insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 04 - June 2015 | Page 58

TOWNSPOTLIGHT

the fantastic parade (complete with costumes,
music, and entertainment), and a St George’s
Day church service.
1066 Wine and Food Festival // June
This wonderful event, featuring good wine and
food with a special focus on the quality local
produce, is sure to set your taste buds tingling.
Hastings’ Beach Concert // July or August
The annual Hastings’ Beach Concert event
is always well attended, and rightly so. These
concerts, ranging from classical music to
contemporary pop and everything in between
are perfectly produced, and guaranteed to get
your feet tapping. Money raised goes to the
RNLI.

Top Spot

Shipwreck Museum - The subject matter
may be a little morbid, but the information to
be found within the museum is fascinating, and
well worth a visit. There are dozens of historical
artefacts on display, each one rescued from
a shipwreck. At the museum you can learn
about the environmental conditions that have
preserved so many wrecks that, although they
sunk many hundreds of years ago, are still able
to be explored (and sometimes recovered)
today. There is also a gift shop on site to finish
your visit off with a souvenir.
Cliff Railway - There are two cliff railways in
Hastings: one on East Hill, and one on West Hill.
The East Hill lift is the steepest funicular railway
in the UK, and provides access to Hastings
Country Park. Views from here include Hastings
Old Town and the Stade, the largest fishing
beach in Europe. The West Hill Lift uses the
original Victorian wooden coaches and has a
tunnel, which is not usual at all for a funicular
railway. From the West Hill lift you can see
Beachy Head in Eastbourne, and views beyond
out into the Channel.

Dining Out
Pier Nine - The intimate dining room, the
small but varied menu, and the locally sourced
ingredients (including the award-winning Sussex
wine) all add to the congenial atmosphere at
Pier Nine. Here you can enjoy Sussex 36-day
aged steak, Rye Bay scallops, and Sussex
goats’ cheese in a relaxed and comfortable
restaurant. Cocktails are available too.
Bay Spice - If you are looking for food with a
bit of zing and some bite, then Bay Spice could
be the perfect place for you. Bay Spice provides

superb Indian cuisine, served up in a relaxed
atmosphere by friendly staff who know their
food and are happy to recommend dishes and
answer questions. Catering well to vegetarians
and meat eaters alike, there is plenty on the
menu to choose from, including ‘old favourites’
such as chicken tikka masala, and new tastes
such as king prawn Kashmiri. Bay Spice has
won awards for its food, so you know you will
be eating well here.

Smuggler’s Adventure is a fun, interactive, and
informative experience that allows you to ‘step
back in time’ whilst working your way through
the tunnels and caverns below Hastings, where
the smugglers of the area used to bring their
contraband. You’ll meet Hairy Jack who will give
you an insight into exactly what went on, and
over 70 other life sized characters. Combined
with spooky sound effects and dramatic
lighting,you’ll have an experience never to
forget.

Black Market - Situated in Hastings Old Town,
Black Market is a little gem of a restaurant
serving international cuisine that includes
chargrilled aubergine, egg, and garlic paté;
gourmet gangster burgers (including the
Wiseguy – a combination of lamb and beef);
a variety of mouth watering, freshly prepared
kebabs; and desserts to die for. Black Market
is also a bar and cocktail lounge, and there are
often live music events to enjoy with your food.
St Clement’s - St Clement’s celebrates a
decade in business this month, and it’s not
hard to see why this restaurant has made it this
far – and will go on for many years to come. It
was chef patron Nick Hales’ vision to create a
modern restaurant that used local produce, and
so he opened St Clement’s to do just that. The
seasonal menus here are meant to showcase
what Sussex has to offer in terms of exceptional
produce, and can include food from local
butchers, dairies, farms, and fishermen.

Annual Events
St George’s Day // April
Every year, Hastings’ residents turn out in force,
helped by the local scouts and plenty of visitors,
to celebrate St George’s Day. Festivities include

Did You Know?
John Logie Baird, who lived at 21 Linton Avenue, Hastings, came up with his groundbreaking and world-changing idea for television whilst out for a stroll in the town. One
story says it was in Hastings Country Park that the light bulb went off, and another says it
was on the East Hill Funicular.
58