The St Leonards on Sea Banksy and how to find it

Hello ducks!

My brother wanted to see the St Leonards on Sea Banksy when he visited recently, so of course I obliged. I've also taken some photos to show you how to find it if you want to have a look yourself. Read on!

ST LEONARDS ON SEA BANKSY MURAL

BANKSY MURAL ST LEONARDS SEA FRONT HASTINGS


The council had to put perspex over it soon after it was done as idiots were defacing it. *rolls eyes*

To find the Banksy, you'll need to be on the A259 along St Leonards sea front. The church is at 66 Marina. Look out for St Leonards parish church (see the large photo in the collage below) and cross the road at the nearest safe point opposite. You'll see the car park then the beach. Look for the marker numbered 44 (see the photo of my brother standing next to it below). Go down onto the beach and face the church and tharrrr she blows in the corner on your left.

There are also a couple of photos of Pelham Crescent and a peek of Hastings Castle in the collage below. Wayne and I went into Old Town for something to eat after visiting the Banksy. We went to The Little Larder now called Radley's which recently moved from Normans Road to George St. The menu is simple, the food to die for, and the staff are friendly and welcoming. It's a recommend from me.


There are a few other art works springing up right near the Banksy, including this one, which appears to be stencil art, similar to Banksy's style.

I've lived in Hastings for 10 years now and I've always loved it. I've lived in 4 counties in the South East and this is my home. I don't think of where I was born as my home town - this is it. I know Hastings and St Leonards gets a bad rap - rah rah underprivileged area rah rah unemployment - but people forget about the amazing talent here. Musicians, artists - both highbrow and lowbrow - and many other creatives abound who make it such a fun place to live. I'm really pleased to see how little artistic enclaves have popped up in recent years - you only have to look at the regeneration of the top end of Norman Road for that. It's Shoreditch on sea!

I hope we never become too arty-farty or too sanitised though. A lot of the charm of this area is in the shabby-around-the-edges places, and if we become too gentrified it'll be a crying shame. I don't know what a sunny summer afternoon would be without a ramble through Old Town's antiques and bric-a-brac shops and then a poke about through all the cast off seafarers' detritus on the fishing beach. Hastings should always be new art and old soul and everything in between, because that's where the beauty lies. We like our summer visitors, and then we like them to go away again so we can enjoy our town in her quieter moments. God forbid we become like Brighton - once the new 'it' place - with rents through the roof, poseurs stinking up every corner with their self-righteousness and skinny-yak-milk-angel-fart-grandes - and all the soul being lost to shiny new everything. Long may Hastings be the jewel in a slightly busted up crown.

What do you love (and want to protect fiercely) about where you live?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

P.S. My mum has had a nasty fall so I'm going to look after her for a few days. I don't know if I'll get time to blog, but if not, I'll be back next week. :)

No comments