The Stade and the fishing fleet

About The Stade and the fishing fleet

By the ULTIMATE Brighton Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

At the eastern end of the Old Town, the Stade is the working beach of the Hastings fishing fleet: more than 25 boats launched from the shingle, the tall black net huts, the fish market and the museums along Rock-a-Nore Road.

Come early and you may see the boats winched up the shingle with the night’s catch, gulls wheeling over the huts and the fishmongers opening up along Rock-a-Nore Road. Few places in England show a working fishery so close.

A beach that belongs to the fishermen

Hastings is one of Britain’s oldest fishing ports, and boats have worked from the beach here for over a thousand years. The Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society preserves the community’s medieval right to use the Stade for ever, free of charge. Its fish market was built in 1993.

Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.

The net huts

The tall, black, weatherboarded net huts stand in rows beside the boats and frame the view up to the East Hill and its cliff railway.

Museums on Rock-a-Nore

Three museums stand side by side: the Fishermen’s Museum, telling the story of the fleet and its luggers; the Shipwreck Museum, an independent charitable museum of maritime history and sunken treasures; and Hastings Contemporary, a gallery of modern and contemporary art. Hastings Aquarium is a few steps along the same road.

Eating fish by the boats

Webbe’s Rock-a-Nore, opened in 2009, serves fish fresh from the beach; Maggie’s, above the fish market, is the Stade’s much-loved fish and chip restaurant, bookable only by telephone.

Practical notes

Rock-a-Nore Road is a short walk east from the Old Town High Street; the East Hill lift starts by the net huts.

Our advice: come in the morning to see the boats and buy fish, visit the museums, and book Maggie’s for lunch.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The Stade and the fishing fleet before you go.