Follow That Duck Sculpture Trail to Hastings

It’s safe to say I will always remember what I was doing on the hottest day of 2022 – that crazy 40°C and the several 35°C+ days either side. I was in Hastings following a trail of ducks on the Follow That Duck sculpture trail.

There are 30 of these large duck sculptures across Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill, closely resembling the yellow bath-time rubber ducks I remember from my childhood. Who else had one of those?

The ducks are there for the duration of the summer holidays and will waddle away on the 4^th September.

The Follow That Duck sculpture trail is an excellent way of exploring Hastings. It’s a town I’ve always wanted to visit and thanks to the ducks, I’ve finally made it!

I did zero research on Hastings ahead of visiting, apart from choosing where I wanted to stay. I decided to just follow those ducks and see what materialised. It’s a refreshing way to travel and speaking now a few weeks later, I don’t feel I missed anything which means the sculpture trail did a fantastic job of presenting Hastings in all its glory.

I just downloaded the app and started walking!

What is the Follow That Duck Sculpture Trail All About?

Before I show you how I got round the trail, you may want to know what it’s all about. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know I’m a big fan of these types of sculpture trails and zot around the country like a mad woman during the summer trying to see as many trails as I can. So far this year, I’ve followed Morph around the north east of England, I’ve been to Cardiff to see the Snoopy trail, the Isle of Man to follow the dolphins and to Ipswich to see The Big Hoot owls.

On at the same time as the Follow That Duck sculpture trail, is The Big Hoot trail in Ipswich!

Like all other sculpture trails of its kind, many of which are the creation of public arts events company Wild in Art, the Follow That Duck sculptures have been designed by local and national artists and sponsored by local businesses as a means of attracting visitors to the area and boosting the local economy, something even more important after the last few pandemic years.

At the end of the trail, the sculptures will be auctioned off to raise vital funds for St Michael’s Hospice. The hospice provides palliative care and bereavement support to the Hastings and Rother area and supports around 1700 people each year. Fund raising is an ongoing necessity and the Follow That Duck sculpture trail will hopefully raise some of those much-needed funds.

In addition to the 30 big ducks, there are 25 small ones that have been painted by local schools and community groups. These are found in indoor locations, and where possible in shop windows so they can be seen outside of opening hours. At the end of the trail, the ducklings are returned to their group creators.

As I’ve mentioned, there is an app you can download which will guide you to all the duck locations. There is a 4-digit code on the duck perches which if you enter into the app, you’ll unlock rewards from each duck. These are often something on offer from the sponsor of that sculpture.

You can also pick up physical trail maps from any of the St Michael’s Hospice Shops, along with lots of Follow That Duck merchandise. You’ll find many other places like the Museum & Art Gallery and the library have maps available too.

Out on the Trail in St Leonards

As my accommodation for the trip was in St Leonards, that’s where I started the evening I arrived. I was a stone’s throw from St Michael’s Hospice where my first duck was situated, at the end of the access road into the car park.

Pride of Hastings is the poster duck for the trail, created far earlier than his compatriots and affectionately known as Albert, so its rather apt it was also the first one I saw. His design features lots of well-loved Hastings views and landmarks which as a travel junkie who loves exploring places, this is my favourite type of design.

It was a short meander down the hill and into the top of St Leonards Gardens to see Aristolochia Grandiflora, or as I would otherwise remember her as Flower Power duck due to her bold floral collage. Her real title is the Latin name for Duck Flower and the design takes inspiration from the Flower Makers Museum in Hastings which documents the 110-year history of The Shirley Leaf and Petal Company, a leading supplier of artificial flower and plant props for film, TV and theatre. The museum is in the basement of the old pharmacist building in Hastings High Street and I certainly would never have known about this connection to Hastings if it wasn’t for the trail.

This is the point at which I’ll mention – always read the information plaques that are displayed on the duck’s plinth as you’ll gain invaluable insight into the design of the artwork and often it’s link to Hastings and 1066 country in general. This information is also in the app too if you are using that as a means of getting around. Being educational is one of the other big aims of sculpture trails like this.

