Hastings Half Marathon

You Are Here: Home » Hastings & 1066

Hastings claims, with some justification, to be the most famous town in the world. As well as having the battle that changed English history named after it - and being home to the first Norman castle built in England - the world's first ever TV broadcast was made in the town, and Alan Turing, only recently recognised as the father of modern computing, spent most of his childhood here.

The world crazy golf championship is played here (and the adventure golf on the seafront is definitely worth a visit). And we've got the largest beach-launched fishing fleet in Europe here, still fishing in the traditional, and very sustainable, way.

 

The town is rightly proud of its history and has a range of museums to suit every taste, from the Hastings Museum & Art Gallery through to the recently opened True Crime Museum. Then there’s the Fishermen's Museum, the Old Town Hall Museum, the Shipwreck Museum and the tiny (but incredibly interesting) Flower Makers' Museum. Indeed, the whole of the old town is almost a living museum, with its streets of half-timbered houses, and tiny 'twittens' (passages) running between them.

 

The town used to have as its slogan 'Popular with visitors since 1066', and that is still true. Visitors from around the world flock here, perhaps to soak up the atmosphere in the mediaeval old town, or enjoy shopping in the increasingly popular Norman Road in St Leonards. And if it is shopping you're interested in, there are more individual boutique shops in the old town, and the big high street names are well represented in the town centre.

 

There's the unique Smugglers adventure, two funicular railways, with the east hill lift being the steepest in the UK (and the west hill lift, connecting the seafront with the castle and Smugglers' Adventure, unusually running through a tunnel). Alexandra Park remains one of the finest Victorian parks in the country, and from the stunning Hastings Country Park France can just be viewed on a clear day, the furthest point west on mainland England that France can be seen.

 

 

The Jerwood Gallery is home to a fantastic collection of 20th century British art, as well as a receiving gallery which houses contemporary exhibitions.

 

And with a fantastic events programme all year round, including of course the Hastings Half Marathon, it is no wonder that the town is still so popular with visitors and residents.

 

For more information, please visit our website www.visit1066country.com

Photo supplied by Ioana Marinescu.