Hastings Pier Open Again -ish...

YES, I got onto Hastings Pier this morning too! Hence this nice view looking westwards towards Marine Court from by the Pavilion.

And the Pier's facebook page is providing information regarding the build up to more being open and available on it, for example, that Mackay's Amusements will be returning from the 16th of March... 

And, what must have contributed to the sad closure last year, much too soon after its opening, of the Deck Building and La Belle Vue (blog), which translates as 'Beautiful View' and who's view was definitely not so good with the obstructions that arrived with the live music later last year! Anyway, as you can see in the photograph above, the end of the pier is again blocked off as preparations are again made for live music from the Easter weekend (facebook), so the Pier is definitely opening up again!

Hastings Seafront Walk & Homage to Byzantium...

I was out quite early this morning, shopping at Morrisons just after 07.00, and then walking via back streets to St Leonards Church at the end of Undercliff, then crossing to the seafront. I walked eastwards and took this photograph looking back to the west (my earliest photographs today are all facing away from the sun 😎), with Eastbourne and Beachy Head way over there in the distance. Indeed, the tide would be turning back towards shore about 10 minutes after I took the photograph.

The first photograph with a direct reference to the vampire film Byzantium (YouTube trailer), half of which was filmed in Hastings and half was filmed in Cork, is of the lower promenade part of the Azur Marina Pavilion (website), which was built in the 1930s; Hastings & St Leonards has quite a few art deco buildings from this time! This part of the building is featured in the film as the lounge of a home for older people, and the character played by Saoirse Ronan plays the piano here, and more, but I shan't ruin it in case you haven't seen the film yet, and decide to... 😉 I first wrote about the Azur over 7 years ago, when I reviewed the breakfast served, and eaten by me, here (blog).

I carried on eastwards, deciding to look back and take this photograph, with the Azur Marina Pavilion dwarfed by, and apparently listing towards it, Marine Court, which I have written about before (blog). Marine Court is another fine 1930s building and modelled on the Cunard Liner the Queen Mary, the blog is well worth the read.

Carrying on to the east and I walked through Bottle Alley, shortly before the end of which I looked back westwards again and took this photograph. I have written about Sidney Little's Bottle Alley before when the new lighting was installed 5 years ago, when I also mentioned it featuring in the film Byzantium (blog).

Carrying on further to the east and I soon reached one of the main stars of the film Byzantium (trailer), as in, the building used in the film as Byzantium. This was originally called the Palace Hotel, and was built in 1885-86, it is now the Grade II listed Palace Court, and is across the road from the beach.

Again looking back westwards, although nothing to do with the film, indeed, it wasn't even here when Byzantium was being filmed in Hastings, but I photographed this really quite marvellous sculpture on the beach. This was created as part of the 950th Battle of Hastings anniversary celebrations and depicts a Norman Longboat (blog).

First of all I have to admit the photograph above is one I took quite a few years ago, so you may well have seen it before, but in the film Byzantium the beaches of Hastings are filmed quite a bit, so a decision? I thought about photographing the groyne on the beach where the other main character, played by Gemma Arterton, well, I shan't say what she was doing there, but she was playing a vampire... 😉 Anyway, the beach above, and some of the fishing boats there, was featured in the film too, and this photograph also includes the East Hill in the background. Very early in the film, when the 2 main characters Clara and Eleanor Webb (Arterton and Ronan) are about to enter Hastings, they cross the East Hill and the camera looks down into Hastings Old Town, I have shared quite a few photographs of similar images before, particularly when walking back across Hastings Country Park during recent 'lockdowns.'

Anyway, the destination of my walk was Rock-a-Nore, and when the footpath ended, and Rock-a-Nore Road enters into car parks, unless walking down to the beach and rocks, this is as far as one can walk, and this one (me) didn't fancy walking any further eastwards today, particularly as the tide was coming in now. So the view of the cliffs looking eastwards from Rock-a-Nore, and up on top there Hastings Country Park.

I hope you have all enjoyed your August Bank Holiday, stay safe folks!

Day Trip to Eastbourne, and above board too!

Yes, yesterday was the most exciting day of the year for me, sad me, a day trip to Eastbourne, "didn't I have a wonderful time the day I went to Eastbourne!" 🎵 And it was above board too, I kid you not, this was the 'Gatwick Express' train (from Hastings to Brighton, presumably Southern borrowed it) that I arrived in Eastbourne on. Indeed, I was here to visit the theatre, the Congress Theatre to be precise..

