Where to stay

The Bell Quirky country pub hotel, with walls hung with BritArt, and fairytale lodges in an eye-popping garden designed by Jo Thompson. Great traditional pub food and fine dining by talented young head chef Mark Charker. Doubles from £86. High St, Ticehurst, Wadhurst, 01580 200300, thebellinticehurst.com

The George in Rye The town’s centrepiece, this stylish retreat in a fine Georgian building was lovingly refurbished after a devastating fire in 2019. Elegant rooms each have their own distinct design and bespoke furniture. Doubles from £125. 98 High St, Rye, 01797 222114, thegeorgeinrye.com

The Old Rectory This luxury boutique b&b is a love letter to Hastings, with nine gorgeous rooms named after Old Town streets, plus a beautiful garden. After a day exploring, retreat to the reading nook, choose from the selection of books and settle in. Doubles from £145. Harold Rd, Hastings, 01424 422410, theoldrectoryhastings.co.uk

The Star Originally a religious hostel for monks and pilgrims en route from Battle Abbey to the shrine of St Richard, patron saint of Sussex, at Chichester Cathedral, this striking 15th-century inn was transformed into a luxury hotel with restaurant by Alex and Olga Polizzi, with all their trademark panache. Ask for a room in the old building. Doubles from £220. High St, Alfriston, 01323 870495, thepolizzicollection.com/the-star

Tillingham This farm and vineyard has 11 rooms (some of them dog- friendly) in a converted hop barn, all sleekly designed, as well as two high-spec bell tents that come with private terrace and firepit. Ferociously cool, but with an uplifting sense of purpose. Ask about wine tours and tastings too. Doubles from £165. Dew Farm, Dew Lane, Peasmarsh, 01797 208226, tillingham.com

Travel Information

East Sussex is a south-eastern county bordered by Kent and West Sussex, with coastline facing the English Channel. The eastern side is dubbed 1066 Country, an area particularly rich in history, produce and wine, where the wooded, rolling hills of the Sussex High Weald meet the sea.

GETTING THERE
Transport Trains run from various London stations to Hastings; the fastest route is from London Bridge, with a journey time of around 1 hour, 25 minutes. By car, via the A21, it takes around 2 hours from central London.

GETTING AROUND
By road and rail The area is best explored by car, although the A21 can get busy at peak times. Rail stations at St Leonards, Hastings and Rye take you right to the heart of things, and there is a decent local bus network. southeasternrailway.co.uk southernrailway.com 1066online.com

RESOURCES
Visit 1066 Country has useful info for your trip. visit1066country.com

Where to eat

Prices are per person for two courses without drinks, unlessotherwise stated

The Albion This handsome pub with panelling surmounted by custom wallpaper made by Melissa White has a deserved reputation for excellent ’proper’ pies. Pie with side and sauce from £14. 7 Marine Parade, Hastings. 01424 439156, albionhastings.com

Birchwood Will Devlin’s smart Scandinavian-style canteen in Flimwell Park, an eco-complex alongside coppiced woodland, serves breakfast through to dinner. Menus are heavy on home-grown and wild ingredients. From £28. 13 Flimwell Park, Hawkhurst Rd, Flimwell, 01892 341598, birchwoodrestaurant.com

Collected Fictions A natural craft beer and wine bar with a frequently changing selection that acts as a salon for the many St Leonards creatives. Check their Instagram page for the latest pop-ups and partnerships. Half a pint of beer from £3.30. Unit 1, 6-8 London Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea

The Crown Arguably the axis around which Hastings Old Town turns, this pub – opened a decade ago by Tess and Andrew Swan – became an institution from day one, with locals, tourists and fishermen rubbing shoulders. The suppliers’ list is a Who’s Who of local producers – even tea is sourced from a nearby blender and the flowers are from Tess’s mum’s allotment. From £19. 64-66 All Saints’ St, Hastings. 01424 465100, thecrownhastings.co.uk

Goat Ledge Iconic beachfront seafood shack, sometimes with DJs or live music adding to the dreamy mañana vibe. Their breakfast and lunch menu includes the brilliant Sunrise Sandwich (smoked haddock, fried egg, chive mayo, chilli jam and lettuce). Sunrise Sandwich £12.50. Lower Promenade, Warrior Square, St Leonards, goatledge.com

Heist Market This food court housed in an old bank building serves great tacos, hot dogs, Thai food, vegan snacks, craft beer, natural wine and more. Open every day. 22-26 Norman Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea, heistmarket.com

Maggie’s Cafe Hearty portions of traditional fish and chips are served overlooking Hastings’ fishing beach. Booking essential, by phone. Cod or haddock and chips £15.50. 8-9 Fishmarket Rd, Rock-a-Nore Rd, Hastings, 01424 430205, maggiesfishandchips.co.uk

