Ratings

Buggy - suitable apart from on the beach which is very stony.
Carrier - good for all areas.
Walking - Hastings seafront is very flat and has a good seafront pathway along the entire seafront area.
Toilets - There a several public conveniences along the seafront, all had disabled and baby changing facilities. On the day of visit those used were clean.

Wheelchair - good flat pathway along seafront, beach inaccessible due to stones.

Things to note

We parked at the Rock-a-Nore car park, which offers 3 hours free parking for those with a blue badge.

For those wishing to go up the hills away from the seafront there are 2 cliff face funicular railways. The West Lift was in operation on the day of our visit, but it should be noted that wheelchairs are not catered for and their is limited pushchair space. There is no step free access.

The East Hill lift, taking you up to Hastings Country Park does have wheelchair and pushchair access and is step free. However on the day of our visit the lift was closed for repair works. (Looking at their website it looks like this may be a long-term closure!)

Hastings seafront

Oh Hastings, what have you done...?

As a family we have been going to Hastings for a number of years, staying at Shear Barn holiday camp and various seafront houses. We have always enjoyed all that Hastings has to offer, from the pier, to the funfair to the Old Town.

Well, on our last visit, 2 out of 3 of those has gone by the by.

Having parked at the Rock-a-Nore car park, at £2.20 per hour - we ventured along to the funfair, Flamingo Park - and what a let down! Admittedly we had only been here once since the pandemic, but previously we had such a great time.

The caterpillar roller-coaster was a firm favourite with our Little One, who loved the thrill of going fast (for him), with a bit of G-Force that makes him laugh and smile. Well, there was no laughing and smiling this time, as the caterpillar no longer exists - maybe it has become a pupae and turned into a butterfly and flown away - as there was no sign of it - then to be fair, there was little sign of any of the top end of Flamingo Park, even the "new" rides were out of bounds behind metal barriers.

This all seemed rather strange for a mid summer holiday visit!

Having failed to get onto a funfair ride, we decided to walk along to our other favourite - Hastings Pier!

Now over the years my wife and I, before we took care of Little One, had some great times on the pier. It is a fantastic spot to sit, with a beer in hand, and look out to sea, or back to the shore and imagine Hastings' times gone by!

Unfortunately times gone by seem to have gone by very quickly for Hastings! The pier now, rather than being an open space, and as previously advertised, "the biggest beer garden in the south" is now a shadow of its former self. The end of the pier is now blocked off, with unsightly metal fencing, only open in the evening, to hard cash paying customers - with ticket only events being the order of the day!

The sun deck was now open, having been closed last time we visited, so decided to go up in the lift, as the multiple stairs aren't good for someone with mobility issues - good idea, apart from the fact the lift was out of action. Looking at the condition of the "out of order" sign, I would hazard a guess this has been out of action for quite some time.

It is a real shame, as Hastings has so much to offer, yet appears to have massively shot itself in the foot with the funfair and pier problems!

On the upside, the small-gauge passenger train, the Old Town, with some quirky shops and the free museums on the seafront are always worth a visit - as is the Sea Life centre (or whatever it is currently called)!

Unfortunately, for Hastings, we won't be coming back in a hurry.