st helens woods

St Helens Woods is one of the larger woodland areas in Hastings and still provides a really great place to go and spend a day in the woods as kids, or to stroll under beech and oak at a more leisurely pace. The woods have previously been under the auspices of the St helens Woods preservation society, which I believe still exists and are well kept without spoiling the feel. Down the central path off Langham Road, you come to a wide open path knoown as The Ride, which was in local history precisely that for the gentlefolk. Follow along (careful it gets muddy at the end) and turn down left to the pond and a beautiful beech tree on the slope above. A really fine example. You can carry on down past the pond, along the stream (or in it when I was small) and then turn back up at the end to complete a leisurely hours wald. There is much more to the woods than this, but this is the little turn I used to do with my parents. Do visit in Bluebell time.