For locals, Rye is home but for visitors our town is equally special. Thousands and thousands come every year, with many making return visits again and again. The cobbled streets, the most famous of which is Mermaid Street, lined with half-timbered houses and a historic inn; the 12th-century church of St Mary dominating the skyline, complete with its clock and ancient bells; the many fine-dining restaurants, antique sellers, quirky pubs, unusual shops and the people who are so welcoming: all these make it a special place to visit.
For one couple, a visit to Rye is an annual event after falling in love with the town. Jaz and Jonny Davey-Manning from Woburn Sands came for their honeymoon eight years ago and have been visiting every year since. They have also been visiting Rye for years and love that we now carry on their tradition.
We instantly fell in love with the place! This will be our eighth year of returning; we even made it for a weekend during the pandemic and stayed for the day and night when I was seven months pregnant in It was on this stay that we finally experienced some ghostly goings on at the Mermaid!
Every year we always start off at the Cinque Ports pub: we love the warm feel to the place. We did a lovely walk to the reserve and harbour one year; Dungeness was another great experience one year and also Winchelsea. This year we may be going to one of the local vineyards.
I love to take new photographs every year. We also always have a look at the Rye market. Ypres Castle is our go-to beer garden and we love to walk over to the Globe Inn β we love its quirkiness and again the seafood!
