Hastings

I spent the day yesterday walking through a nice bit of countryside on the outskirts of Hastings, a town located on the coast southeast of London and famous as host to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Most, if not all, of the land we walked on is private property belonging to various farmers. There is a strong spirit of public access to private lands in the United Kingdom that is largely absent in the United States. The public are welcome to go for a walk so long as the business of the land is not interfered with and the area is left as it was found.

I traveled to the area with classmates and faculty to interact with locals who are questioning the government's plans for economic development and construction in the area. Hastings, with a population just south of 100,000, is a fantastically depressed area. Those living in the country don't want any development, but it's a different story when you head into town. The following are some photos I took as we walked a particularly scenic bit from Crowhurst to Bexhill.