So Near and yet so, so Far

 My periodic work excursions to St Leonards/Hastings are now pretty well rehearsed and simple.

Train to St Leonards Warrior Square, 5 minute work to the place of work, do work.  If a colleague is available there I may have a chat or catch up or we may go to Heist for lunch and a small beer (usually lunchtime, so too much beer really doesn't work).

Yesterday, most of the colleagues weren't around so Best Beer Buddy said he'd come and join me at Heist.  As always the beer is lovely - the food looked great (we didn't eat though) and it's quite relaxed - if a pretty basic set up.  I learned here that Three Legs hope to open their Bexhill taproom in a couple of months.  We'll definitely be checking it out as soon as we can.

In the spirit of adventure we decided, after a couple, to stroll along to the nearest "Brewing Brothers" incarnation - at the Courtyard. It lies just the other side of Hastings Pier and so is about a 15minute walk along the seafront down the quirky "Bottle Alley".  It's a gentle and pleasant amble and soon we arrived at the Courtyard which is the external part of a huge skatepark which is one the site of the old Baths and then Ice Rink.

As well as Brewing Brothers there are 2 or 3 other outlets all doing combination of food and drink.

It's a really nice setting and although it was a tiny bit chilly (even though it's July) we were comfy and relaxed.There's both indoor and outdoor seating and some additional "backroom" space which wasn't the ambiance we wanted (perhaps in winter?)

There's a tiny open kitchen where pasta dishes are prepared and we had a ringside seat.

After a couple of glasses, we decided that eating there would be a great idea -  Spaghetti Aglio Olio for me - Tagliatelli with rocket pesto and sundried tomatoes for him.  Simple it might have been but all the better for it.

It's a truly lovely place and we'll definitely be back.  We had cause, once again, to rue the lack of quirky beer-led venues in Eastbourne.  It's clear that Hastings/St Leonards is now streets ahead.  We did vaguely consider Hastings as a potential place to live. Whilst I don't regret it, exactly, I do wonder what would have happened if we had...