Eastbourne and Hastings, UK

Shirley, myself and my wife had a day out to Eastbourne from London and really enjoyed a boat trip along the coast to Beachy Head lighthouse. Was only an hour or so and about £9 that I remember. Then we drove to the top of Beachy Head which is nice, if in essence just countryside. Nice to visit on a nice day. I've heard Hastings isn't all that it once was.

Hi Shirley

Neither Eastbourne nor Hastings have too much to detain a mainstream international tourist. I was in Eastbourne myself for the day about six weeks ago (I hadn't been there in 20 years prior); the stroll along the seafront is OK, and a walk out onto the pier (being rebuilt after a serious fire a year or two ago) might take 10 minutes; but in all honesty you would be far better off considering seeing some of the interesting sites and places outside of each town. Beachy Head has been mentioned; Pevensey is worth seeing if you are interested in Roman and medieval castle ruins and, of course, Hastings is a short drive away from Battle, the town and site of probably the most important battle in English history, in 1066. And there's lots more to see and do in the vicinity of both towns - just not in the towns themselves.

There has been lots of money spent on Hastings over the past five years and it desperately needed it! A walk round the old town and fishing huts is pleasant, but will not fill a day, so I recommend Rye or Lewes. Lots of history and tea shops!

Battle is also worthwhile if you are interested in visiting historical sites, but the pavements are very narrow and get overrun with tourists at the height of the summer. Brighton for quirky independent shops including antiques in the Lanes and the onion dome Pavillion.

If Hastings has had some recent renovation, then the comments I've heard from others may be out of date. I have driven though Hastings, maybe even stopped there on route, but I don't remember a single thing about it.

It's always worth a 'virtual walk round' a place you're visiting using Google Streetview.

Being a person who is absolutely crazy about England, perhaps it doesn't take much to delight me. When we drove south from Royal Tunbridge Wells and came around a bend, I saw the pier and just couldn't believe it. It was so incredibly beautiful! We did walk along the water but didn't do too much more there. We loved Hastings - it was on a beautiful day with the blue water and clear sky. The fishing huts were interesting plus we took the lift up the hill where the old castle used to be and the view down below was so gorgeous. Here again, we didn't spend much time there but it was worth the visit.

I will have to say one more thing - the places the others have mentioned (Rye, Lewes, Beachy Head, Battle) are all wonderful and you can spend a lot more time at each place. By the way, when we left Eastborne, we drove by the Long Man (chalk carving in hill - fun to see); Battle is a nice little town and we walked the entire battle field there. So many things to see in that area.