Places

Hastings largest park at 109 acres with a playground, miniature railway, café, and woodland walks. The lower park has formal gardens while upper areas offer tennis courts and nature trails.

Bewl Water is a large reservoir offering various activities like an adventure playground, water sports, and walking trails. Its indoor soft play area is for children aged 0–8, with features like slides, tunnels, and a separate baby area.

Public library with books, audiobooks, eLibrary resources and regular children's activities. Free membership gives access to borrowing and events, open Mon-Sat with varied hours.

Ore Library is a community-run library in Ore, East Sussex, offering a friendly space for reading, borrowing books, and local events.

The former family home of Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book and Just So Stories. A 17th-century Jacobean house in the Sussex countryside, now a National Trust property with historic rooms and literary displays.

The site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings, run by English Heritage, where you can walk the battlefield with an audio tour (there's a children's version too) and spot the wooden warrior figures along the way. The visitor centre has a film and interactive displays on the battle, and the abbey gatehouse holds an exhibition on the abbey's history with a rooftop viewing platform over the town. There's also a 1066-themed play area, a walled garden and a café, and English Heritage members get in free.

Contemporary art galleries with free entry, performance spaces, cinema and café. Hosts exhibitions, live music, theatre and film screenings throughout the year, sea views from terrace.

A historic castle ruin, clifftop panorama and open air events space. Open every day, 10am - 5pm, last entry 4:30pm. Check the website for their rotating list of events: live music, talks and workshops.

Contemporary art gallery with changing exhibitions, includes restaurant and café with sea views. Under 18s go free, open Wed-Sun 11am-5pm.

Small independent museum dedicated to the fishing industry and maritime history of Hastings, housed in the former Fishermen's Church of St Nicholas built in 1854. Admission free, donations welcome.

Local museum with global collection, child-friendly spaces and free entry. Open Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4:30pm, closed Mondays.

Hands-on mechanical art studio and automata space where visitors can explore kinetic artworks and tinker with mechanisms. Check the website for opening times.

Visitor and wildlife centre run by Sussex Wildlife Trust with exhibitions, nature information and views across Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. The centre also runs family-friendly events and activities throughout the year.

Hands-on science centre with interactive exhibits in historic telescope domes at the former Royal Greenwich Observatory. Weekend opening 10am-4pm, check website for weekday times.

Baby Latte is a family-friendly café with a dedicated play space so parents can relax while little ones explore. It offers plenty of highchairs, buggy space, changing facilities and a menu suitable for both adults and toddlers.

Bunka's permanent rooftop at the Observer Building, doing their pizzas and a full bar with spectacular views over town and out to sea. Inside and outside seating, so it works whatever the weather. No booking needed for groups under 15, children and dogs welcome.

Café inside ESK Warehouse Hastings with a free children’s play area, serving drinks and light meals — a relaxed spot for parents while shopping.

Cosy Old Town coffee house filled with books, serving coffee, cakes and light food, with a small selection of toys for children.

Independent book-lined coffee house on Robertson Street serving coffee, cakes and light bites, with a small selection of toys for children.

Indoor family-friendly street food market in St Leonards-on-Sea with multiple independent food and drink vendors serving: pizza, burgers, Chinese/Nepalese and Mexican. Open every day.

Soft-play café with role-play areas for young children, offering coffee, snacks and regular special events.

Milk Bar is an Australian inspired café recently opened on Queens Road in Hastings, run by Brisbane-born owner Nick Osborne, who has lived in Hastings for four years with his wife and two children. The menu leans towards Aussie brunch classics like toasted banana bread with espresso butter, Anzac biscuits, fresh fruit smoothies and sourdough with avocado, bacon and halloumi, alongside coffee from fellow Antipodean roasters Allpress. The hope is that Milk Bar becomes a neighbourhood spot to gather, work and eat with family and friends, much like the local café is central to Australian community life

Indoor role-play café with mini shops and themed play areas. Daily play sessions, creative activities and birthday party bookings available.

Family-friendly and dog friendly café and deli in Alexandra Park serving coffee, cakes and lunch. Accessible and open year-round.

Sustainably built visitor centre and café at Hastings Country Park with park information, wildlife displays and indoor/outdoor seating. Open 9am-4pm daily, free entry.

Independent pub in Hastings Old Town serving modern British food, local beers and wines, and hosting regular community and family-friendly events.

