east sussex

Making up the former fisherman's quarter, Hastings Old Town here is really picturesque and refreshingly not too tidied up, with a warren of steep paths and little alleys well worth exploring, and a great diversity of buildings spanning several centuries. The First In Last Out here has interesting food and brews its own beer. On the seafront are the unique net houses, tall dark wooden storage units that are now listed buildings, nearby which the fishing boats are still winched over the shingle beach. Close by there are several booths selling fresh fish.

From here you can walk up on to the exhilarating cliffs, or take the cliff lift to save your legs for the first part: there is a wonderfully unspoilt stretch of coast running over two miles towards Fairlight Glen and Fairlight Cove, with the path along the sandstone clifftops taking the best of views.

Hastings has several indoor attractions, including some good ones for children. Near the net houses are the tiny Fishermen's Museum, with bits and pieces relating to the town's fishing industry, the Shipwreck Heritage Centre, displaying fines from local wrecks from wine bottles and muskets to a cabin boy's leg bones, and Underwater World, an excellent aquarium with an underwater tunnel and a tropical marine section.

Hastings Castle has partly crumbled off the edge of the cliff and what remains stands on top of their hill overlooking the old town: the ruins unusually encompass a collegiate church, close to the site of William the Conqueror's first English motte and bailey castle. There is a lively audio-visual exhibition on the Battle of Hastings. Within the labyrinth of deep caverns below, Smugglers Adventure has models and life-size tableaux illustrating the life of an 18th-century smuggler, complete with sound effects and spooky lighting.

To return to Battle, head north through Hastings following signs for London and then turn left on the A2100.