Hastings and St Leonards share one long shingle front, running from the fishing boats at Rock-a-Nore to the beach huts at West Marina, and sand shows only as the tide drops.
What changes along it is the rulebook. From 1 April to 30 September dogs are kept off two stretches, Harbour Arm to the pier and Bottle Alley to the Royal Victoria Hotel, and the RNLI's summer patrols at Pelham and Marina sit inside them.
For a patrolled swim, pick Pelham in Hastings or Marina in St Leonards. Marina's water is the only one on this list rated Excellent for 2025; Pelham's was Good. With a dog between April and September, use Rock-a-Nore, the shingle west of the pier as far as Bottle Alley, or West Marina, all open to dogs in every month.
Camber, past Rye, is where to go for sand: dunes, a wide flat beach and RNLI lifeguards from Easter, but a rising tide floods the flats quickly. Between it and the town, Pett Level and Winchelsea Beach are quiet, unpatrolled shingle with toilets open only from April to September. Bexhill, to the west, is a promenade beach with lifeguards only in the peak weeks and water rated Sufficient, the minimum standard, four years running.
Lifeguards: the 2026 season. Water: the latest official bathing-water classification. Every fact links to the page it came from, checked 27 October 2026.
Dogs allowed No lifeguards Not a bathing water
The Old Town end of the front, where the fishing fleet is winched up the shingle below the East Hill and the tall black net shops stand behind. It is a working beach rather than a place to lay out a towel, so treat it as the start of a walk: boats, fish stalls and the East Hill Lift are all here. Dogs can run on this shingle in every month of the year.
Surface
shingle
Dogs
Allowed on or off the lead all year from the eastern borough boundary (the Rother border) to the east side of the Harbour Arm. Source
Lifeguards
Not lifeguarded: the RNLI's 2026 Hastings service covers Pelham, Hastings Pier and St Leonards only. Source
Facilities
Public toilets on Rock-a-Nore Road with an accessible toilet and baby changing; summer hours 9am-9pm. Source
Access
The car park sits on the beach itself at the eastern end of the front; its surface is rough. Source
Parking
Rock-a-Nore car park (TN34 3DW, 450 spaces), locked 11pm-7am; busy with exit queues on summer weekends and bank holidays, when the council suggests Priory Street multi-storey instead. Source
Tides
Rock pools below the East Hill: the council warns against rock pooling on a rising tide, when you can be stranded. Source
Water quality
Not a designated bathing water, so it is not sampled.
Summer dog ban Lifeguards in summer Good water (2025)
The town-centre beach between the Harbour Arm and the pier, laid out by the council as its family beach in eight zones, each marked by a named character so a lost child can find the way back. RNLI lifeguards patrol it in summer, with a second unit listed at Hastings Pier beach, and dogs are kept off from April to September. It is mostly shingle; the sand flats appear only at low water.
Surface
sand and shingle
Dogs
Banned 1 April to 30 September from the west of the Harbour Arm to the east side of Hastings Pier; allowed on or off the lead from 1 October to 31 March. Source
Lifeguards
RNLI lifeguards 10am-6pm in the 2026 season: daily 23-31 May, weekends 6 June-12 July, daily 18 July-6 September, weekends 12-27 September. Source
Facilities
Toilets with baby changing at Pelham Place, open 7am-10pm in summer; the town centre and Old Town are close by. Source
Access
A beach access path leads down from the promenade, with a cold-water shower beside it from May to September. Source
Parking
Pelham Place car park (TN34 3AD, 276 spaces) on the A259, opening straight onto the beach; locked 11pm-7am and full on summer weekends. Source
Tides
Shingle at high water; shallow sand flats and the Alexandra Park Stream outfall pipe are exposed only at low water. Source
Water quality
Good in 2025, the Environment Agency's classification for Hastings Pelham Beach. Source
Dogs allowed Lifeguards nearby Not a bathing water
West of the pier the front passes the White Rock Theatre and runs along Bottle Alley, the covered lower promenade, to Warrior Square. The shingle here is open to dogs all year, which makes it the dog walker's stretch in summer when Pelham and Marina are closed to them.
Surface
shingle
Dogs
Allowed on or off the lead all year from the west of Hastings Pier to the west end of Bottle Alley. Source
Lifeguards
The nearest flags are the RNLI's Hastings Pier unit, 10am-6pm in the 2026 season (weekends from June, daily 18 July-6 September, weekends to 27 September); swim only where they are set out. Source
Facilities
Public toilets at Warrior Square, at the west end, with an accessible toilet; summer hours 9am-9pm. Source
Parking
The Pier underground car park (TN34 1JX, 40 spaces, 2.1 m height limit, coins-only machine or RingGo) is directly in front of the pier; locked 11pm-7am. Source
Tides
On an ebbing tide it is harder to swim back to shore; the council advises swimming parallel to the beach and keeping away from the pier and groynes. Source
Water quality
Not a designated bathing water, so it is not sampled.
Summer dog ban Lifeguards in summer Excellent water (2025)
The St Leonards end of the strand, from Warrior Square to opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel, flies a Blue Flag for 2026 and has the only Excellent water rating among these beaches, held every year from 2022 to 2025. RNLI lifeguards patrol in summer, and windsurfers, kayakers and anglers use it as much as families. Dogs are kept off from April to September.
