Looks can be deceptive. The funky brightly coloured beachfront café Goat Ledge looks more West Indies than East Sussex. However, this is St Lenny, as the locals call it, and the most popular dishes on the menu are fish rolls and homemade pickle. This is “posh” Hastings after all — although the nearest Waitrose is in Eastbourne.
Laid-back Goat Ledge epitomises the tempo of St Leonards, once known as a rather genteel retiring place. Now, with an attitude that is individualist, community-minded and resolutely quirky, it is fast becoming a destination distinct from its Hastings neighbour.
St Leonards was already attracting disillusioned city dwellers seeking a different way of life pre-pandemic. Many have left behind stellar careers, some have opened businesses, while others are artists
