Hastings travel info please
 

Well, my DH just told me he would like to take a day trip to Hastings while we are in London (without a car). So what are our best options? I can't seem to find any daytrips by tour groups -- are there any? If not, what are our options? Train out to Hastings? He'll want to visit Battle, which is 6 miles north of Hastings... what do you suggest?

Thanks!

Battle station is on the railway line from London Charing Cross to Hastings. Check connections on www.nationalrail.co.uk or www.bahn.de.

Train to Battle about 90 mins from London, Hastings just a few minutes beyond by rail. I stayed in Hastings a few days recently and it's a nice interesting old port town - Battle is exceptional - the station is very close to the ruined abbey that overlooks the famous Battle battle site - you can walk around the battlefield with Walkman tours that tell you about the extremely grisly bloody battle between the Saxons and Norman Conquerors. You should consider the LondonPlus Flexipass - covers all of this journey and many other day trips - $69 p p for two unlimited days of travel; $129 for 4 days; $169 for a week - the 3rd thru 9th passenger on same pass pays 50% of that price; kids 15 and under get free passes - great for groups or families especially.

These trains are run by Southern (www.southernrailway.com) who have a very good one-day ticket allowing unlimited off-peak travel on their trains. It's £10 for one person or £20 for up to four people, but must be bought at least a week in advance. It would allow an itinerary such as London-Battle-Hastings-Brighton-London.

I did Battle and Hastings as a day trip from London a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The Norman Conquest is my favorite historical era so it was quite thrilling to stand on the site of the Battle of Hastings, which as you probably know, did not actualy take place in Hastings.

We had BritRail passes so did not need to buy train tickets. We stopped at Battle first. The Abbey and battle site are within walking distance of the train station. (We also had Great British Heritage Passes which covered the admission.) There was a small flea market going on in the square outsite the Abbey when we came out, then we had lunch at the "1066 Pub" just down the street. Looked at a few shops, then went back to the train station and continued on down to Hastings. Be warned that Hastings Castle, which is what I mainly wanted to see, is on the top of a cliff on the outskirts of town - quite a hike! We didn't even try (I travel with my 70-something mom). We just took a cab from the train station to the castle. It's rather windy up there but the view is fabulous and even though the castle is in ruins it still quite interesting, and there is a informative short film shown in a large Norman-style tent. The attendant at the castle entrance called us a cab when we were ready to leave, and we headed back to the train and back to London for dinner. It was one of the highlights of my several trps to England.

Oh, Almost forgot - at Battle there was a real live Norman knight in chain mail armor and all! Quite willing to pose for photos. I wanted to feel his hauberk but I thought the knight might feel that was too forward.

There is a funicular linking Hastings Lower Town with its cliff-top castle, so no sweat.

We were there two weeks ago. We used our London Plus Pass. Actually we were staying at Rye which is close by and a lovely medieval town also with a lot of history.It is a lot less touristy than Battle- at least when we were there. If you decide to go to Rye, we stayed in a great B and B named Culpeppers.

We just got on the train and went the short trip to Hastings and then changed trains to go to Battle - very easy. It is all easy to do with public transportation. Just a short walk from the Battle train station. Be sure to go to St. Mary's Church across from the battlefield. It is interesting, too.

I ended up in Hastings after taking the Eurostar from Paris to Ashford International then taking an incredibly quaint train, redolent of those on the Continent of the 60s, across a flat marshy area to Hastings via Rye. I based in Hastings and did day trips to Battle and Royal Tunbridge Wells, a one0time posh spa town, very interesting (on London-Battle-Hastings rail line via the formerly dubbed "1066 Electrics") and to Rye, which, one of the historic Cinque Ports (five major channel ports though now its port is silted up and the town far inladn) is extremely quaint - also a good base. So with Eurostar rather than ending up in hectic London you could just as easily, actually easier, end up in a Rye or Hastings, where accommodations are also lots cheaper than London, then go onto London later.

You might keep your eyes on your local PBS station for a series "Battlefield Britain". We just watched the Hastings segment on Channel 44 Boston.

I did the trip a couple of years ago with Original London Walks. According to their schedule the next "Rye, Battle & 1066 Country Explorer Day" takes place on Saturday, September 3rd.
Mara

I'm also lookikng at spending some time in the area. How is Rye on the bank Holiday weekend - crowded? I would expect so.

Actually we were there last year on a bank holiday weekend and Rye was not too crowded.