A family farm in the Tillingham Valley just outside Rye, with a café and farm shop overlooking the hop gardens. There is pick your own fruit in summer, pumpkins in October and Christmas trees in winter, plus a maze and signposted farm trails.

Leisure centre with gym, fitness classes, soft play area, sports hall, swimming and café. Birthday party packages available. Ring ahead before coming to use soft play.

Knockhatch Ski & Snowboarding School is an outdoor dry ski and snowboard centre in Hailsham with a 110m artificial slope, nursery slope, Ringo Run and drag lifts. The centre runs regular public sessions and weekly coached Kids Ski Club sessions for confident young skiers.

Leisure centre with swimming pools, gym, fitness classes, sports halls and café. Regular birthday party packages available, entry prices vary by activity.

Community venue with a sports hall hosting classes and youth activities.

Features classic seaside arcade games including popular Penny Falls to win tickets and prizes, crane grabbers to win soft toys, and a wide range of games perfect for a raindy day. Open every day all year round (except Christmas Day) until late. Level access throughout the venue. Free cash machines on site. Adjacent to public conveniences.

18-hole pirate-themed adventure golf course open 364 days a year. Suitable for ages 3+, tickets £9.25.

Aquarium with sharks, rays and tropical fish, interactive displays and feeding demonstrations throughout the day. Under 18s entry £15.65.

Miniature railway operating since 1948 running along the seafront from Rock-a-Nore to Marine Parade. Features steam and diesel locomotives, £3 per ride, open daily in school holidays and weekends May-Oct.

Journey through St Clements Caves exploring smuggling history. Entry £11.50, suitable for ages 4+.

Historic funicular railway from 1891 with original Victorian wooden carriages. Open Saturdays and Sundays 11am-4pm, £5.50 per ride, card payment only.

A private alpaca and therapy pygmy goat experience in Robertsbridge near Hastings, offering exclusive farm visits with hand feeding, homemade food options and access to two acres of countryside. Guests meet alpacas Ollie and Ricardo, friendly sheep, chickens and special therapy pygmy goats in a calm, relaxed setting. All sessions are privately booked with exclusive use of the farm, cosy cabin and garden space.

Rare Breeds Centre is a full-day out in the Kent countryside where children can meet farm animals, ride the tractor, explore play areas and woodland walks, and watch pig racing in season. There’s loads to do for all ages, plus a café on-site, and your visit also supports a charity for adults with learning disabilities and autism.

A family farm attraction at Stone Cross, just outside Eastbourne, where admission covers the farm animals, an adventure playground, a mini maze and a string of outdoor play areas. Seasonal events run through the year, including a pick your own pumpkin patch in October and a Halloween trail at half term.

Indoor play centre close to Hastings Pier with free parking for customers.

Kids soft play centre in Hastings featuring multi-level play zones with circus-inspired fairground, beach area for tots and babies, and castle adventure zone.

Sussex-based SEND charity in Hastings offering respite sessions, holiday clubs and multi-sensory activities for children and young people with SEND and their parent carers. The venue includes a bookable sensory room and soft play area in a quiet residential setting.

Independent community cinema in Hastings Old Town showing a mix of alternative films, family-friendly screenings and special events. The venue offers refreshments, a hearing loop and regular autism-friendly relaxed screenings, but has no step-free access.

Play café and children’s play centre at Chestnut Meadow in Bexhill-on-Sea, offering play sessions for babies and young children.

Family-friendly historic garden offering Garden Explorers sessions for toddlers and carers, with seasonal outdoor activities such as seed planting, cooking, woodland walks, minibeast hunts and fires in the woods. Sessions run in all weathers, are based at Dixter Farm, and require advance booking.

Play Cafe Hastings is a small, community-focused play café at St Andrew's Mews, built for parents as much as for children. It was started by a mum who spent eight years working in the music industry before everything changed with the arrival of her daughter in 2024, when she found herself searching for calm, welcoming spaces suited to both parent and baby and struggling to find them. Weekly meet-ups with other women became a lifeline in those early months, and that experience shaped the café: a place where you don't have to choose between your own needs and your child's, whether that's a good coffee, a friendly face, or simply somewhere to be. The café hosts private hire alongside its regular offering, with a programme of what's on for local families.

Community arts and events venue hosting workshops, classes and family activities throughout the year.

A Soil Association certified organic vegetable garden in the Stonelynk Valley at Fairlight, five miles east of Hastings. Most of the produce is sold straight from the farm shop, and there is a small veg box scheme too. In October the pumpkin patch opens for pick your own.