We Off!

for a short break in sunny Hastings,

I have split the day into 2 parts as there are a lot of photographs,

we went by train, first a trip from Beckenham Junction to Orpington,

then Orpington to Hastings,

we made our way past RX 53,

and out of the train/coach station,

we made our way to the sea front,

stopping briefly to take a photograph of this beauty,

and here we were,

the pier in the distance,

we started our walk along the front, past the Viking bow in the pebbles,

the roundabout had a nice water feature in it,

just a pity the road went all around it, so we could not get close enough to really appreciate it,

a quick pose,

and we were past the garden,

coming up to this imposing building,

shops underneath, private dwellings beside it,

if you like fishing there are a couple of clubs in Hastings,

or you can let someone else do all of the work! 

we found that the miniature railway was in operation, a diesel train was pulling out of the station as we approached,

the big wheel turning,

ride a white swan,

that brings back memories from 1970!

and there were plenty of swans to choose from,

this looked a bit scary,

then I could not believe my ears or eyes, a toot-toot!

and a real live steam engine was coming towards us, I had thought all of the trains were diesel,

how nice to be so wrong,

as it thundered into the distance,

I thought this thing looked scary, and the riders were still climbing,

the seafront might look impressive from up there,

but I will keep my feet firmly on the ground,

I even gave the big wheel a miss,

one of the diesel locomotives returned,

they just, for myself, do not have any appeal over the attractions of a coal burning steam locomotive,

we passed the fishing club,

with its nice veranda looking out to sea,

looking up the funicular railway, where we will be heading tomorrow,

but for now we were a bit peckish, so into what was the customs house, 

dating back to 1844,

for a coffee and a cake,

for Diana,

just a coffee for myself,

having said that the cake did look rather nice,

next door although not open,

the Pelican did look totally different from the other buildings around it,

it looked scary before,

and even worse when close up!

we had taken Mr. Tony's advice on our last visit to Hastings and booked a table at Maggie's,

which is where we are headed now for our lunch,

making our way past the tall buildings that were formally used to dry nets,

some now repurposed,

others left as they were, or used for storage,

I was tempted by the whelks and cockles, but we were so near to having lunch,

we passed the entrance to the funicular railway,

one train at the top the second at the bottom,

and just about to pass one another,

and here we are,

at Maggie's,

famous for its fish and chips, 

and the fact that the railway passes underneath it,

how amazing is that!

the restaurant is on the first floor, the view looking out to sea,

and to the left,

and right,

I just had to make a panorama,

a glass of white,

to go with the meal,

'Cheers!',

we also ordered 3 gherkins and a battered sausage, the meal came to £40.00, and it is a fact you really do have to book up, a number of people were turned away as we ate,

looking down to the train as we left,

the seagulls here as I guess most places are really quite tame, although I did not, it was close enough that I could have just reached out and touched it,

one of the diesel locomotives 

having turned 180 degrees backs up to the coaches,

waiting for a small repair,

the turntable, one at each end of the tracks to turn the engines around,

whilst Diana bought the tickets,

I carried on,

snapping away,

the engine in steam being turned for the next trip,

the workshop where one of the engineers kept disappearing into,

the engineer returned,

and made a few more adjustments to the whistle,

that's more like it!

which just had to be replied to by the second engineer,

naturally I had to say I could not hear it!

the diesel started its journey past a fascinated youngster,

and passed Diana,

another diesel, but this one was huge compared to the one that had just left,

this was the engine we were waiting for,

by now Diana had bought the tickets,

all we had to do was wait for the coaches,

and here they are,

passengers disembarked it was our turn to climb aboard,

Diana as happy as ever,

and I was like a big kid, taking photographs of the business part of the engine,

Diana left our bags in the carriage,

and popped outside,

well I just had to have a photograph of the engine and myself,

all aboard!

and we started past another diesel,

on the turntable,

Gonk,

apparently the whistle, 

was still not 100%,

we were soon rattling along past the fishing club veranda,

as the train coming from the opposite direction passed us,

everything was A OK!

past the amusements,

by the pool,

journey over far too soon,

we walked away back to take few selfies,

and pose by the lake,

I kept looking at this,

thinking no way! well for myself and as it happens Diana,

the engine had now been turned around,

and was being prepared for its return trip,

3 mini shovels of coal was all that was needed, our steam adventure over, we started the walk to our hotel, if you want to see the rest of our day please click the 'Older Posts' button at the bottom of the screen.