Fairlight, Hastings Country Park and Ecclesbourne Reservoir
A Bracing Coastal Walk Through Quiet Glens to a Secluded Cove
The lyrical sounding place names encountered on this walk — Fairlight Glen and Lover's Seat — are matched by the grandeur of the scenery on this part of the south coast. Fairlight is the appropriate derivative of Fayrlyghe, meaning a bracken clearing. Certainly there is bracken in abundance, just as there is gorse, and the cliffs to the east — the Firehills — take their name from the blazing amber colour of the blooms. There are opportunities to bathe and to hunt in the rock pools on the secluded cove, making the route ideal for families as well as individual walkers (though with quite a bit of climbing on the 4.4-mile circular route).
Start Point
Fairlight
Grid Ref: TQ 86014 11647
Total Distance
4.4 miles (7.2 km)
Total Climbing
267 metres
Estimated Time
2–3 hours
Difficulty Grade
Hard
Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (1:25,000)
Essential paper map for exploring Hastings, Bexhill, Battle and Robertsbridge:
