The direct Southern train is the way to go from Brighton to Hastings. It takes about 1h 10m, 1h 08m on the quickest, and makes eight stops on the way. On the weekday timetable we checked it ran from 05:00 through to a late 23:58, about hourly and almost always at 26 minutes past, with extra departures at 05:22, 05:52, 06:55 and 21:56. That gives five chances to leave Brighton before seven, and at the other end of the day the 23:58 reaches Hastings at about 01:09 on a typical run.
Because for most of the day the direct train runs once an hour, the time you reach Brighton station matters. Between the direct trains, the planner showed departures at 56 minutes past with a change at Hampden Park, from 07:56 through to 20:56 and again at 22:26. These take about 1h 28m, around 17 minutes longer than the direct train, but because they leave half an hour after it they still reach Hastings before the next direct one would.
So the practical rule from Brighton is simple: take the direct train at 26 minutes past if you are in time for it, and the Hampden Park change at 56 minutes past if you are not. Waiting on the platform for the next direct train gets you to Hastings later.
A few other combinations turned up. One at 17:06, changing at Lewes and Hampden Park, took about 1h 19m. Three, at 05:00, 08:56 and 18:56, changed at Eastbourne instead, also in about 1h 28m, and routes via Wivelsfield took close to two hours, which rules them out.
Wellington Place is about nine minutes on foot from Hastings station, a walk of some 680 metres, so allow roughly an hour and 20 minutes from the Brighton platform to the town centre on the direct train.
Journey times and changes below come from the rail and bus timetables for Tuesday 1 December 2026. Weekend and holiday timetables differ, so check the day you travel.
From Brighton on the weekday we checked: every 30 to 60 minutes or so between 05:00 and 23:58.
By road it is about 40 miles from Brighton to Hastings, mostly via the A27 — roughly 1h 14m with clear roads. Car parks in Hastings are listed on the Getting Here page.