Fairlight Glen
Local highlightA wooded glen in Hastings Country Park dropping past a small waterfall to a wild, hard-to-reach undercliff beach
Getting down to this one is half the point. Fairlight Glen is a steep wooded valley in Hastings Country Park, on the High Weald coast just east of Hastings, where a path descends through the trees past a small cascade to a secluded cove below the sandstone cliffs. There are no facilities and no easy way in, which has kept it quiet, and the beach has long been used by naturists. The path is steep and the soft cliffs slip, so it is sometimes rerouted or closed after a landslip; the King Charles III England Coast Path runs along the clifftop above. Wear proper footwear, check the way is open before you set off, and mind the tide, as the undercliff shore can cut off. Up the coast, Hastings Castle and the town beaches are an easy add-on to the day.
