East Hill lift opens in time for Easter
Hastings East Hill lift, the steepest funicular railway in the country, has opened today following the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.
The lift is owned and operated by Hastings Borough Council, whose marketing manager, Kevin Boorman, explained: “We closed the lift in December to discourage people from making unnecessary journeys.
“However, we know the East Hill and Hastings Country Park are popular with local residents and tourists alike. Now that the ‘stay at home’ rule has been relaxed we have reopened the lift so that the hill and country park can be enjoyed again, although we are of course still encouraging people to ‘stay local’.
“With most attractions not being able to open for some time yet, and ‘non-essential’ shops remaining closed until at least April 12th, opening the lift will give local residents and local visitors something else to do over Easter. There is plenty of space on the hill and in the country park for people to spread out and enjoy themselves, and the lift is fully accessible meaning that everyone can enjoy the stunning views from the top.”
First passengers on Monday were local residents Adrian and Rosemary Fowler from Priory Road.
The lift is open six days a week (closed Wednesdays) until further notice.
I hope that now the lift is open and visitors to the hill are going to increase that HBC will allocate some resources to keeping the East Hill clear of rubbish. Last summer the hill was only kept clear by the good efforts of many local residents clearing rubbish.