Continuing out the bottom of St Leonards gardens, I found my ideal dinner spot at Teddy’s Beach Diner looking out over the English Channel. I ordered the mussels and they were yummy!

Walking along the coast towards Hastings, the third central St Leonards duck is at Warrior Square Gardens. Thanks to the heatwave and recent very dry weather The Bayduck Tapestry blended in with his environment. No lush green grass surrounding him unfortunately. This design depicts scenes you’d expect to see in the famous Bayeux Tapestry and in a similar style, however there’s one big difference: all the figures are replaced with ducks.

Opposite these gardens on the prom, there is a great little refreshments spot called The Goat Ledge Cafe. On the side of the building, there is this explanation for why it is called that. Look out for the nearby love locks sculpture, a participatory arts project from 2012 called ‘My Heart Belongs to Hastings.

I located the final St Leonards duck on my way out to Bexhill two days later as it is located in Grosvenor Gardens, out to the west of St Leonards and therefore en route to Bexhill. I will always remember this duck, Sirens of Hastings as having a pretty accurate representation of the size of the local Herring Gulls: MASSIVE! They seem bigger than anywhere else I’ve encountered them!

Follow That Duck Sculpture Trail Through Hastings

My plan for the following day was to get round all the Hastings ducks, which I managed apart from the three sculptures that are further out from the centre in and near Alexandra Park.

I started by walking over to Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, where after seeing Love a Duck! I spent a good hour and a half exploring the museum. The ‘Jason and his Argonauts’ exhibition by Jason Wilsher-Mills was fascinating and I really enjoyed my time spent there seeing a huge variety of exhibits and learning lots about the town and local area.

I was blown away by the Indian Hall space which I thought was so beautiful. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see such a space. The museum and art gallery is a lovely little gem and I can highly recommend a visit.

Hastings New Town

Walking straight down the main road into Hastings from the museum, I took the set of steps leading down to Claremont Road. At the base of the steps there is an alley off to the right which takes you round the back of the library into a courtyard. Here is where Day of the Duck is situated.

I loved this duck! His design is inspired by the Mexican ‘Dia de los Muertos’ (Day of the Dead) celebrations. I got talking to someone who was working with the people renovating the huge multi-level building backing on to this yard area and learned that once completed the hopes are to utilise it more as a community space, with the arches leading to businesses. This could definitely become a thriving little artsy space. I certainly got that vibe about it.

Look out for the mini duck, Peace in Ukraine, in the window of the library while walking down Claremont.

Follow Claremont out onto the seafront and you’ll see the next duck, The Lucky Stone on the promenade looking out to sea. Another duck that takes its inspiration from Hastings magnificent sea views.

The next 5 ducks are located in the centre of Hastings new town. The busy design of Doodle Duck welcomes you as you walk through the entrance to Priory Meadow shopping centre.

Coming out the other entrance/exit by Marks and Spencer is Fire Quacker with a beautiful purple night time scene of Hastings pier silhouetted against a fire work encrusted sky.

We do like to be beside the Seaside illustrates all the activities and events that go on in Hastings. He sits proud in Queens Square, in front of Primark, looking at the summer sand pit.

Walking up to the station, you can’t miss the jazzy Fizzy Pop and Salty Hair sitting outside the Tourist Information Centre, next to East Sussex College. This would be the first duck you’d see if arriving in Hastings via train.

I love this view that also greets you on arrival to Hastings by train.

Walking back down into the main shopping area of Hastings, the final central duck is at Wellington Square. Pop! displays such a fun design taking inspiration from that yellow rubber duck bath toy enjoying a relaxing bubble bath with its owner, both with cucumber eye masks.

Hastings Castle and West Hill

The most direct route to the next duck was to go up and over Castle Hill. It is a steep but short route up and for me it was impossible to pass the castle and not go in.  There isn’t a huge amount of the castle left so you only need half an hour to go round it all; an hour if you want to watch the 20-minute film all about the castle’s history. It is the first castle that William the Conqueror built after the Norman conquest of 1066. Hastings Castle has a fascinating history, which I’ve explored further in this post.

If you decide not to go in to the castle, make sure you walk up onto the Ladies Parlour (the neighbouring piece of land) which has equally as good a view looking over Hastings Old Town as the castle does.

By the access to the Ladies Parlour from West Hill, is where Captain Duck sits. Painted to look like a pirate smuggler, albeit a friendly looking one, he celebrates the colourful smuggling history that belongs to Hastings.

You can visit the nearby St Clements Caves which is open to the public as the ‘Smugglers Adventure’. If I’d have had more time, I would have done this as I love going into caves.

Check out Hastings Castle here – everything you need to know about England’s very first motte & bailey castle!

Hastings Old Town

Dropping down into Hastings Old Town via Exmouth Place, finally I encountered the street scenes I had expected to see in such a place as Hastings. Narrow roads lined with a mish mash of attractive architecture and much older buildings.

St Clements Church was open to pop my head into, where there is some stunning stained glass.

Across the road from the church, there is some fabulous street art, overlooking the gardens where the Old Swan Inn used to be.

Opposite the High Street entrance to these gardens there is also an amazing smugglers themed mural on the end of a building which I just love!

Before seeing any more ducks, I stopped for a bite to eat at Fagin’s, on the corner of High Street and George Street. I can highly recommend their charcuterie platter and garlic sourdough.

Green Man Duck is situated a short way along George Street at Butlers Gap. He sits under tree cover which seems very apt as he is decorated with large Acanthus and Oak leaves.

Butlers Gap has been a public open space since 1995. It was then regenerated in 2010 to improve its appearance. There are several sculptures here celebrating two long standing local activities – fishermen spending time at sea and the Hastings International Chess Congress (the oldest in the world). Chess pieces interact with sea creatures. I’m a huge fan!

George Street also seems to be the place to visit in Hastings for independent quirky shops and nice bars and restaurants. I was walking down here in the evening so unfortunately the shops weren’t open but I saw all sorts of weird and wonderful things in shop window displays. I would love to return during the day some time.

The two ducks situated furthest out to the east in Hastings along Rock-a-Nore Road, The Bathers and From Hastings With Love, introduced the area of Hastings where the famous (and slightly strange) tall black huts are located: something I had seen in photos but knew nothing about.

With plenty of information panels along Rock-a-Nore Road, I soon learned all about these buildings known as net shops, which fishermen used to store fishing gear in. At the time when they were built, dry storage for nets was important as they were made from materials that would rot if left outside. They are so tall and narrow because space was at a premium in the early Victorian era when the sea came much closer to the cliffs.

Just past the net shops you’ll also find the Fishermen’s Museum and the Shipwreck Museum. There are several boats and interesting maritime items on display outside the Fishermen’s Museum with accompanying information boards that are visible outside of museum opening times. This is definitely handy for getting a feel of the place and its history, no matter what time of day you visit.

The boats, net shops and sea cliffs are depicted brilliantly on From Hastings With Love and she is perfectly located in that exact environment too, sandwiched between the net shops and the Hastings Contemporary art gallery, looking at the East Cliff.

As it was getting late in the day, I caught the last duck in Old Hastings as I walked back to my hotel in St Leonards along the seafront. Peking Duck draws its influence from Chinese arts and culture. There is a double happiness character on his chest, with goldfish on one wing to symbolise harmony and cranes on the other to symbolise notability and longevity. The artist hoped he would bring good luck and prosperity to the trail.

On the walk back I passed the three fabulous adventure golf courses that I had spotted looking down from the Ladies Parlour. Doing all three of these courses would make a really cool day out! Who else goes nuts for crazy golf?

Check out the Junkyard Golf experience in Manchester – one of the coolest crazy golf courses I’ve done!

I also saw the impressive Norman longboat sculpture rising out of the pebble beach. This dates from 2016 when it was erected to mark the 950^th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

The Alexandra Park Ducks

I found the last 3 ducks in Hastings the following day after making a trip inland to Battle to visit the abbey and battleground, something you must do when visiting the area.

I parked my car on the main road by Alexandra Park greenhouse and walked the short distance to the miniature railway where Puck had taken up roost. The enchanting design of fairies and forest creatures feels right at home in the woodland setting of the park.

