Hastings East Cliff - (Beautiful Views and peaceful Walks)

General Details

The East Cliff is the start of the Firehills Country Park , which provides cliff top walks unbroken by roads to the village of Fairlight about 5 miles to the East.

The cliff top has been inhabited from the stone age to the present . The remains of a stone age encampment has been found, together with a Roman Outpost whose purpose was to warn of impending attacks ,or visits by cargo ships or Generals and Emperors from Europe.

The cliffs during the age of local smuggling were used to wreck vessels, this was carried out by placing false harbour lights on the cliffs which were used draw the victims onto the rocks ( see Fairlight ).

To get to the cliff top, you can walk the many flights of steps from the Old Town via the Tackleway to the top, or for those requiring an easier for of transport, you can take the cable railway from the harbour to the top. The Cable railway was built in the 1800's and was then powered by spring and rain water fed into a tank under the top carriage, whose weight took the top carriage down and the visitors up.

Views

From the top of the cliffs on a clear day you can see the coast of France.

Walking from the cable railway towards Fairlight , you pass along the cliff top , which is very pretty. The area is also nice to take a picnic to, but be careful to take all your rubbish away with you, as the area is quite flammable in the summer.

Looking down on the old town is quite spectacular, with the old narrow streets and rooftops contrasting with the grass and the rocks of the West Hill .

Services

There is only the cable railway to service the area, although an ice cream van can be found at the top in the summer.

Dog walkers and ramblers find the cliff top walk from Hastings to Fairlight absolutely fabulous on warm summer days.

Map

Hastings East Cliff is shown as the red symbol on the map.

Nearby Villages
(click on symbol to see the village page)