Old Hastonian here. We lived about a mile north of the Old Town, with easy access to the East Hill, and its lift, Then it was a water balance lift. They filled a tank under the car with water. The extra weight took the loft down, bringing the car with the empty tank up. Simple and easy. Sometime later they replaced it with an electric motor. The West Hill lift holds special memories for me - on the grassy slopes above the lift, with a view over the lights of the harbour and the old town, I lost my virginity - well I didn't lose it - I willingly threw it away. 1962 We returned to Hastings recently, the first time for many years. The modern town is rather sad, but the Old Town is as lively and vibrant as ever - probably more so - and I was pleased to see that all the pubs I drank in are still there (Real ale in The Anchor, 1/6d a pint - 7 and a half p, that disgusting Watney's Red Barrel, half a crown a pint in The Pump House, opposite. Sunday evening folk nights at the Lord Nelson)

Castle, caves and the lift! That was my childhood in the sixties. Happy days!

The interplay between this man and woman is lovely, cute and joyous! Great video too.

Oh wow 😍. Loved this one, Paul & Rebecca! Quirky railways, secret passageways, obscure world records, AND climbing a hill, all in the same video? Can't wait for the next episode in the series! (You're planning a series, right? Right??) Incidentally, on behalf of my adopted homeland: France might have a thing or two to say about that "Oldest Surviving Underground Funicular" claim. They've got one in Lyon that dates to 1878. Someone should probably make a video about it...

I’m from Vancouver Canada. My wife lived in Hastings when I met her. I stayed 7weeks and have been on both lifts and walked the same path (down). Like you said Hastings has a lot of history. The Smuggers Caves are a must see.

Lovely video - I hope the fish and chips at the Blue Dolphin is as excellent as ever...

There's another lovely one at Saltburn by the sea , remember riding it lots when I was a small child

Gotta love a funicular! My first (and so far, only) experience of this type of travel, was the water-powered Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway.

Nice video. I go to Hastings for Jack in the Green most years, and always include a ride on the West Hill Lift. Sometimes the East Hill too.

Oh wow, this was so cool! We had a family friend who had a holiday house near Hastings which my family stayed in for 1-2 weeks a year when I was a kid. I live in Australia now, so it was really lovely seeing Hastings again, it's just like I remember it! I remember going up and down the eastern funicular, but had no idea the western one existed!

Didn't know these amazing gems existed! You always learn something with Paul and Rebecca's channel!

I went on this in Hastings, I liked the place and the big black fishing net dryer buildings. We have a funicular here, built 1879, Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec.

Sorry we missed you, in our home town. I'm often to be found in a pub somewhere between the two lifts! So much more history to Hastings than just 1066 & all that.

Thanks for this Paul and Rebecca.

Always great fun done so many times love Hastings great for railways

Excellent. Despite living all my life in the SE, and having been to Hastings many times, I did not know it had a funicular, never mind two!

Wow that was fantastic. Really loved that. Look forward to your next one. Please stay safe and take care

i do so like there adventures ..

Was last in Hastings the weekend before the first lock down. The East cliff funicular was meant to be open that weekend, but wasn't . The walk to the top though was worth it. The West cliff funicular is easy to miss ,especially in the summer when it can be quite packed in the Old Town.

This just pipped by three months the Funicular dos Guindais in Porto which runs in a tunnel for about half it journey. It has lovely views over the the quay of the river Douro and the magnificent River bridge that now carries the metro.

Hastings is an amazing Place one of my favourite places on Earth. You two really must walk along the Coastal Path at Hastings to Fairlight it is stunning!!

Wow been on East Hill Funicular but never West Hill had no idea it was underground! Amazing stuff!

Fabulous! And that's a yes, please for quirky laneways.

Never knew it existed!.... that because I never been to Hastings which is a place I always want to go, something different but a lovely video.

I have some amazing memories of going on both the Hastings Funiculars aswell as the one at Folkestone, which, was actually a water balanced funicular from around 1885. I believe the Folkestone one is currently being restored although I haven't been there for a while so not entirely sure.

So two new series, Paul and Rebecca? Alleys and funiculars? I can't wait!

