Hastings diaries : Oh I do like to be beside the seaside !

You can't come to Hastings and not take advantage of the traditional seaside attractions, so on the first full day of our visit, we decided to wander down to the old town. We went via the West Hill and the kids were delighted to discover a playpark.

The star attraction was a zipwire, which Pierre must have gone on about a hundred times !

He wasn't the only one having fun though - the tyre swing was big enough to take the weight of the adults too !

Eventually, we wound our way down to the old town and, after changing up a couple of pounds each into 2p's, the kids were off, trying to win little prizes in the coin push machines. I was very tempted to have a go on the Zoltar Speaks fortune telling machine, but I remembered that scene in Big and had second thoughts !

Pierre loves watching claw machine videos on Youtube (I really can't see the fascination personally !) so he was desperate to have a go on the cranes.

He got really excited every time the claws grabbed something but it invariably fell off before returning to base.

"You won't win, they're all rigged", we all told him repeatedly. Then he won one ! He was over the moon, but was then convinced that he'd win an Incredibles toy and failed !

Grandad soon had him smiling again though, showing him some of the bigger sit-in toys.

We finished off with a prize-every-time Test Your Strength machine, which was hilarious because he didn't realise everyone was a winner so he was all excited when the lights went right up to the top ! The girls had moved outside and found a lollipop that was too big even for their sweet-toothed appetite !

This weekend is Hastings Pirate Day (after a successful world record breaking event a few years ago), so some of the shops had pirate-themed displays in the windows.

George Street is a great place for quirky independent shops, including this one, selling official Harry Potter wands.

Inside are all sorts of replica weapons and armour, including some that are modelled on those used in the Norman conquest.

It's lovely to have a nod back to 1066 and the Battle of Hastings, but I'm not sure who'd actually buy them !

We didn't buy a broadsword or a pirate pistol, but we did treat ourselves to some gorgeous soaps from this brightly coloured and fabulously fragranced display. Sophie also picked up some odds and ends in the junk/antique shops - I'm always amazed at the things that catch her eye !