Lovely 3 Bed home in Hastings, England

Our house is three level, contemporary, spacious, warm, light and beautiful. It’s built on a hill, looking out to the valley and the sea that makes up Hastings Old town.

The garden large, well stocked with mainly flowering plants. There are fruit trees growing along the south facing wall. Dependent on the season you might get to pick a cherry, a plum, an apricot or an apple straight from the tree. There are blackcurrant and gooseberry bushes too, hidden in the flower beds and two window boxes full of mixed salad leaves. There is a herb garden growing next to the house. Our garden has five ponds, only one is large, stocked with Koi and water lilies. The others are mainly wildlife.

As I write this in early April I can see tadpoles wiggling about and a black bird washing it’s feathers in the shallows. There’s a plentiful supply of dragonflies in the summer too.
Our house sits close to woodland so you might see badgers at nightfall. There is a table and chairs on the deck for outside eating and a restful decked area at the bottom of the garden to sip a glass of wine and catch the last of the sun. The garden gate leads to steps down to the High Street

Lower Level:
Dining: Looking out over the garden is a large dining/cooking area, terrazzo floor, a dining table big enough for 10, ample cupboards, good quality pans and a stainless worktop on the kitchen island.
Behind a floor to ceiling ‘blackboard’ door is the utility area, It houses an extra fridge, storage, freezer, a washing machine and a loo.

The Snug: two steps up from the kitchen/diner is the ‘snug’. A double height space with a wood burner, TV, seating and stairs leading up to ground level.

Ground level
The front door of the house is behind a rusty steel gate which leads out onto The Croft/Love Lane, the main pedestrian access to the house.
On this level there are two bedrooms and an office and a large sitting room with views out over the valley.

Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, one a ‘jack and jill’. There`s a big bath, walk in showers, both with hand held jets.

On this level is the ‘grown up‘ sitting room; no telly here. Just a large Hay sofa, a bobble rug, a cantlevered shelf to sit on over-looking the garden. There’s a log burner in this room too.

Back to the entrance and up the stairs to the main bedroom. From here you can wake up to a view of the sea every morning. There’s an en-suite shower, loo, bidet and basin.

Garden and ponds:
There are five green planted flat roofs at the property, handrails are thin and contemporary. Ponds, particularly the large pond, does not have barriers. Because of this guests stay at their own risk. We have never had any problems with children falling in, hurting themselves or breaking things but its important to us that we point out these idiosyncrasies.

There are two child friendly treats in the house, one is secret hidden pipes in the wall, you can drop two table tennis ball into the holes at ground level and see which one comes out first as they bounce onto the kitchen floor at the lower level.
The hole in the wall: just outside the front door there is a missing brick in the wall. People (who knows who) put silly things in there, for others to find. Get lucky, you might even find a fairy, or a troll, or a dinosaur or a poem or a … well, who knows?

Parking:
Tricky. The Croft itself is available for free parking, it’s an unadopted road and care is needed when parking.
At the top of Croft Road there is free parking in a layby just below Torfield School, next to that parking area is a woodland path which leads down to our house.

About the location

The house is a 5 minute walk to the sea and the quirky and interesting shops on George Street. If the hills are too daunting, there are two Victorian Funicular Railways, which take you from the shoreline to the cliff top. On the West Hill you’ll find the Smugglers Caves, the ruins of Hastings Castle, a visitor centre and the West Hill Café. From there, it`s a short walk to Hastings town centre itself.

The Old Town:
Staying here you won’t be short of entertainment. There’s live music: jazz, folk, sea shanties and everything in between. For free. Every night of the week. Plus, there’s live music on The Stade most weekends throughout the summer.
The Filo (First in Last out) is just around the corner. It brews it’s own beer and you’ll find a pint and a packet of crisps pocket friendly. The Filo is near to the Electric Palace, an independently run local cinema, showing both local and international films, many with director discussions after a screening. You can hire the space for your own private events too.

Hastings Old Town is home to one of the last shore beached fishing fleets in the country. The Black huts on the shoreline sell fish caught that morning, the local stalls offer fresh crab, oysters and all manner of smoked treats.
It feels like there’s a festival every month in Hastings Old Town: Jack in the Green, Cardi Gras (Mardi with cardigans!), Carnival week, The Herring festival, Pride and the Bonfire Parade to name a few.
Restaurants are unique and interesting. Try the Thai Bookshop, a group of tables in a bookshop serving authentic Thai cooking. Sourdough pizza, wine bar and tasters, fresh cooked vegetarian, all available. George Street boasts as many pubs and restaurants as it does Antique Shops.

On the sea front itself is Hastings Contemporary, a wonderful gallery with ever changing exhibitions as well as a permanent collection. It’s linked to The Towner in Eastbourne, a short drive away and Margate’s Turner Contemporary. This is a ‘creatives’ town. Well known artists, musicians and writers have made their homes here. Hastings Arts Forum has its own gallery space and regularly hosts local exhibitions.

St Leonards:
Nicknamed ‘Hackney by the Sea’, St. Leonards, on the other side of town, (a twenty minute walk away), boasts a fabulous mix of new restaurants, interesting food shops (there’s a sourdough bakery and spanish deli as well as the usual) and like the Old Town, is host to many outdoor events. For lunch on the seashore, try the ‘Goat Ledge’ and for an evening meal there’s Bayte or Three Faces tapas. Not forgetting ‘Columbo 16’ for Sri Lankan fusion.

Entertainment wise St Leonards has the Kino cinema, showing a mix of avant garde films and live performance. It hosts The Bavard Bar, where local celebrities get the chance to air their views on a chosen topic in a 15 minute slot: hilarious, interesting, exciting. For the kids there’s drama workshops, music and storytelling at The White Rock theatre

Hastings Town Centre:
This is where you’ll find the major shops including W H Smith, Marks and Spencer, Boots, Greggs and the Odeon cinema.

On America Ground there’s Trinity Foods, a vegitarian health store selling fresh turmeric and ginger, an organic butcher, ‘Beak and Tail’ and lovely bakers and the library, a large warm space for photocopying, studying and of course, picking up a book!

Just up from the main shopping area is the Old Observer building, it’s home to the Hastings Book Festival, Coastal Currents Open House workshops, the tech forum, tools and goods lending library, café and group meet up spaces, as well as a Christmas Market. There’s a couple of great gyms in Hastings town centre as well.

Last but not least, there’s swimming in the sea (check the tides), country walks across the cliffs and hiking in the country Park. Bannatyne Spa is a short drive away and for something more local there’s The Treatment Rooms at The Old Rectory, a five minute walk from the house.

Conditions of exchange

Facilities

Nearby