Rye has some super food shops dotted around the streets but perhaps the most unusual one is River’s confectionary shop. It’s many years since I’ve seen a sweet shop of this kind with all manner of sweets being sold by the weighed unit rather than…Read More

Rye has some super food shops dotted around the streets but perhaps the most unusual one is River’s confectionary shop. It’s many years since I’ve seen a sweet shop of this kind with all manner of sweets being sold by the weighed unit rather than pre-packed. It really took me back to my childhood when a 2-ounce pack of sherbet and a liquorice stick would have kept be going all afternoon and a few half-penny chews were a requirement to be part of any “gang”. This shop was full of customers so it’s good to see that traditional confectionary still sells.

If you’re wanting to “eat on the hoof” then try one of the delicatessens or bakeries on the main road. The Rye deli is stacked with home cooked foods and they’ll happy make up a picnic for you or sell a single portion of your preferred morsel. Equally the bakery will pack bread rolls with a variety of fillings to suit both your taste and your wallet.

Hot pies to eat ”on the hoof” can be purchased from the butcher’s on the high street or a few steps further, on the corner of East Street is an organic food shop priding itself on 100% natural products. However, almost all their “too-go” food was in the form of pre-packed sandwiches. Not too impressive, in my book, as I like to think it’s been prepared personally for me.

There is certainly no shortage of places to eat in Rye and our only difficulty was choosing as place that would serve a simple snack meal. There are fish and chip shops a plenty and although I couldn’t recommend any I reckon Rye is close enough to the sea to ensure that the fish is of top quality.

There are pubs a plenty offering bar snacks and decent local ales and I would have fancied dropping into “The Bell” or “The Ship Inn” if we hadn’t been eating out later that day.

So we walked past the pubs and larger restaurants and finally settled on “The Mermaid Corner Tea Rooms” a really tiny café at the bottom of Mermaid Street. They have limited seats but everything is freshly prepared and we managed to get a table for four on the small cobbled area outside. Service was almost painfully slow, so if you’re in a bit of a rush I’d avoid this place, but we weren’t in a hurry and were ready for a rest from our sight-seeing.

The mobile ice cream cart is well worth tracking down. This old-fashioned service consists of one man pushing a heavily insulated cart, filled with delicious ices, around the streets of Rye. We were rewarded for seeing him by purchasing fresh ice cream from him. My “double scoop” cone exploded with flavours and acted as a super desert after our snack lunch at “The Mermaid Cafe”.   Close

I reckon Rye must have a reputation as one of the South Coast’s antique centres as there seemed to be a multitude of antique shops, bric-a-brac stores and reclamation yards. The majority of the bric-a-brac shops seem to be clustered around the Strand Quay and…Read More

I reckon Rye must have a reputation as one of the South Coast’s antique centres as there seemed to be a multitude of antique shops, bric-a-brac stores and reclamation yards. The majority of the bric-a-brac shops seem to be clustered around the Strand Quay and Wish Street and we were diving in and out of these with great excitement. It wasn’t that we were particularly looking for anything but we have never tired of checking out these treasure troves of shops.

Many of the shops seemed to specialise in an era and now it seems perfectly acceptable to refer to anything manufactured in the '40s and '50s as antique with the '60s assuming a great importance in the arena of memorabilia and collectables. Certainly a couple of the quayside shops were carrying pottery, kitchen utensils, and furniture that I grew up with. Shame we hadn’t stored it away as it’s commanding really high prices down in the south-east of England.

The shops near to Strand Quay are a browser’s dream with nooks and crannies, boxes crammed with someone’s past treasures, and just the plain quirky (that is items that you’d never have a use for and it’s hard to see how you’d properly display them in your own home). If you’re looking for something in particular I’m sure you’ll find it here. You’d have to search a bit or take the easier way out and ask the shop’s proprietor if they have. If they don’t have it I’m sure they’ll know someone who does.

But antique shops can be found elsewhere in town and some of these look more classy. I guess it’s because they’re not grouped together and they deal with the upper end of their chosen specialism. There were glass and silver specialists and fine furniture dealers, but both of these also had a fair selection of other goods. The difference being that here they were tastefully presented in china cabinets or as place settings on tables. Once again the prices seemed a wee bit higher than what we expect from our hometown of Nottingham, but they are prepared to haggle. I think the dealers must have had a fairly lean time because they were very quick to accept customer’s opening bid for goods. A fact that we latched onto before putting a bid in for a silver rimmed vinegar / oil glass bottle. Silly offer quickly accepted by the dealer – so we were happy that he assessed the mood of the proprietor before making an offer.

You don’t need to be hunting for anything to be enticed into a purchase, as our experience shows, as looking at the contents of antique shops can just be plain interesting. There’s a wealth of quality goods and memorabilia to be picked over and it’s also a good way of assessing the value of your own goods and shackles. Happy hunting!   Close

Rye, England, one of the 'Cinque Ports' is still one of my favorite places to visit in that country (visited there in 92, 94, 96, 97, and 99). Perhaps it is because I am 25% Brit (four of my 16 gr gr grandparents came…Read More

Rye, England, one of the 'Cinque Ports' is still one of my favorite places to visit in that country (visited there in 92, 94, 96, 97, and 99). Perhaps it is because I am 25% Brit (four of my 16 gr gr grandparents came from England as teenagers), perhaps it is because my immigrant ancestors lived in the area, or perhaps it is because the area around Rye is the epitome of quaint.

Rye is a walled city, and the principal entry to the old part of the city is through a city gate in that wall. The High Street is lined with shops, and we always find one or more pieces of porcelain to add to our collection in Grahams.

One of the original 'Cinque Ports' Rye received special tax breaks in exchange for provisioning the King's ships (or something like that). Later it became a center for smuggling. Then its harbor silted up, leaving the town high and dry.

The author of the 'Mapp and Lucia' stories (serialized on PBS some years back) was the mayor of Rye in the thirties, and used it as the fictional town in which his stories were set.

The medieval Ypres tower houses a small museum. One can climb (for a fee) to the top of the bell tower in the Parish Church, which boasts a decoration given by the city of Rye, New York.

Because it is a resort area, many local B&B's require a two night stay minimum.

Rye is some 60 or so miles SE of London, and an easy drive (or train ride). Don't fail to take a side trip to nearby Battle (site of the Battle of Hastings), and Bodiam Castle is one of the loveliest Castles in all of England. Both are less than twwenty miles from Rye.

In a Public House called the White Hart, at Cripps Corner (on the way to Battle) I had the best Bread Pudding I have ever eaten.

One of my favorite book stores is the Martello. If it's still there stop in and browse. There's nothing quite like it. Martello Bookshop 26 High Street Rye East Sussex TN31 7JJ Phone: 01797 222242 …Read More

One of my favorite book stores is the Martello. If it's still there stop in and browse. There's nothing quite like it.

Martello Bookshop
26 High Street
Rye
East Sussex TN31 7JJ
Phone: 01797 222242