Hastings Fishermen's Museum

The smell of the sea and old rope hits you the moment you walk in. This museum, tucked into Hastings' seafront, tells the story of the town's fishing heritage - and it does it without any fuss or fancy production. You'll find boats, nets, maritime photography, and the kind of weathered equipment that actually belonged to fishermen who worked these waters. The focus is firmly on how people made their living from the sea, not on romanticising it.

It's the sort of place where half an hour becomes two hours if you stop to read properly. Families with kids aged eight and up will get something from it; younger ones might lose patience quickly unless they're particularly into boats. The displays aren't interactive in the modern sense - this is old-school museum work, which some will find refreshing and others will find a touch dated.

Locally, it works well as part of a Hastings morning or afternoon, especially if you're staying at one of the nearby parks like Coghurst Hall or Combe Haven. Pair it with a walk along the seafront and fish and chips from one of the proper chippies along the way. The town itself has enough going on that you won't feel like you've made a special trip just for the museum, but if you're interested in maritime history or how coastal communities actually functioned, it's absolutely worth an hour of your time. Admission details aren't widely advertised online - call ahead or ask at your holiday park's reception.