Our Blog - August 2025 - England trip - Hastings

We went to Hastings for a day but didn't take very many pictures. I had originally thought that this was where the "Battle of Hastings" took place, but it was actually fought where the village of "Battle" is today, about 8 miles NW of Hastings. It was another of the original Cinque Ports (like Hythe that you probably just read about). One of the reasons that there aren't many pictures is that it is mainly a seaside tourist town now, which I didn't find all that interesting for pictures. The Romans were here in 55 BC and the coastline here has changed so much that the original Roman port is probably now under the sea.

As you can see, there are high cliffs next to the beach area. There are 2 funiculars (East and West) that go up to the plateaus at the top. The plateau on the East side contains a large park while the plateau on the West side has the ruins of a castle. We didn't go up either one this time.

While the harbor is gone, Hastings is still home the UK's largest beach-based fishing fleet. Yep, that is exactly what it sounds like ... smaller boats that are launched from the open beach. They must be hauled from the sea after each trip, so they can be no longer than about ten meters/32 feet long. This means that they can only carry small amounts of gear and travel just a few miles. There are several stores that sell the fish right there near where the boats come back in.

The Net Shops are tall black wooden sheds that were built to provide a weatherproof storage for the fishing gear made from natural materials (to prevent them from rotting in wet weather). The sheds were originally built on posts to allow the sea to go underneath but pebbles have built up the beach and the sea no longer reaches the huts. The huts here date from the 2nd half of the 19th century although buildings such as this have been documented back as far as 1588. In the 1830's, the local city council laid down detailed regulations for the location of net shops as well as the size (not to exceed a ground area of 8 sq feet). Originally they were much shorter than they are today but since they couldn't take up more ground area, when more space was needed they had to go upwards. Some today go up to 30 feet tall, and some have cellars. With the advent in the 50's of synthetic material nets, they needed less protection and the net shops are not as well-used today and now are preserved mostly as a tourist attraction.

The Fisherman's Museum is dedicated to the fishing industry and maritime history, and is housed in a former church. The church was built in 1854 and damaged during WWII when it was used as an ordnance storage. It was saved from destruction in 1955 and made into a museum.

The Winkle Club was a charitable organization formed in 1900 by fisherman to help the under-privileged families in town. Each Winkle Club member (or 'Winkler') carried a winkle shell which they must show when challenged to 'winkle up'. Failure to do so resulted in a fine which went towards local charities.

We picked up a pack of homemade and natural treats at the Woof Wag'n, which was in a tiny little closet-sized store. The one we selected was Apple, Banana, and Strawberry (made with oat flour and coconut oil). If you happen to be in the UK, you can look at their online store, as they ship all over the UK using Royal Mail. For the rest of us ... you can visit their store in Hastings!