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Bottle Alley

A Memory of Hastings.

Does anyone else have any memories of 'Bottle Alley'? I think it was on the Promenade and it was a covered walk (built in Victorian times, I believe) of concrete encrusted with bottles, mainly the bottoms, in all sorts of patterns. Some of my family lived in Ore and I used to visit as a child. My other lasting memory is of the beach with the old fishmarket and 'the old man in the tub'. He was something of an eccentric (must have been!) who used to paddle along the front of the Esplanade in a tub or barrel.

Added 28 July 2009

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Comments & Feedback

Yes, I remember it well. I used to work in Hastings before moving to Vancouver, Canada in 1965. I worked in Ainscough's Delicatessen nearly opposite the bus station. I used to walk along the seafront and very often walked along the open fronted section that had all bottle bottoms & pieces of coloured glass embedded in the cement wall, it looked lovely especially when the sun was shining, I would like to know if it is still there.

By Helene Deissner on Fri Oct 17th 2014, at 3:47 pm

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Yes, it's still there but in neeed of some TLC as the concrete is badly damaged. People are campaigning to get it restored but it is likely to cost more than a million pounds. There is a rather nice cafe at the Western end now and on a sunny day with the tables and umbrellas outside it can have an almost Mediterranean feel! I am happy to send you some pics if you like?

By Amanda Bryant, Mha Administration on Sat Feb 21st 2015, at 1:54 pm

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I would love to see some pics of Bottle Alley - even in its present state! I wonder whether the Hastings Council would consider asking for lottery money to help restore it. It would be a unique tourist attraction. Perhaps we should start a 'Save Bottle Alley' petition!
Thanks to all for the replies I have received from my original posting on Memories.
Diane

By Diane Dwyer on Sat Feb 21st 2015, at 4:20 pm

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