O love everything you guys do, and coming from North Devon and having spent a few years as a Bristol copper, I know the Lynmouth Lynton beauty, been on it many times, of course it's powered by the water in the tanks, simple weight transfer, but also have seen a lot of the inside of the Clifton railway, which during the war was an incredible BBC broadcasting studio. How crazy is that. I'm sure the group that run it and are slowly preserving it would give you a tour for the publicity as they are so desperate for funds, any exposure helps. Of interest, my dad, a WW2 tank driver, worked as a bulldozer driver at Lynmouth after the floods 15th and 16th August 1952,, and I worked at Boscastle re-building after the floods 16th August 2004, 52 years later.

Back in the day, I used to walk down from school past the West Hill railway. In those days it was steam driven and used to chuff on working up and down. The school (Priory Road) playing fields were on the East Hill, and the wind and rain from the South West made games periods awful. On a cross country run through Ecclesbourne Glen (just past East Hill), I nearly stepped on an adder. So if the weather didn't get you, the wildlife tried to!

Heavens! In the 1970s I lived for a year or two at St Leonards, just along the coast from Hastings proper, and never even knew there was a West Lift. The Eastern one is easily visible from the sea front, but the West one must be less obvious. Come to think of it, I didn't often go to Hastings Old Town, which is very touristy.

Great little video .. I knew the funicular railways existed but didn’t realise the left one ran in a tunnel!

Very interesting. Have been on the one (now closed I think) in Bournemouth and the little train one in Shipley near Saltair. Wonderful devices. And yes - love the short format of this one. Well Done. Cheers

Another great video! I was in Heidelberg recently and they have two funiculars, one of which has an underground section.

Great video guys there are three funicular railway lifts on the seafront cliffs down here in Bournemouth. All are running except the East Cliff lift which hasn’t operated since a cliff collapse in 2016👍😎

Awesome video cobber grew up in st Leonard's/ Hastings fond memories of the alley and what i got up 2 .all best cobber from AUSTRALIA Nick

i went to Hastings when i was holidaying in Kent in 2018 and ive been on that train its brilliant as far as i know Scarborough still has a cliff railway keep up the awesome work

Nice video, I've been on that railway back in 2005. :)

We live near Eastbourne and didn’t know of the underground vernacular railway, we will have to take a look , thank you.

I love hastings! I'm glad the West Hill Railway's up and running again! There are prettier ways up to the top than that alley!

I remember using such a mode of tranport (we called it the cliff lift back then in the 1970's ) as a child in Scarborough. I believe this is still operational. Happy days.

It is an amazing town that could be far more so. The lower promenade is interesting, the walls are cast with thousands of recycled glass bottles in them , not a recent thing. It's lit up at night with a coloured light show. Also hidden under the prom is a disused victoriana swimming baths later converted to an also disused roller rink

Regarding Hastings history, the town also lays claim to being 'The Birthplace Of Television" , as John Logie Baird , the television pioneer conducted his early tv experiments in the town when moving here in the early 1920's .

That second one I've never seen before, never even been on a Funicular :(

hello paul and rebecca, cool video again , thank you for taking us along with you , well done guys 😊

There is a funicular in Istanbul that runs entirely within a tunnel and is called something like the Tumel.The one in Haifa, Israel is supposed to be in a tunnel too but, sadly, I've never been on it.

Hi Paul & Rebecca. Hope you two are doing well. That was so cool to see one of my UK home towns again. Stay safe and take care. Cheers.

This is brilliant 😊

Well, you've made it to Hastings, this was probably one of my late father's favourite places and of course over the years, we travelled on both cliff railways and the miniature one. Hope whilst you're down there you explore the trackbed of the Rye and Camber Tramway (some track sections still exist in the Rye Harbour area) and over to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, where there are also abandoned railways in the Dungeness and New Romney areas.

Quirky alleys video, can't wait!

Quirky alleyways? Yes please!

If you ever decide to make a trip the the USA, please consider visiting Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. It has lots of railroad history, more bridges than you can shake a stick at, three major rivers, an old French and then British fort, and TWO functional funiculars with AMAZING VIEWS!

“Ambush Alleyways” it’s got a ring to it😂 Enjoyed the video as ever, thanks.

What a great channel of interesting places to share.

