A foodie weekend in Hastings (From News Shopper)

A foodie weekend in Hastings

2:15pm Monday 31st October 2011 in Out & About

Kerry Ann Eustice enjoys a foodie (and boozy) weekend in historic Hastings.

HASTINGS is a town that revels and indulges in its traditions. In the Old Town, where I spent my time, the streets are still cobbled and lined by pubs with a history, the locals are eager to talk about the rituals of the more than 100-year-old Winkle Club (www.winkleclub.webs.com) and tributes are paid to the rich fishing heritage on almost every menu in town.

This old-fashioned charm is appealingly teamed with fashionable shops and boutiques, and a thoroughly current enthusiasm for fine food and drink.

Hastings seafood and wine festival

The weekend I'm in town, it's the sixth annual Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival.

The seafood bit is no mystery; Hastings is, well, on the coast and renowned in the region and beyond for its fishing industry.

I didn’t realise though the area was such a destination for wine. Turns out, (I've since read on the Nick Perry’s Sussex Wine List blog - a good place to go if you want to learn more about the region and it's top wine producers) this hails from East Sussex's rich soil which, conditions wise, is comparable to France's southern regions.

We soak a fair few local glasses up with a light but perfect calamari, a couple of powerful but tasty mackerel pate horderves, plus a chocolate crunch from Nobles Restaurant’s stall.

But the highlight was watching a Black Pearl chef nonchalantly but perfectly rustle up the tastiest prawns of my life.

Proving when the ingredients are fine and fresh you need little else, these were fried up in olive oil, some chilli, garlic and a sprinkle of parsley. I savoured every bite and still regret not going back for another serving.

Old Town: pubs, bars and shopping

Having made several rounds of the festival, we drifted into the Old Town for a traditional-pub crawl. We headed down George Street and stayed there for several hours, and several pints.

All real fires and nooks and crannies, The Pumphouse has a homely vibe, but for bars, the Dragon was quite chic and the modern British food whizzing past while we had a drink at the bar looked amazing.

A place doesn’t get dubbed Notting-Hill-on-Sea without having a decent cocktail bar, and we ended our night in Revolver, also on George Street, after it was recommended by several sets of Hastings residents we got chatting to. Our margaritas, caipirinhas and more were all fabulous and our mixologist was friendly and full of tips for our next visit.

A lodge with a view

We stayed at Haulfryn’s Shearbarn Holiday Park, a medium-sized lot of private lodges overlooking the sea. Providing you don't mind a 10 minute walk to town (it's a steep return journey by foot), it's a peaceful base for both exploring the old town and making the most of the best views in town.

Shearbarn edges Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve, a 267 hectare stretch of woodland. To walk off the wine, seafood and cocktails from the day before, we strolled towards the cliffs and enjoyed a bit of mushroom spotting on the way.

Before we headed back to London, keen to sample the stalls we either missed or were too full for the day before, we walked down the hill from our base at Shearbarn back into the old town.

Every second shop is a vintage boutique, pop-up store, antique shop or bric-a-brac hoard to rifle through. So, we killed a few hours drifting around town before returning to the festival’s food market for second-day helpings.

For this sitting - a fantastic lobster bisque from Judges Bakery, ingeniously served as a ‘soup in a roll’, followed by a fine lemon posset desert from Webbes that was so delicious we immediately started planning our return next year.

To book a luxury lodge break at Haulfryn’s Shearbarn Holiday Park, Hastings, call 0800 328 8413 or visit shearbarn.haulfryn.co.uk