Hastings beckoned on a nice sunny Thursday. I have not been to Hastings for many years mainly due to the long journey on the A21 and the parking but I thought that a Thursday would be the best bet for such a journey. The A21 has now re-modernised and the bottlenecks are fast disappearing so the one and a half hours was pleasurable and although the parking on the seafront was £1.80 an hour, it was the best alternative rather than drive around looking for a spot in the morning heat. A walk to St. Leonards with the sun beating down on my back was very nice and it was also nice to see Hastings pier open again after the confrontations with the current owner. St. Leonards, Warrior Square was very busy and we decided to return to Hastings to check out the old town. I had been meaning to see Hastings Old Town again after watching Drew Pritchard who mentioned that it was now up and coming with several new ventures. Walking up the High Street I did see a few more modern shops that had opened but probably only three that could be loosely connected to antiques. Many shops had been taken over by new owners including my beloved 20th Century shop which had many iconic styles this shop had now been acquired by a lovely lady and called Dandy Vintage. We did spend some time in the shop and bought a rare american book which was amongst lovely vintage clothes and memorabila. There was also some unusual items including shirts and jeans made in a USA prison! Walking further up the High Street hill there were new modern shops, cafes and a bakery but the majority of the established bric-a-brac shops were still open. I was looking forward to browsing similar shops in West Street which is the other interesting shopping area next to the High Street and running parallel to the beach. Here I was bitterly disappointed most of the unique shops had turned into cafes and even the quality restaurants had turned into cafes. The days when I could spend hours browsing this street were gone and I would say at least 60% is now fancy cafes or pubs spilling out into the narrow lane.
Would I come back - Yes and hopefully there will be more interesting shops but if not you can compensate with the aquamarine, museums, clifftop lift, market, three golf areas, mini train, White Cliff theatre, Hastings pier, fishing boat area or walk along the promenade towards St. Leonard or even Bexhill especially on a sunny Thursday. #drewpritchard #hastings #oldtown #highstreet #saintleonards #warriorsquare #bexhill #aquamarine #fishermansmuseum #minirailway #whiteclifftheatre #dandyvintage #vintage #lifestyle #retro