As you say, that was loads of fun...icular! I look forward to your new series "Great Abandoned Funicular Railways". And seriously, as someone who is as obsessed with funiculars as I am regular railways (we've got Angels Flight in LA), I thank you and hope we'll see more of these cliff-y trips.

Aberystwyth funicular railway Is my local one great video as always

Used to work as a driver of the Saltburn Cliff Lift and had to walk the tracks daily to check before operating. The emergency brake tests were always spectacular. Fill top tank, load with concrete blocks to simulate full/overload, release brake and override the then recently fitted electronic safety system, let it fly! Pull red lever and watch the wooden beams drop and wedge the cars to simulate a catastrophic failure.

Great video guys, the East Cliff lift was shut for quite a while due to a problem with the cables, hopefully it will be open soon.

I had to look up finicular. 🙂 Very nice little short Video.

Yes, quirky alleys, please!

Great Video both - short and sweet 😀 If you go back to ride the East Cliff I would recommend Maggies' for Fish & Chips. On the first floor above the Fish Market (You can just see it in the clip of the minature railway) You get a fantastic view of the channel, whilst feeding the inner man, or woman. Any viewers tripping to Hastings should also make time to visit all the old "collectables" shops in the Old Town.

Very interesting video I’ve never been to Hastings looks very good place to visit thank you from NZ

Yes, quirky alleyways, please.

Thanks guys didn't know Hastings had the railways very interesting

Brilliant absolutely brilliant. We live and learn. Thoroughly enjoyed this. Beautiful day and scenery. Felt I was on the funicular. Thank you.

Hi Paul and Rebecca, I do enjoy your videos on railways past and present. However, I must correct you regarding the west cliff funicular, the F1 funicular in Lyon (France) which is almost entirely underground was opened on 8 august 1878 and is 783 metres in length. Lyon once boasted 4 funiculars, today there are but two, one has been converted to a road tunnel in the early 70's and the other now forms part of line C of the metro - interestingly the only rack and pinnion underground in the world. Well worth the visit.

I was going to suggest Clifton, but you already know about it!

It was short and it was fun! Sure hope you'll do a serie of the quircky and also more of Hastings.

Can't wait for the alley vlog - or ginnels and snicket's up't north!

What a Fun* video :D Quirky Alleyways? Heck, why not! *...icular

Think I travelled on the open air one as a child with my parents nd sster. Well overdue for another visit.

Hi Paul and Rebecca, yes Hastings and the surrounding area is historically packed! Cinque port, birthplace of TV thanks to the Scot Logie Baird, centre for smugglers and many of the houses/ shops/ churches have secret cubby holes etc and “Caves Road” houses have caves, the fishing end “Rockanore” and those cliff railways sorry you missed the East Lift as when you are on it you can tell it is the steepest in Europe! I live here now and take all our visitors up it, around the fisherman’s museum and show them Logie’s House and blue plaque, if they stay longer Battle for the big thing in 1066 and Bexhill the birthplace of British motor racing. Keep up the good work Andy.

Is Folkestone on your list but if you want a really nice trip try going to Paris in August and go to the funicular at Mont Marte

Thank you so much - Hastings is close to my original home (and my Mum still lives down that way), so I'm very familiar with the two cliff railways - and they're both an absolute joy to ride on! Lovely to get the opportunity to see you experience one of them, I hope you get the chance soon to try the East Cliff Railway as well.

What a funtastic video!

I use to work on both the cliff railways in Hastings - 1999 - 2004

Welcome to Hastings!

you learn something new everyday, I didn`t know Hastings had two of these railways, many thanks guys. 👍👍

Hello Paul and Rebecca., as always enjoyed your video. I had a parallel experience this week. While not a funicular railway a cable based tram located in Albuquerque, NM USA, a name I am only able to spell with he help of spell check. We were visiting a part of our country I'd never been to the desert Southwest and several friends told us oh you must ride the tram, a guide we had up in Colorado also said you must ride the tram our friends who live in the city said - well you get the idea. The tram climbs from the city of Albuquerque to the top of the ridge of the Sandia Mountains. The city is at 5,300 feet and the mountain peak is at 10,300 so nearly a mile higher and two miles above sealevel. Like the finiculars it hold records,, till 1966 it was the longest in the world, its now the third longest, it is still the longest in the Americas. However like the East Cliff when we arrived it was closed it had closed three days earlier for its annual maintenance and regrettably will not reopen till four days after we'd left. On the plus side we now have an excuse to return to the area as we have many things left undone. The ride is 15 minutes long so a bit longer than most of the coastal finiculars we have ridden in the UK. Regards from the states.