I moved my car to the town end of Lower Park Road to search out Doubleduck and enjoyed a lovely walk through this end of Alexandra Park. Doubleduck became one of my favourite ducks as I adore the two breeds he is illustrating, a Mandarin and a Carolina, both absolutely stunning drakes.

On the lake at the bottom of Alexandra Park there is a fascinating stainless-steel sculpture of interlocking female figures forming a semi-circular arch in the centre of the lake. Created by Rick Kirby in 2005 it is known as a Continuum sculpture as the lake completes the circle of figures in its reflection.

Love seeing weird and wonderful sculptures when you visit places? Check out the humungous Dream Sculpture in Merseyside and Antony Gormley’s Iron Men on Crosby Beach…

The last duck is situated on the other side of the railway line from the park in The Yard on Waterworks Road. I used the subway path off the end of Lower Park Road to pass under the train line which leads onto Waterworks Road.

Hastings Flag vs the Seamonster portrays an alternative Battle of Hastings between the iconic pirate ship from the official Hastings flag and the monsters that live below the waves and it is all told in glorious colourful cartoon style.

Follow That Duck Sculpture Trail to Bexhill

10 of the 30 Follow That Duck sculpture trail ducks settled in Bexhill, just a little way west of St Leonards. I only saw 9 of them however as one of them was away for repair at the time. Most of the ducks are along the sea front, with two of them in Egerton Park. According the app, I have noticed that the Egerton Park ducks have now been relocated to the sea front.

I stopped the car near to each of the first 3 ducks on the way into Bexhill. First up was Cyber Duck at Glyne Gap Beach celebrating all things steampunk.

Next stop was at Bexhill Angling Club to see Under the Sea and lastly Flying Start which was sitting pretty opposite The Sackville Bistro, which I managed to get a table at for dinner. The food here is excellent by the way.

For the remaining 6 sculptures, I parked up on the sea front parade near the Bexhill Clock Tower. These ducks are all very close together.

As you can see, I ended up seeing many of the Bexhill ducks at dusk, however this worked perfectly as a couple of them were painted with glow in the dark paint. Banana Duck looked particularly fantastic in the dark!

It turned out to be a great time of day to visit, so I highly recommend wandering along the promenade in Bexhill centre as it’s getting dark.

Tea and Quackers, in front of the Bexhill clock was right up my street with its portrayal of outdoor picnics and afternoon tea.

Ducking and Diving is a joyous celebration of the sea, picturing lots of the wildlife that lives in or visits the coast of Hastings including jellyfish, anemone and basking sharks.

I completed the Follow That Duck sculpture trail with Duck a L’orange, a meal I’d always order if it’s on a menu. This guy however is just a collage of juicy orange segments and looks great perched in front of the Colonnade.

Get in Touch!

So, have you been duck hunting this summer yet, and if so, do you have a fave?

And will you always remember what you were doing on the hottest day of 2022?

I have to say, if my accommodation hadn’t been booked and paid for, I probably would have postponed my trip as I struggle to function in such heat, let alone walk 15-20k step days around a town, and a hilly one at that…

However, looking back I’m so glad I went despite the crazy heat, as Covid finally got me just after I returned home from Hastings, so I wouldn’t have been able to get there going forward. It hit me hard, so I was also delayed in writing this post. Unfortunately, there isn’t long left to get out on the Follow That Duck sculpture trail. It ends on the 4^th September, but if you manage it, drop me a line in the comments below and let me know how your duck hunting experience has gone. I’d love to hear from you.

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Further Reading…

For any sculpture trail fanatics out there, you may like to check out these previous trails I’ve written about:

The Big Hoot owls in Ipswich  /  A Dog’s Trail Snoopys in South Wales  /  Derby Rams sculpture trail  /  the Burton Swans  /  Elmers Big Parade in Ipswich  /  Walking With the Snowman sculpture trails  /  Worcester Stands Tall giraffes  /  Let’s Go Quackers ducks in Ironbridge  /  the Hoodwinked robins in Nottingham

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