So I wound my way down to the Congress Theatre, behind The Stage Door here, which obviously wasn't open, though I could have enjoyed a pint of ale, but no, if you aren't already aware, the Congress Theatre is in a more modern building, part of The Welcome Building, I do believe. And, because I couldn't get an appointment in Hastings to receive my vaccination for COVID-19 after receiving a letter from the NHS sent to me 3 weeks ago, I went online on Wednesday and got a booking in Eastbourne for the next day, I wish I'd not waited! Apparently, Hastings had run out of vaccines by the end of last week and there would be no vaccinations given in Hastings this week.

Have to admit I was relieved to get this appointment, when I first looked online to book an appointment I was offered Crystal Palace football stadium, which I thought was a bit far to walk to, and back. So I managed to get an appointment somewhere a bit closer, which was also a bit far to walk to and back in the day, but not much more than a half hour trip on the Gatwick Express was infinitely better than getting to Crystal Palace!

Anyway, whilst I was there I popped down to the beach (above and, in the distance, you can even see Marine Court in Hastings, just), I didn't stay long here though, as my appointment was for 30 minutes later. So if you receive a letter from the NHS inviting you to book appointments for a vaccination, plus booster 12 weeks later, consider going online, and you can get a wee seaside day trip out of it; I'll not make any witty comments after that, but I'll leave it for you to make up your own. 😉

If it is your turn to receive the letter and make appointments, here is the link.

Stay safe folks!

Today's Seafront Walk & Exercise, and Best Wishes for 2021!

I left home about 07.00 this morning, to get out for my daily exercise before it became too crowded, as it was yesterday, I was later informed by Judy at the Stade loos, as I was wishing her 'all the best' for 2021. I also saw Paul (Street Hygiene) working down towards the end of Rock-a-Nore Road, and wished him 'all the best' too!

Then I started my return to the West, passing RX134 the Stacey Marie (blog), and gave my best wishes to Johnny Swann at The Net Shop opposite.

I see at least 4 pubs in this photograph, sadly closed still, even at lunchtime, and at least 1 other building that used to be a pub, and the moon... 😢

No Ted's Planet Hastings Seasonal Sprouting competition (blog) at the Adventure Golf Course this year, sadly, no need to explain why the courses are closed... 😢 

The Sculpture on the Beach of a Norman lifeboat (which I like even more every time I see it!) has been sited here since it was part of the Route 1066 arts festival in the year of the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings (blog).

Bottle Alley, which co-starred in the film Byzantium (blog); the Bottle Alley Festive Light Show is every night until January the 4th, so you have a few nights left to see it, whilst taking your daily evening exercise, obviously! Shows are at 7.30 pm and 9.30 pm.

Warrior Square Gardens, the statue of Queen Victoria, honest, you can see it in the middle there, and Marine Court (blog) in the background. 

And Bulverhythe, where I turned around to return home, and which I discuss in my 'virtual' Hastings to Pevensey Bay Walk, along with other local landmarks and history, blog written earlier this year during the never ending COVID-19 Crisis.

A peaceful walk earlier, before the return journey anyway, and it only leaves me to wish you the very best for the year 2021, let's hope things improve very soon folks!

Be safe! 👍

Hastings to Bexhill Walk "The Musical"

I had to include this image at Pelham Beach because it is so amusing, an outdoor beach gym thingamabob and notice saying "This facility is closed" - Honest! 😂 Anyway, an eclectic mix of music, something that tells a story for each image: Walking From Hastings to Bexhill & Back The Musical, first link to YouTube. Oh yes, and I took these photographs earlier today, mostly...

My second image is, well you can see it, Hastings Pier, sadly closed until who knows when, and there was such hope for an expanding and exciting future at one time (for example, blog), but either the Administrators' ineptitude, incompetence and/or a stuffed brown envelope left it in the hands of Mr G, annoyingly; anyway, YouTube.

OK, I really should have posted the photograph I took of the Azur Pavilion, but it doesn't look great with all the shutters closed, so I posted this, if you've seen the film Byzantium, you'll know what I'm getting at, cue YouTube.

This wonderful building I have written about many times before, particularly detailed in this blog, and a highly appropriate song from YouTube.

And you really can hear the echo of the sea hitting the beach, and quite severely today too, off the sand cliffs here; Great song (for me anyway) at YouTube.

