From time to time I like nothing better than escaping London for the sublime south coast and the wonderful towns of Hastings and Rye.

I normally head straight for the antiques and bric-a-brac shops in the Old Town in Hastings and can easily while away a whole day picking through the treasure. You can find no end of inspirational and fun things here, my last find was two brass pineapples. I only paid £4 for the pair and they now have pride of place on our mantlepiece!

Following a hard days rummaging nothing tastes better than freshly battered fish and chips from the Blue Dolphin on the seafront… the best fish and chips in the world! The fish simply melts in your mouth – just watch out for the seagulls who will do their damndest to share it with you!

Image courtesy of debs-eye on Flickr