WINCHELSEA

The village of Winchelsea, or town as claimed by some, was a prosperous port during the Middle Ages, in fact it was one of the Cinque Ports, but the town was moved inland on the orders of Edward I in 1281, although it retained its Cinque Port credentials. The port waned in importance partly due to becoming silted up and partly due to the ravages of the Hundred Years War when it suffered repeated attacks by the Spanish and French. Several remnants of Winchelsea’s medieval past remain, including three of the original gateways and the choir and side chapels of the original Church of St Thomas the Martyr, which suffered badly at the hands of the French but has since been rebuilt. One of the gates features in a painting by William Holman Hunt called “The City Gate, Winchelsea”, one of a series of paintings he did while visiting the area. Another painting called “The Blind Girl” by J. E. Millais depicts the ivy-clad church.

If you want to discover more about the role of Winchelsea in the Confederation of Cinque Ports as well as the history of the town, you can do so in the Winchelsea Court Hall Museum. Beachgoers will find a beach of shingle with low-tide sand which is popular with caravanners and campers. Between Winchelsea and Rye is Camber Castle, one of a defensive chain built by Henry VIII in the 1530s as a response to the threat from those pesky French.

Map of the area.

Winchelsea, Grey Friars ruins. Photo by Michael Coppins, via Wikimedia Commons

PETT LEVEL

Pett lies at one end of a canal called the Royal Military Canal, the other end being near Hythe, Kent. It was built, bizarrely, with the aim of fending off Napoleon’s army, although only an optimist of the highest order would have believed that a mere canal could defend the country against such a formidable fighting force. The cliffs between Hastings and Pett Level contain many fossils as well as the remains of ancient woodland, and a walk out to Cliff End at low tide is rewarded with the sight of ancient tree stumps sticking out of the water. In the sea off Pett Level lies the wreck of the gun ship Anne, built for Charles II and launched in 1678 but lost to the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690. A survey carried out in the 1970s discovered that the hull was still reasonably intact, and in fact she is still visible at low tide.

Map of the area.

Coast path, Pett Level Road, near Rye - panoramio(5). Photo by J J Jones, via Wikimedia Commons

FAIRLIGHT

The cliffs on this section of the Sussex coast are a mixture of sandstone and clay, and are so prone to erosion that the cliff edge at Fairlight is receding at the rate of 25 metres a year, threatening the homes and gardens of the mainly retired residents. A newspaper report from 2004 described how the villagers were locked in battle with English Nature, which was reluctant to allow any defences to be built on the site because as it happens Fairlight sits on top of one of Britain’s most important dinosaur fossil sites, housing the 135-million-year-old remains of crocodile, pterosaurs and dinosaur footprints. The erosion of the cliff face allows easy access to these treasures. The country park here is characterised by the hills known as Firehills, which may have been so called because of the yellow gorse which covers them in Spring, or alternatively due to the fact that at the turn of the century the area was used for practice firings by the local gun battery. The downs around here were captured on canvas by William Holman Hunt in his painting Fairlight Downs, Sunlight On The Sea.

Map of the area.

Fairlight fire hills. Photo by Colin Smith, via Wikimedia Commons

HASTINGS

The name Hastings is synonymous with one of the most famous events in British history: the Battle of Hastings, which took place after William the Conqueror led his army to Hastings after landing at Pevensey, and resulted in King Harold being killed by a shot in the eye with an arrow. The battle actually took place in a field just outside the nearby town of Battle, but in Hastings the remains of a Norman castle still stand as a reminder of this time. Hastings was one of five coastal towns designated as the Confederation of Cinque Ports, established by royal charter in 1155 to provide ships for the use of the Crown, and also for trade purposes.

In view of its distinguished past, it seems a shame that Hastings has latterly acquired a reputation as being a bit shabby and run-down. The town has all the ingredients for a charming seaside venue, with fishing boats drawn up onto the shingle beach, where a type of huts called “deezes” or “net shops” used for storing fishermen’s nets add a picturesque touch, an old town nestled in a valley between the cliffs of the West Hill and East Hill, and a cliff railway whisking people up to the castle, where there is a 1066 exhibition. There are also some caves called St Clement’s Caves with a visitor attraction called The Smugglers Adventure. Other attractions include the Blue Reef Aquarium and, of course, the pier.

For events in Hastings see here.

Live streaming webcam view of the pier and the English Channel.

Map of the area.