If you've walked this walk before you will be aware that this is the cliff side of Galley Hill, I did take a photograph of the road going up the hill, but it wasn't good, anyway cue YouTube, and I didn't run... By someone I had a bit of a crush on as a younger man, and who I would have been very happy to run up hills with in those days. 😉

So, here we are at Bexhill, and I own up, this wasn't taken today (as if you couldn't have guessed), but my brother calls me lots of things, maybe the best of which is 'Mr Blue Sky' (don't fall for that one 😉), as he says I regularly exhibit Blue Sky Thinking. As it was pretty overcast earlier I used this photograph as an exquisite image with plenty of blue sky! The De La Warr Pavilion (blog), championed by the 9th Earl De La Warr, however, his father, the 8th Earl De La Warr, turned Bexhill on Sea into the "Birthplace of British Motor Racing" from 1902, indeed, running up Galley Hill (website).

Anyway, my final piece of fun music @ YouTube, hope you enjoyed the musical! 😊

Walking, Seafront, Parks and Shopping, Lucky Us!

Rather than walk eastwards today, my exercise included a couple of walks along the seafront, first, to the west and then heading away from the seafront by the majestic Marine Court (older blog) and walking up through the delightful St Leonards Gardens (another older blog). I cut across to Bohemia Road via Tower Road to go shopping at Lidl, as you do sometimes when you go shopping. Then, to get home, I walked back downhill through yet another delightful park, Alexandra Park (above, and yet another older blog). We are so lucky, not only do we have the healthy seafront to walk along, but 3 excellent award winning parks too (blog), quality! 

Hastings Lifeboat

It almost makes lockdown bearable... almost, but it does help a lot. Anyway, after a mug of tea and a couple of Rich Tea biscuits, I headed out along the front again, though eastwards this time, as I had to collect something fishing boat/work related. Lo and behold, our Shannon Class lifeboat, RNLI 13-28 Richard & Caroline Colton was sitting outside the Hastings Lifeboat Station (above), that was a pleasant surprise! The video linked in this blog during Storm Ciara earlier this year is well worth watching if you haven't already seen it. Although I've seen it quite a few times and feel blessed by our lifeboat crew and volunteers every time I see it, my respect to them all!

A Virtual Walk from Hastings to Pevensey Bay

I shall start this virtual walk, mostly along the seafront from east to west, from the Old Town and Rock-a-Nore Road, with this photograph taken close to Hastings Fishermen's Museum (blog), please feel free to join me, and I assure you you won't get tired, physically tired anyway. 😉 So we can wander along here, with the sun behind us, and to our left, in the early part of the walk, past that well known landmark, the Stacey Marie (blog), past numerous chippies and pubs to the right, and world famous Hastings Adventure Golf Courses to the left, yes! World famous indeed, with World Championships being held here most years (eg blog), sadly not this year though, understandably, because of the Coronavirus crisis, but in our walk reaching...

... over on the right, and nearly 200 years old, is St Mary in the Castle, with its foundation stone laid in 1825, and construction completed by 1828. The church was part of a larger project, Pelham Crescent, and with a shopping arcade below that was strongly influenced by the fashionable Burlington Arcade in London. The building is quite magnificent, and more information and photographs of the inside can be seen at this blog, although you should try to visit when things get back to normal, if you haven't already been inside it would be well worth it! You'll also realize from the image above it was taken very recently during the 'lockdown' thus eerily quiet.

Onwards to the west we go and reach one of the main stars of the film Byzantium (trailer), indeed, there are many Hastings landmarks we can recognize in the film, half being filmed here and half in Ireland. Anyway, we pass what was originally the Palace Hotel, built in 1885-86, and now Grade II listed Palace Court over to our right. You will see from this blog that I regularly enjoy walking along the seafront, although more recently Hastings Countryside Park Nature Reserve, one of our regular local award winning parks, check out this blog, but I digress, and virtually...

Virtual Hastings Pier

Maybe not what you expected to see as we reach Hastings Pier, but what the second phase was planned to be when Friends of Hastings Pier put in a bid to move the Pier on from phase 1, regrettably there having previously been no movement towards the second phase by Hastings Pier Charity before they went into administration. This is the plan devised by the architects dRMM, with their previous phase 2 plan having included a sliding canopy that would have moved along the length of the Pier. However, this updated second phase plan was to ensure the Pier would remain a 'sustainable community asset' (dRMM) and was designed just before the Pier was suspiciously sold to a private bidder, and includes a modern pavilion similar in construction to the Eden Project, which is another dRMM success story. Sadly, the Pier is rarely open now, from even before the Coronavirus crisis, as local folk will already be well aware.

You can see many blogs (for example) I've written about Hastings Pier, the potential there was for it to be developed, and the dubious result, but I'm past that now, and we are about to reach Marine Court; you will have come to realize that I have written a few recent blogs with this virtual walk in mind. 😏 Indeed, I wrote a recent blog about the early 'postmodern' Grade II listed Marine Court, which was built in the 1930s and links Art Deco with Modernism, a wonderful take on the Queen Mary ocean liner, and was the tallest apartment building in Britain of its time.