Marvellous. Ive been to Hastings a few times and never realised it had TWO Furnicular railways - its just bragging!

You should pop over to France and do the "Le Tréport" (Haute Normandie) one, the area at the top of it was once a hotel and the hotel and area around it was used as an allied WW1 military hospital. It's just down on the coast from the town of Eu, where my great grandmother came from, there are also some abandoned railways around there as well.

Hastings looks like a lovely place to visit when I get to the UK some day! Great video!

i remember going on the Broadstairs funicular when i was a kid :) family took a train down from medway to broadstairs for the day. we went down to the beach via the funicular, and back up again at the end of the day \o/ the trackbed in the tunnel was like large stairs and was covered in soft toys XD. am sad it is closed down now :( should be restored and preserved D:

I've lived in Sussex all my life and been to Hastings numerous times but never knew the second underground cliff railway existed until now. Will have to try and find it next time I visit. Great short video.

Great video. Thanks.

That was really different. Can't wait to try it for myself! Another great Sunday evening video....Thank you

I loved that Rebecca and Paul!

Tewkesbury is full of quirky alleyways!

Now you need to do the Lynton to Lynmouth one, and compare to Bridgnorth. Lots of fun! I've not used the hatsings ones since I was quite young, it being the nearest seaside to where I lived at the time. Now I need to go back:-)

Quirky Alleyways - Qallayways Sounds like another good subject to make videos on.

Lovely to see you visit our home town. There are many gems here. You should look up the crowhurst line and 17 arches over the combe valley. You can still walk a lot of it as we do often. Cheers Colin

Went on it when was on holiday a few years ago at the campsite near the east lift. Caves worth going in, if you can at the top. Not much left of the castle as half of it fell into the sea in a storm 200 years ago.

im down for quirky alleyways videos !

Great Stuff Paul & Rebecca. I've been to Hastings albeit many years ago and I didn't know about these cliff railways. The Lynton / Lynmouth water powered one is very good. One of ours here in Bournemouth (East cliff - electric powered - 100 years old) suffered from a cliff fall 4 - 5 years ago. I do hope they repair it one day. I do think that all of us fans of old railways, old industry, old canals, etc, all like all of the same stuff so don't worry if this is slightly different content this week.

I have traveled on both (the underground on first in 1973/4) a few years ago when it was cold I went up the steps next to the East Cliff one, two at a time, as it was a cold day I didn't get too hot, but had to sit down at the top for 5 minutes to get my breath back.

I used to regularly ride the Folkestone funicular Leas cliff lifts. I am unaware if they are still running today, though it was always a joy.

You would love the funicular in Wellington, New Zealand. Rises 120m in it's 600m journey and features: 3 Tunnels 3 Bridges 3 intermediate stations 2 Termini Runs on a SINGLE track with a short double track passing bay in the middle. Cars run on one double flanged wheel and one flat wheel (obviously on opposite sides) so are controlled by the 2 continuous rails rather than using conventional points. It runs from the heart of the city to the University and the suburb of Kelburn at the top. It is a well used commuter route more than a tourist attraction. Running time is about 3.5 minutes on a 10 minute schedule. Cost is NZ9.00 return but multi trip tickets work out about half price. Oh and it's 'only' 120 years old, though now with new modern (40yo) rolling stock and winding gear.

Good stuff as ever…love Hastings but haven’t been in years, and I never knew about that subterranean funicular. Just one point of pedantry Paul…you quoted the incline as 1 in 29. I’m guessing it is actually 29%, which would make a bit steeper than 1 in 4.

Nice one! I love seeing the Funiculars! So cool that its partially underground, and the amount of bricks is incredible! I rode in one in Quebec City, Canada before.

I've been to Hastings a few times and knew of the (currently closed) funicular but was not even aware of the underground one. Methinks I must take another trip there. Thanks for another informative video folks.

My mates fr Hastings! Had no idea about these two Fun places though 😂

Lovely!