After the Bewl Water Marathon: Hastings and the Coast

The Route: Bewl Water → Hastings → Bewl Water Logistics: Roughly a 35-minute drive; a car is the practical option given the rural roads involved. Marathon Month: September Duration: Day trip

Bewl Water ──(35 min by car)──> Hastings ──(return)──> Bewl Water

After two laps of inland reservoir trail, the open horizon of the English Channel makes a genuine change of scene, and Hastings is the closest coastal town to Bewl Water with real substance to fill a day. September on the coast: past the summer peak, so Hastings Old Town and seafront are noticeably quieter than in July or August.

Hastings Old Town and Seafront

Hastings Old Town, a warren of narrow streets and timber-framed buildings running up from the seafront, is flat close to the water and gently sloped further up, easy to explore at whatever pace legs allow. The East Hill Cliff Railway, one of the steepest funicular railways in Britain, offers a low-effort way up to the clifftop country park above the town, with views back over the rooftops and out to sea, without requiring a walk up the hill itself. The town's fishing fleet, still launched directly from the shingle beach, and the tall, black wooden net huts along the seafront, give Hastings a genuinely working character rather than a purely manicured tourist stretch.

Where to eat: The Old Town's Rock-a-Nore Road, close to the fishing boats themselves, has a concentration of seafood-focused cafés and restaurants suited to an easy coastal lunch.

Getting Back

The return drive to Bewl Water retraces the same roughly 35-minute route inland from the coast.