Surface
sand and shingle
Dogs
Banned 1 April to 30 September from the west end of Bottle Alley to opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel; allowed on or off the lead from 1 October to 31 March. Source
Lifeguards
RNLI lifeguards 10am-6pm in the 2026 season: daily 23-31 May, weekends 6 June-12 July, daily 18 July-6 September, weekends 12-27 September. Source
Facilities
Marina Pavilion toilets with an accessible toilet and baby changing, open 9am-9pm in summer. Source
Access
Reached from the lower promenade, where the toilets and a cold-water shower (May to September) stand. Source
Parking
Marina car park (TN38 0DW, 97 spaces) on the A259; coins-only machine or RingGo, no charge 8pm-6.59am. Watch the cycle lane when pulling out. Source
Tides
A rocky ledge at the eastern end of the bathing water is exposed at low water; sand flats show at low tide. Source
Water quality
Excellent in 2025, the Environment Agency's classification for St Leonards. Source
Dogs allowed No lifeguards Not a bathing water
Beyond the Royal Victoria Hotel the promenade quietens past the West Marina beach huts towards Bulverhythe and the borough boundary. There is no lifeguard patrol, dogs are welcome all year, and the council steers beach barbecues to the stretch between groynes 47 and 51a at Sea Road, beside West Marina Gardens.
Surface
shingle
Dogs
Allowed on or off the lead all year from opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel west to the Rother border. Source
Lifeguards
No patrol of its own: the RNLI's 2026 St Leonards unit is at Marina, east of the Royal Victoria Hotel. Source
Facilities
Beach huts, with a cold-water shower on the beach to the south of them during the bathing season (May to September). Source
Parking
Grosvenor Gardens car park at the end of Sea Road (TN38 0AG): 7 spaces, RingGo only, 4-hour maximum stay. Source
Water quality
Not a designated bathing water, so it is not sampled.
Summer dog ban Lifeguards in summer Sufficient water (2025)
Bexhill's front is one long shingle slope beneath the promenade, overlooked by the De La Warr Pavilion, with sand flats appearing as the tide drops. RNLI flags go up only from mid-July to early September, dogs are kept off the stretch between the Sovereign Light Café and the Sailing Club from May to September, and the water was graded Sufficient, the minimum pass, in each year from 2022 to 2025.
Surface
sand and shingle
Dogs
Kept off the beach from Brockley Road (Sovereign Light Café) to Sea Road (Sailing Club) between 1 May and 30 September; leads are required on the promenade from groyne 34 to groyne 78 over the same period. Source
Lifeguards
RNLI lifeguards daily 10am-6pm from 18 July to 6 September in the 2026 season, the only dates the RNLI lists for Bexhill. Source
Facilities
A promenade with crazy golf, shops and cafés nearby. Source
Parking
Rother points drivers to on-street bays and its own car parks along the Bexhill and Cooden foreshore. Source
Tides
Soft sand and mud are exposed at low tide and shift position over time; keep to dry, compact sand. Source
Water quality
Sufficient in 2025, the Environment Agency's classification for Bexhill. Source
Summer dog ban No lifeguards Not a bathing water
A quiet shingle beach where the sandstone cliffs east of Hastings give way to the flat levels towards Rye Bay. At low tide the remains of a petrified forest can be reached near the cliffs. There are no lifeguards, and the toilets open only from April to September.
Surface
shingle
Dogs
Banned 1 May to 30 September on the stretch running 150 m west from the church; maps are posted along the front. Source
Lifeguards
Not lifeguarded; Rother points swimmers to Camber or Hastings. Source
Facilities
Public toilets run by Pett Parish Council, open April to September, with a RADAR-key accessible toilet and baby changing. Source
Access
Stagecoach 101 (Hastings station to Rye) stops at Pett Level Canal Bank, on the timetable from 12 April 2026. Source
Tides
The petrified forest by the cliffs shows only at low tide; Rother also warns of fast incoming tides here. Source
Water quality
Not a designated bathing water, so it is not sampled.
Summer dog ban No lifeguards Good water (2025)
A remote stretch of shingle on the western edge of Rye Bay, protected by a sea wall and next to an inshore area known for its birds. Sand flats appear at low water, there are no lifeguards, and the one public toilet is open only in summer.
Surface
sand and shingle
Dogs
Banned 1 May to 30 September on the beach at Dogs Hill, by the public toilets; maps are posted along the front. Source
Lifeguards
Not lifeguarded; the nearest patrolled beach is Camber Sands. Source
Facilities
One accessible public toilet, open to all users from April to September. Source
Access
Stagecoach 101 (Hastings station to Rye) stops at Winchelsea Beach Caravan Park, on the timetable from 12 April 2026. Source
Tides
Rother warns of fast incoming tides and sandbars where you can be cut off. Source
Water quality
Good in 2025, the Environment Agency's classification for Winchelsea. Source
Summer dog ban Lifeguards in summer Good water (2025)
The sandy beach of this coast: more than two miles of shore east of Rye, much of it golden sand, backed by the only dune system in East Sussex. RNLI lifeguards cover Camber Central from Easter and a second unit at Camber West in the main season, and a kite and water-sports zone is set apart at Broomhill car park. The flat sand floods quickly on a rising tide, and the Rother harbour entrance at the western end has strong currents.
Surface
sand
Dogs
Banned from the zoned areas 1 May to 30 September; Rother's dog-control map shows where the zone runs. Source
Lifeguards
RNLI lifeguards at Camber Central 10am-6pm in the 2026 season: weekends and bank holidays 3 April-17 May, then daily 23 May-27 September. Source
Facilities
Limited public toilets for a beach of this size. Source
Access
Train to Rye, then Stagecoach 102 or another local bus to Camber; buses run all year. Source
Parking
Three council car parks: Central and Old Lydd Road (TN31 7RH) and Western (TN31 7RB), pay on arrival, no overnight stays; Western shuts at 8pm in summer and may close when full. Source
Tides
Fast incoming tides and sandbars can cut people off on the flat sand; strong currents at the Rother harbour entrance. Source
Water quality
Good in 2025, the Environment Agency's classification for Camber. Source