Hasting, net shops. Photo by Dominik Tefert, via Wikimedia Commons

ST LEONARDS-ON-SEA

St Leonards-On-Sea is right next door to Hastings, but does not share the latter’s rich history, being relatively new. It was the developer-architect father-and-son team James and Decimus Burton who came up with the scheme for a new resort, and carried it through during the period 1928-34. This talented duo had already worked their magic in parts of London such as Marylebone and Belgravia, and looking at some of the grander terraces and squares in St Leonards one can see the similarity. A different style of architecture can be found on the seafront in the form of the Art Deco apartment block Marine Court, which was probably considered sleek and modern in its day but now lowers the tone set against the aforementioned elegance. Better to tear your eyes away from this behemoth and enjoy the stunning views towards Beachy Head. St Leonards has a nice bohemian air about it, with interesting, quirky shops and art galleries. The town used to have a posh school called Summerfields, and one of the pupils there was Prince Rainier of Monaco, but the school closed in 1966.

Probably the biggest issue facing Britain today is mass immigration and the flood of asylum seekers coming to Britain looking for a better life, and St Leonards has had its share of controversy over this issue. In 2005 during the Blair years, when immigration really started to become an inflammatory subject, there was a newspaper report about a building in St Leonards called the Adelphi Hotel which was housing over 200 asylum seekers, much to the disgust of the locals, who claimed to have seen some of them driving around in new cars and wearing expensive clothes. Immigration reared its head again in news reports about the town in 2010, when the vicar of St Peter and St Paul in St Leonards was convicted of conducting hundreds of sham marriages between East Europeans and Africans, the former earning up to £3,000 each for their part in the sham.

Map of the area.

The beach at St Leonards On Sea - geograph.org.uk - 527090. Photo by Simon Richardson, via Wikimedia Commons

BEXHILL-ON-SEA

Bexhill is one of those south coast towns favoured by the older generation, and has a reputation for being a bit sleepy, especially after dark. However, as with many such places, efforts are being made to drag the town kicking and screaming into the 21st century, in Bexhill’s case courtesy of the restoration of a 1930s architectural masterpiece, and its conversion into a swanky arts venue. The building in question is the De La Warr Pavilion, built in 1935 for the 9th Earl De La Warr. The Pavilion was the country’s first public building built in the Modernist style. There is also a cafe described as a “beach on the roof” and a sophisticated restaurant.

The Edwardian period, when Bexhill became a playground for the aristocracy, was an important time for the town, and it was during this period that Bexhill witnessed two events which put it in the vanguard of English resorts. In 1901, Bexhill was one of the first resorts in Britain to allow mixed bathing, and the following year the town hosted the country’s first ever motor race, causing it to be thought of evermore as the spiritual birthplace of British Motor Racing. Back in the present, and following on from the Pavilion’s regeneration, the New Wave project is now underway, an ambitious plan to update and beautify the town’s seafront. However, the project has been met with a mixed reception from the locals, and a recent edition of the local paper included a report about furious local residents fed up with the dust being chucked around the place by the construction activities, getting into every nook and cranny of peoples’ balconies, and even inside their properties. One lady complained of knee-deep sand on her balcony, adding “It looks a bit like the Sahara desert”. Oh well, no gain without pain as they say. 

Live streaming webcam view from Bexhill Sailing Club.

Map of the area.

The beach at Bexhill - geograph.org.uk - 295353. Photo by Nigel Stickells, via Wikimedia Commons

PEVENSEY BAY

Pevensey Bay’s place in history was assured in 1066 when it was used as the landing place for William The Conquerer who, taking advantage of the fact that King Harold was otherwise engaged in fighting an invasion in the north, leaving this part of the British coast relatively defenceless, arrived here with the intention of laying claim to the English crown. Another chapter in the history of Pevensey remains in the form of Pevensey Castle, whose outer walls were built by the Romans as a defence against Saxon invaders.

The village of Pevensey, a short distance inland, was given short shrift in a description published in 1844 in “The Cottager’s friend, and guide of the young”: “It was once formidable for its castle, and useful for its harbour; but is now a mere village, with three or four hundred inhabitants, a choked-up port, and a castle in ruins.” In fact, the marshes surrounding the village are an undisturbed home for wildlife, and the Pevensey Marshes Nature Reserve where birds to look out for include wigeon and teal during the winter, short-eared owl, hen harrier and redshank, as well as insects such as the fen raft spider.  The village itself has some charming old buildings and a haunted pub dating from 1527 called the Royal Oak and Castle, where phantom footsteps and the unexplained smell of perfume have been experienced.  There have also been fun and games in a particular room where occupants have experienced weight on their legs and the sense of the duvet being pulled back.

Map of the area.

Pevensey Bay looking east towards Normans Bay - geograph.org.uk - 1093697. Photo by Kevin Gordon, via Wikimedia Commons