Oops! On we go, nearly missing the Royal Victoria Hotel, just to our right, which was built in the early 19th century, and was originally called the St Leonards Hotel, a focal point for then 'up and coming' Burtons' St Leonards, the brainchild of architect James Burton, and later developed by his son Decimus (much more information at the Burtons' St Leonards Society website). Also, to our left, over the beach, would have been St Leonards Pier, had we been walking past in the late 19th century and until it was demolished in 1951 following fire and bomb damage in World War II, and storm damage that year. But this is a virtual walk, so please feel free to have a look at a previous blog about St Leonards Pier, including early 20th century photographs.

We shall now continue on along the seafront, and I had to include the photograph above because I love those houses over there with the balconies, with their Mediterranean 'feel' and what I call Hastings very own Côte d'Azur, but then I do have a pretty good imagination. Anyway, let's carry on our way to...

... Bulverhythe, which was once an 'official port' of Hastings, and became a 'limb port' of the Cinque Ports in 1359 following the order of King Edward III. It was a larger 'haven' than the Priory Valley, which had been the major Hastings port when the Normans invaded and hence the castle being built above it, and consequently Bulverhythe became an important port for the town (Hastings Chronicle). All that is left of Bulverhythe now are the ruins of the old church and what could be argued to be the oldest pub in Hastings, The Bull Inn (blog). Whatever, that is an argument that could go on and on, and I thank my friend John Hodges (R.I.P.) for his advice and sharing of local knowledge with me. Also, this is the border of the Combe Valley Countryside Park, which is on the edge of Hastings Borough with half of the area owned and farmed privately, the rest owned by Hastings, Rother and East Sussex councils.

Ah, so what shall we do now? Well, I want us to make a slight detour northwards along the Combe Haven, but we shall first have to cross the railway and A259, please come along with me. It's not too far off our path, and visiting the Sussex Wildlife Trust's Filsham Reedbed nature reserve always helps me to relax, it is always so peaceful. I shan't dwell on this now, but if you'd like to join in with the detour, please have a look at my last visit here towards the beginning of the 'lockdown' (blog).

If you'd like, and we're not too early, we could have a venture into the Brickmaker's Alehouse when we reach Bexhill, but it's probably better to drop in for a drink on the way back, when we may well need a virtual drink. However, fortunately I've visited here before 'lockdown' so please have a look at the Steve the Beermeister blog for more about this great little micropub. The Brickmaker's has had many previous incarnations, but it is named because it had once been run by Lunsford/Ashdown Brickworks. But, maybe we should go elsewhere for a coffee and cake now...

... and the obvious delightful venue for coffee and cake in Bexhill on Sea is another wonderful Art Deco/Modernist building, the De La Warr Pavilion, now definitely be aware of why I've been writing about local buildings recently, notably this blog, in this instance! Much more at the blog if you'd like to know more about this iconic 1930s architectural masterpiece, but for now we're going there for coffee, unless that isn't your choice of beverage. Whatever we have to drink, they sell decent cakes as well, quite sizeable too, my brother and I often share a piece when we sit out on the first floor balcony, so I suggest we do the same, or maybe just go for a piece each cut in half so that we both have 2 different cakes. Let's go for it! 😉 You get credits for each hot drink on a 'loyalty card' too for a 'buy 9 get one free' offer, and sitting on the balcony provides us with a great view of the seafront, what's not to like?

After soaking in the rays on the balcony, and enjoying our small repast, we shall set forth on the way to Pevensey, but, if we hadn't stopped in Bexhill, we would very likely have now had a pot of tea or a beer, depending on the time, at the Cooden Beach Hotel (blog), another 1930s building, although very different in style. But we are heading for Pevensey Bay, and it'll take a bit of virtual effort as mostly shingle beach for the rest of the way, unless the tide is out, and the we can walk on sand more, so let us presume the tide is virtually out for an easier walk and we can reach our third delightful 1930s Art Deco meets Modernist building, and one with a slightly risqué past, The Sandcastle (blog), which sits on the beach handily, so it cannot be missed!

If you'd like to find out more about the intriguing past of The Sandcastle please have a read of the blog, because it does have an interesting history, but I thought we'd come away from the beach now for a drink in Pevensey, we should be ready for that virtual pint of Harveys Sussex Best before making our way back to Hastings. And where better to enjoy our well deserved drinks than at The Lamb Inn (website), one of the oldest pubs in the country, dating back to 1180, cheers!

