111 Places in Hastings & Rye That You Shouldn't Miss

He certainly found rich pickings and plenty to explore.

“I did the West Sussex one based in Chichester and around in 2024, and I enjoyed that so much because it meant going to places that you perhaps knew before but looking at them in a different way because you're thinking in terms of the curiosities or you're thinking why is this called that or why is this there. It allows you to delve into the quirkier stories and the really interesting stuff. The book then got great feedback and I started thinking where could I do next. I'm based in Brighton and I checked and I saw that they hadn't done either Hastings or Rye and I just thought that they would go really well together.

“It might seem daunting when you're trying to find 111 places but I knew from the first book that once you get going, you just need to go to the place with an open mind and you will find things. There's a great local history group who are doing really interesting work there. It seems everywhere in Sussex has a local history group!

“I started with a core list of about 50 places and then I probably ended up with about 130 which then I had to pare back to make sure that I had the right blend.”

Norman admits that at one point his publishers steered him away from adding any more pubs into the mix.

“It is definitely a very different book to Chichester and West Sussex. Chichester is a very small historic town. Hastings is a different beast. It is bigger and it's got a very different vibe and very different people. There are some really gorgeous buildings and there is all the coastal stuff and there is something quirkier and edgier about Hastings. And then in Rye everything feels old!”

Norman offers a selection of his favourite places in the book:

Old Roar Gill (Hastings): “Richly wooded watery Lost World that provides a lush and tranquil hidden Eden in the heart of Hastings, bursting with ferns, moss and orchids, patrolled by kingfishers.”

Dove Cafe (St Leonards): “Inspirational and welcoming cafe on the edge of St Leonards, offering a bridge between refugees and local communities while celebrating the delicious culinary heritage of myriad cultures.”

The Looking Glass Lodge (by Hastings Country Park): “Rik and Lindsey Goodman's proof that enchanted woodland houses aren’t just in fairy tales – a glorious modernist architectural jewel whose genesis was chronicled admiringly on TV in George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces.”

Alex MacArthur Interiors (Rye): “Magical design in a medieval monastery with a wonderful back story of one man's determination to turn a derelict former 14th-century monastery into perhaps Britain’s most distinctive and glamorous antiques spots.”

'Mad Jack' Follies (north of Battle/Herstmonceux): “Bizarre and beautiful structures around the hamlet of Brightling, built for eccentric Georgian squire John ‘Mad Jack’ Fuller – often as a result of boozy bets – and providing a glorious walk with some of the finest views in Sussex.”

Brede Steam Giants (by hamlet of Brede, north of Hastings): “Unique collection of massive Victorian and Edwardian water pumping machines, housed in two magnificent period engine houses – with a chilling Cold War-era nuclear bunker added alongside.”