Maker+Baker Organic sourdough micro-bakery with a changing roster of bread including white sourdough, Danish rugbrød, and a rye and oatmeal sourdough named after a local Labradoodle called Margot. Plus an ever- expanding range of pastries – cruffin, crioche, maritozzi – great coffee and a queue snaking up the street every Saturday morning, rain or shine. Open Wednesday-Saturday. Pastries from £2.20. 51 Kings Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea

The Plough Superior pub grub made with outstanding local produce. Expect starters of Winchelsea lamb breast Caesar salad with Sussex Charmer, or potted Blue Clouds cheese with beetroot relish, followed by roast monkfish, pink fir potatoes and salsa verde, with perhaps elderflower panna cotta to finish. From £24. Udimore Rd, Rye, 01797 223381, theploughrye.co.uk

The Royal Accomplished, down-to-earth gastropub justifiably proud of its Bib Gourmand. From £21. 1 St Johns Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea. 01424 547797, theroyalstleonards.co.uk

Rye Fishmarket & Seafood Bar This welcoming place champions the local catch, particularly lesser-known species. From Thursdays to Sundays during the day you can sample the likes of crab brioche or chilli-salted tiger prawns, washed down with a glass of wine from local producers like Charles Palmer and Chapel Down. Chilli-salted tiger prawns £7.50. Simmons Quay, Rock Channel, Rye, 01797 222900, ryefishmarket.co.uk

Food Glossary

Food and Travel Review

For centuries, sheep have grazed the chalk grasslands in the South Downs and mackerel have been landed on the pebble beaches along the coast. Orchards heave with apples, hops grow rampantly and plump grapes ripen on the vine. It’s a clement corner of England, where life follows the rhythm of the seasons, the tides, the harvests. And now, outstanding local produce that was once whisked off to London and beyond is being enjoyed a stone’s throw from its source.

Nowhere is this truer than in the historic string of pearls running along the south coast: the towns of Hastings, St Leonards-on-Sea and Rye. It’s hard to believe you’re within an easy drive from the capital. While cosmopolitan Brighton has long been on a main artery to London, the towns further east remain relatively undiscovered. Now change is afoot. Once regarded as sleepy, there’s a growing buzz: new bars, restaurants, boutiques, galleries, groceries and bakers are to be found at every turn.

On a late-summer’s afternoon, Goat Ledge, a riotously painted beach-shack café, is capitalising on the footfall from the promenade that tacks along St Leonards’ seafront. There, diners pull up a colourful deck chair and tuck into juicy mackerel baps with sweet pickles and horseradish aioli, washed down with crisp craft lager made just up the road by local heroes Brewing Brothers.

As if to prove the freshness of the catch, a fishing boat putters by, trailing a cloud of gulls, heading for Hastings’ fishing beach, barely a mile away on the other side of the pier. Every landing there has a touch of drama. Although it’s been a fishing port for centuries, there’s no proper harbour, so the boat will just gun its engine and race at the shore, beaching itself on the shingle, ready to be hauled up by winch or tractor.

The scene is typical of this part of the south coast – there’s history and tradition in spades, yet there’s always something new (and often quirky), which sets apart this sunny corner. Just a few minutes’ walk along the seafront is the flat stone marking the spot on which William the Conqueror is said to have dined after landing in 1066. Yet, head to the double-deck promenade to find Bottle Alley, the walls of which are adorned with coloured glass. This is the home of great hole-in-the-wall-spots like Starsky & Hatch, which churns out artisan coffee and homemade loaf cakes.

The town has a grand past, founded in 1828 on a deserted stretch of coastline and turned into ‘Bloomsbury-on-Sea’ by illustrious father-and-son architects James and Decimus Burton. It has plenty of striking architecture, but until just a few years ago there was little to tempt the gourmet traveller. Not any more.

At the forefront of the movement is The Royal – a handsome gastropub near the station, which welcomes you off the train like a warm hug. Run by James Hickson, who learnt his trade at London’s St John, Great Queen Street and Canton Arms, dishes along the lines of manzo di pozza (salted beef) with herb oil and centosettanta cheese or whole Dover sole and beurre blanc put it straight into the Michelin Guide in the first year of opening (2019) – James remembers spotting the inspector – and a Bib Gourmand was added soon after.

Not everyone falls for life down here. But those who do, fall hard and James is one of them. ‘It’s a very inclusive vibe,’ he says, referring to the melange of locals born and bred, newcomers ‘down from London’ (known as DFLs), immigrants and refugees, all of which adds to the come-as-you-are charm. ‘I love being by the sea,’ he says. ‘I love that you can be in the countryside in five or ten minutes.’

There’s glorious variety in that countryside too. Head west and you’ll find the sea cliffs of the Seven Sisters and pretty villages such as Alfriston. Inland, there are rolling hills, meadows studded with cattle and fabulous gardens such as Great Dixter in Northiam.

