east
(for example, Brighton)
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Local events include:
Hastings Day: in October
Hastings Week:
Old Town Carnival:
Jack-in-the-Green: traditional May Day celebrations in the grounds of
Hastings castle (early May): Ideas/Album/JackInTheGreen
 Jack-in-the-Green, Hastings Castle |
Nearby attractions include:
Battle - a town with a large abbey built by William the Conqueror after
his victory: http://www.battle-sussex.co.uk
Rye - a town with some beautiful old buildings, cobbled (stony) streets,
and lots of pottery/crafts/tea shops: http://www.rye-tourism.co.uk
Fairlight Country Park
The East Sussex countryside - walking in the local area
Canterbury -
See http://www.sussextourism.org.uk
for a guide to some of the attractions in Sussex
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Bus: Bus services can be crowded in summer months, and are not frequent
in the evenings.
Coach:
Car:
Train: There are 4 railway stations in the area (Hastings is the main station;
the others are West St Leonards, St Leonards Warrior Square and Ore). The train
lines lead to London, Ashford (in Kent) and Eastbourne.
Bicycle: There are some bicycle paths by the sea front, but the main
road is busy and the inland area is hilly.
Walking:
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