Anchor Inn

The Anchor Inn has a fair claim to being the oldest pub in the Old Town. Its brewery, Shepherd Neame, says so, and the name is said to go back to the days when the sea came up as far as George Street and boats tied up outside the front door.

The building you see now went up in about 1810 to 1820: four storeys of painted stucco, Grade II listed, facing Ye Olde Pumphouse across one of the Old Town's busiest little streets. Inside there is a real fire in winter.

It is a food pub as much as a drinking one, serving lunch and dinner, with a separate bar, a restaurant area and dogs welcome. And if you believe the stories, it is one of the most haunted buildings in Hastings.

George Street is pedestrianised for most of the day, lined with cafés, galleries and junk shops, and the Anchor makes a good base for a slow afternoon along it, or a stop on the way to the West Hill Lift.