Bexhill-on-Sea and Hastings are ideal places to visit if you feel like taking your older friend or relative for a quick (or even a slow!) cuppa and perhaps some cake.
Our professional carers at Home Instead Bexhill and Hastings love to take our clients out for a cup of tea occasionally, as it gives the seniors a welcome break. And there are plenty of delightful little cafes to sample in and around the Rother district, including those with scenic views in places like St Leonards-on-Sea and Hastings Country Park. We thought we’d share a few of our favourites with you.
The Old Bathing Station is a long-standing favourite of ours for a cup of tea (or coffee and snacks) with our clients. It’s a small but delightful café (well, more of a kiosk, actually) that can be found on the promenade at De La Warr Parade in Bexhill. It’s easily accessible by wheelchair, and there’s seating looking out to sea, with some beautiful views over the English Channel.
The café is run by Stella, who’s well known in the community and provides a great and friendly service. It’s open every day from 10:00am to 5:30pm, and is also open for hot drinks on some evenings, when a local group, Astronomy Adventures, holds special stargazing events that take place by the kiosk.
The delightfully named Grumpy Cook Café can be found inside the Bale House Visitor Centre in Hastings Country Park. The café provides tea and coffee and light snacks, including cream teas (which are occasionally provided free to the over 65s) and scrummy cakes. As well as indoor seating, there are picnic tables outside, with lovely views across the park.
The Visitor Centre is at Lower Coastguard Lane, opposite the main car park and is accessible by wheelchairs. It’s the first public straw bale building in Hastings. The café is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm every day. Run by Table 88, it was set up during the latter part of the pandemic to encourage the elderly to become part of the community again. It specialises in tackling loneliness in older people, welcoming them in for coffee and a chat.
Alexandra Park is the largest public park in the borough of Hastings, covering 109 acres. It was opened in 1882 by the Prince and Princess of Wales (Princess Alexandra). It has formal gardens, woodland and an arboretum with one of the most impressive collections of tress in Britain. There are good pathways, seats an even a designated car parking space for wheelchair users. Some of the ponds and reservoirs in the park were used in Victorian times to supply water to St Leonards and Hastings.
The facilities in the park include a café, where you can relax and enjoy a quiet cuppa and cake before (or after) having an enjoyable stroll around the area, with its war memorial bandstand and miniature railway. We think it’s a lovely and relaxing place to take your elderly friend and relative for a morning or afternoon out.
For something different and a real sense of fun, why not try Goat Ledge in St Leonards on Sea? You can find this unique and very colourfully decorated café right by the beach on the Lower Promenade at St Leonards. It serves different coffees, teas and hot chocolate, along with a wide range of snacks – including freshly baked croissants, buns, flapjacks and brownies.
The café is wheelchair-accessible and dogs are made very welcome, both inside and outside. Occasionally, bands play music outside, which would provide an added attraction for you and your older person while you’re having your drink and enjoying the scenery or just people-watching. The café is open every day, from 8:00am to 2:00pm.
For something special to delight your older friend or relative, take them along to the newly renovated Relais Cooden Beach. As its name suggest, this stylish hotel is located in a unique position on a private beach at Bexhill-on-Sea, overlooking the English Channel. You and your aging adult can enjoy anything from tea and coffee to breakfast, lunch or dinner – or, for those special occasions, an afternoon tea.
The main restaurant at the hotel has a large terrace and is open from 9:00am to 9:00pm. There’s also a new Beach Club that’s open during the summer season, often with musicians playing in the late afternoon. Parking is available at the front and rear of the Cooden Beach and the hotel is wheelchair-accessible. The railway station is also close by.
So, if you fancy a café with a view and a cup of tea (or coffee) for two, see what you think of our ideas. We hope you have a lovely relaxing time in or around Bexhill with your older loved one – we find it’s often the simple things in life like a friendly cuppa that make all the difference.
And to find out a bit more about us and what we do at Home Instead Bexhill and Hastings, why not take a look at our website – or better still, give us a call. We’d love to hear from you! We provide care and elderly care in Bexhill, Battle, St Leonards and Hastings.