There are so many vines around here too that visitors might at first wonder just which side of the Channel they’re on. Sussex is one of the heartlands of England’s burgeoning wine industry, with its own EU-certified PDO (Protected Designation of Origin – essentially an appellation) to prove it. A favourite place to try just how good these wines can be is Charles Palmer, just outside picture-postcard Winchelsea. It’s a stunning spot for a tasting, the vines marching down the National Trust hillside in pristine ranks – chardonnay grapes as well as pinot noir, the latter used in their classic, Provence-style rosé and (excitingly for the UK) also in a dry red. Arrange in advance to be hosted by Vine + Country, who will prepare a feast of local produce. ‘We pick guests up, so they don’t need to drive, introduce them to the winemaker and, while they’re talking, we make lunch,’ explains Steph Jones.

Alternatively, there’s Tillingham, a hipster magnet set on 28 hectares of Sussex Weald – the site of a mixed farm that dates back to the 13th century. The vines are distinctly shaggier here, the earth below them apparently unkempt but bursting with life. An incredible 21 grape varieties include the well known (chardonnay, chenin blanc, pinot gris) but extend to less common whites like faberrebe, ortega and schönburger and reds such as trousseau, frühburgunder and pineau d’Aunis. A modular project, Tillingham has grown to encompass a working farm and winery that champions regenerative agricultural practices, plus a boutique hotel, a bar and two restaurants. One is a simple affair, offering pizza from a wood-fired oven in an open Dutch barn. The other is more refined: a six-course Garden Menu (salads made from baby pickled beets, sides of nasturtium and turnips) backed by bewitching views from the picture windows across the Tillingham River valley.

It’s this precision and passion for produce that is, perhaps, behind the county-wide revival. In the medieval Cinque Port of Hastings Old Town – where darting alleyways called ‘twittens’ thrust visitors backin time – Rock-a-Nore Fisheries operate from iconic black, weatherboarded sheds like outsized sentry boxes. Their counter showcases the local catch: Dover sole, plaice, brill, turbot, lemon sole, whiting and seabass. Yet it is owner Sonny Elliott’s treatment that really sets apart the family fishmongers, going strong since the 1850s.

‘This could get smoky,’ Sonny says, heaving open the door. He’s right. A cloud of fragrant woodsmoke billows out, clearing to reveal shelves of glistening sides of smoked Scottish salmon, some plain, some stained a spectacular deep purple from a beetroot cure. ‘It gives it an earthy flavour and a sweet crust,’ he explains.

Just over the road is Maggie’s Cafe, an iconic fish and chip shop perched right above the market. It’s now owned by Lionel Copley, who took it over when the eponymous Maggie retired – and he treats his ownership like a sacred trust. Although he made a few tweaks along the lines of homemade tartare sauce and knickerbocker glories, the only addition to the revered fish supper is the (optional) addition of black batter. It envelops a monkfish tail – hot and crisp, with the carbon introducing a little smokiness as well as visual clout. ‘It also aids digestion,’ claims Julie, the smiling face of the place, who has waitressed here for more than 25 years – a handy tip, since the portions are enormous.

Although Hastings’ fishing port is the most renowned, it may come as some surprise that more fish are landed in Rye, half an hour down the coast and 3km from the sea. Boats come up the River Rother on the tide, and good-quality seafood is fast becoming a draw for this picturesque town. Once famed for its cobbled streets and antique shops, the frisson of activity at Simmons Quay is introducing a new, culinary appeal – spearheaded by The Seafood Bar, modelled on a French-style fish market.

The shop is mainly staffed by women. ‘Much less intimidating than traditional fishmongers in their white hats and coats,’ reckons Louise Chapman, who runs the place. The next step is to add a smokery. ‘If you went back ten years, the fish alone would have been enough, but not now,’ she says. In the meantime, the focus is on lesser-known local varieties, adds Louise. ‘We have species people either don’t know or would have turned their nose up at before. Smaller fish, which didn’t previously have much of a market, like dab, whiting, small plaice. It can all be cooked so simply: pan-fried with some butter or popped under the so simply: pan-fried with some butter or popped under the grill, then served with aioli or mayonnaise.’ Attracting guest chefs like Richard Kirkwood (ex-Wright Brothers, J Sheekey) with top ingredients and an emphasis on simple food cooked exquisitely, they’re on to a good thing.

And that’s the story everywhere you go in these East Sussex towns and villages. Innovating, reimagining, bringing visitors closer to food and revitalising the area along the way. That’s the key to this renaissance. Just don’t call it gentrification- that’s a controversial word down here. Ask Richard Upton, the inspirational owner of The Bell, a brilliantly quirky pub hotel in Ticehurst that he bought ‘reluctantly’ a dozen or so years ago to stop it being turned into houses. The bank, the butcher and the bakery had already closed and it felt as if the village was dying.

Today, The Bell is transformed and it is drawing affluent visitors from all over – but it also maintains a loyalty scheme for locals, meaning, says Richard, ‘The beer is as cheap as anywhere and the food is discounted at all times. It’s about a sense of belonging. That’s what a pub is – a home from home for everyone. That’s authenticity. It’s not gentrification if it’s inclusive. And if it’s inclusive, it will be more sustainable for ever.’