D83: HASTINGS to EASTBOURNE
Sunday 4th September 2022
Today miles: 18.1 Total miles: 1368.4
I’m less than a mile outside of Hastings so after packing up I descended through the pleasant Ecclesbourne Glen and then entered Hastings old town within 30 minutes. I hoped to find an open cafe on the promenade through Hastings but was disappointed as each one I walked by was closed, it was only 7.30am. It made matters even worse when Gemma texted a little later asking if I’d popped into McDonalds for breakfast (she knows me too well) and was tracking me on the findmyphone app. It turns out that I was about 100mts from a McDonalds restaurant half an hour ago and I didn’t even realise, damn. I pushed on through Hastings and did manage to find a small store where I picked up some snacks. I walked on for an additional three miles along the promenade before stopping and having a coffee and my snacks for a late breakfast/early lunch.
The next ten miles through Bexhill-on-Sea and Normans Bay were straightforward and a combination of both road walking and walking along the edge of the shingle beaches. There were plenty of people around all day. It was odd but I got the feeling people were being a little bit wary of me. It would be later on in this particular trip, after several more weird experiences when I began to understand why and I’ll discuss my feelings on this subject later. There’s another Martello Tower after Normans Bay and this one is in good order and appears to be currently occupied. After Pevensey Bay my route follows the A259 for two miles and then another minor road in order to get around Sovereign Harbour.
I’m booked into the Burlington Hotel tonight which is located right on the coast adjacent to Eastbourne Pier. I can see the pier from some considerable distance away as I walked towards Eastbourne.
My room at the Burlington Hotel is small, sorry compact and bijou, but adequate for what I needed. So after taking a bath and doing some chores I headed into Eastbourne and had some dinner at, you guessed it, Wetherspoons. There was a brief fallout with a homeless man on the way into the pub. He asked me for any change but I didn’t have any to give him. As I continued walking past his comment ‘You think you’re better then me’ set me off and I immediately set about putting him straight. Other all this was a good day and I’m pleased to be sleeping in a soft bed tonight with a full stomach.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 