It is a long walk back too, but a beautiful day in which to enjoy the gorgeous coastal scenery, the 1930s architectural delights, and a beer or two (or whatever you'd prefer to drink, of course), and probably pop in to the Brickmaker's Alehouse on the way back too. I also mention these pubs because it is now 8 weeks since we have been allowed to go for a drink in a bar, where did those 8 weeks go?!?

I hope you enjoyed our virtual day out, cheers, and look after yourselves!

Marine Court

The image of Marine Court coming out of the mist like a majestic liner in the Atlantic Ocean is what its architects, Kenneth Dalgleish and Roger K Pullen, would have been very proud of, because it was designed very much with the Cunard Liner, the Queen Mary, in mind! The Queen Mary entered commercial transatlantic service in 1936 (Modernist Britain website), the same year that Marine Court was designed and building commenced; construction was completed in 1938.  Marine Court is situated at the seafront at St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings TN38 0DZ.

*Image thanks to Modernist Britain

Further to my recent blogs about The Sandcastle in Pevensey Bay (blog) and the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea (blog), regular readers were very likely wondering when I would get to the third, even more local, building that pioneered the age when Art Deco architecture coalesced with the Modern, using Art Deco design and Modernist materials, a steel frame construction and concrete and glass, indeed Postmodernity before its time! Marine Court is 14 storeys and 170 feet high, and was the tallest apartment block in the country when it was built in the 1930s. 

Recent Image

As we know from history, soon after in 1939, World War II was declared, and the building was requisitioned by the Government, servicemen and women were billeted in Marine Court, guns were emplaced on the balcony, and the basement was used as an air raid shelter, it had had insufficient time to develop as the promised 'holiday retreat' by the coast. During the war Marine Court was damaged by bombing at the eastern end (the prominent end in the images here), and restoration of the building commenced in the late 1940s. The building has since incorporated the obvious accommodation purposes, restaurants, galleries and shops, and even a nightclub, and on the 9th of November 1999 it was eventually Grade II Listed (Historic England website).

We are very lucky to have not just this wonderful local monument to Modernist Art Deco architecture, but 2 other glorious monuments nearby in Bexhill and Pevensey.

*The second image is with thanks to Modernist Britain, edited by me for this blog, both of the other images are mine, thank you very much, copyright me! 

A 10 Mile Walk along the Seafront

Recently, and it was a beautiful day as you can see, I walked the approximately 10 miles round trip just beyond Bexhill and back to Hastings. Starting off at the town centre, and an early sight is the Victorian gothic Grade II listed Palace Court, (Historic England website), 'eponymous' star of the film Byzantium. 

Palace Court

Then I came to another beautiful art deco masterpiece at St Leonards, the tallest apartment block in Britain when it was built, and designed to replicate the Queen Mary ocean liner, also Grade II listed, Marine Court (Modernist Britain website).

Then underneath Marine Court, and just past the 1930s Azur Marina Pavilion (website), looking back at the storm encroaching pebbles from the beach on the lower promenade, and yet another 'star' of the film Byzantium, in which it 'played' an older person's residence.

Very soon I reached the Royal Victoria Hotel, originally called St Leonards Hotel, but its name was changed soon after Princess Victoria stayed here, shortly before she became Queen Victoria. I have written about the building in an older blog.

Walking on and one could almost be at the Cote d'Azur, almost... 😎 

As we know, along the beaches on the seafront between Hastings and Bexhill, old and new fishing boats are aplenty, eg here at Bulverhythe.

I walked on westwards to just below Collington at the end of the promenade. Then on my return just to the west of Bexhll town centre, is a Clock Tower originally built to commemorate the 1902 coronation of Queen Victoria's son Edward VII, although it was not finished until 1904 (Public Sculptures of Sussex website).

Carrying on with my return journey and what do we see, but the De La Warr Pavilion, which I have often mentioned in my previous reports, eg blog.

The De La Warr Pavilion is a magnificent structure, built when art deco met the modern architecturally, and now is a great music venue, restaurant, exhibition site, you name it, indeed it is well worth a visit (website).

One of the purposes of the walk was to visit the reasonably new micropub in Bexhill, which I hadn't visited before, Brickmaker's Alehouse at 27 Sea Road, just down from the railway station, and on the other side (east) of the road. I shall not write anymore here about this lovely wee hostelry, but feel free to read the report in Steve the Beermeister's blog, cheers!

After a few drinks I set off back to Hastings...

The view back westwards once back in Hastings

Great day, feel free to copy my adventures, certainly drink at the Brickmakers! 😉