The weather today was not very good. It was overcast and really cold most of the day, and to make it even worse, it started drizzling at about 4pm and didn’t stop. I got the 9:45am train to Rye for 13.80 GBP (day return) because it was a lot faster than getting buses (and they also came a lot more often i.e. hourly).
Rye was just beautiful! There are still lots of cobblestone streets and the buildings in the old town have been preserved and really well-maintained (for the most part). There was quite a large area to explore (bigger than I expected, fortunately). Rye was once a smuggling and pirate town, from where it most likely got its wealth. It was also an antient town to the “cinque-ports” (of which Dover is one). These ports were the defence against the continent, being where the crossing is the narrowest. There’s some info at the wikipedia, if you’re interested.
I just headed into town to start exploring:
Of course, no town is complete without its castle. This one is called Ypres Tower, and has a view over the marshes and river in one direction and the pub in another:
After wandering around town for a while, I sat down at the Swan Cottage Tea Rooms to have a cuppa (Lapsang Souchong – yumm!) and a piece of cake (it was nearly all marzipan, which is why I wanted it). I was the only customer! It was only 11:50am, which might explain it, I suppose. And the weather was miserable, so the town wasn’t very full yet.
After my cuppa, I wandered around some more and doubled back to the church so I could have a look inside it (the first time there, a service was in progress). I discovered some more streets to photograph as well.
The old storehouses have been turned into the Heritage Centre, restaurants and pubs, and mainly antique shops:
More wandering around:
When I went back to the church, I saw this – pussycat on the left, inside the church, watching the pigeon on the right, outside the church:
More wandering:
I doubled back to the heritage centre area where I’d seen signs for a mussel and glass of wine for 8.95 GBP deal, which I fancied for a late lunch (2:30pm by this time). It was very nice too, except for the babies and children screaming in this restaurant. They did have a big sign saying ‘children welcome’ outside, but it was still unexpected to me.
After lunch I went looking for a specific view - I’d seen some pretty pictures of Rye on postcards, with the river and boats at the front and Rye rising up behind. I went down to the river first:
Then went back through town, looking for the old town wall:
I found this view of the old town, sort of similar to the pictures I’d seen:
I’ve decided that it was photoshop-ed because I did not see that view anywhere, and I went looking for it specifically! Ah well.
It was about time I left. It was raining too much to take pictures, and I’d seen everything on the map anyway. I avoided walking back through the cobblestoned streets, because I’d want to take more pictures if I did! So I went back to the station a different way – of course I still found things to photograph:
But that was it. Back on the train and back to Dover.
