And is it ever ancient. Everywhere you look is one building older than the next. We didn't realize it when we booked, but scheduled in Rye the Saturday we arrived was an air show and 40's festival. It was spritzing rain here and there, but by 4 pm the skies had cleared enough for the brilliant display of the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows. Earlier that day they'd flown over Buckingham Palace for the finale of the Queen's Birthday Parade - we actually saw them last year too! (See my Trooping of the Color blog from last June.) We also had the treat before the jets flew of seeing the fabulous swing dance troop, the Lindy Hoppers, who perform wonderful Savoy-style classics with names such as "Shim Sham", "the Shag", and of course, the Jitterbug. What fun to watch! Earlier they'd had displays of WWII-era military and other vehicles; unfortunately they all disappeared while we were inside eating lunch and I didn't get any photos.
After the air display, and with the thought in mind that we have not been to the seaside at all in England, I really wanted to get to the beach overlooking the English Channel. We were told that from Rye Harbor there was a walkway to the sea. The nice lady at the Tourist Information office gave us the bus schedule to get to and from Rye Harbor from Rye, but also said we could walk if we wanted. When we saw the sign that said "Rye Harbor 1&1/2 miles" and since by now the sun was shining we thought a good ole stretch of the legs sounded fine. NOT. The first half mile or so of the narrow road didn't have sidewalks, so we had to scoot to the shoulder whenever a car came by. The rest of the walk - which seemed at least 3 miles - was, in a word, ugly. No scenery to speak of; instead we passed storage facilities, factories, and a water treatment plant. I did my best to convince Chris that once we reached our destination, waiting for us surely would be a picturesque harbor well worth the effort. He never did believe me and good thing, as what awaited us was nothing worth even taking a picture of. We did find the walkway to the beach and started to walk it, but quickly realized that making it all the way to the beach would mean missing the last bus back to Rye and we just couldn't justify making the walk back. So a seaside scene still waits for us somewhere along the coast of England.
We did make it back to Rye by bus, then walked the town a bit more and had "a cuppa" at a nice little tea shop before heading back to the hotel. Have I yet mentioned the hotel? Quite a place, the Mermaid Inn of Rye. Thought to be built in about 1156 (then rebuilt in 1420, following the burning of the town by the French in the late 1300's), much of the authentic details and decor from that era remain. During the 18th century, the Inn was a well known harbinger of smugglers who caroused and smoked their pipes and did unspeakable deeds, to be sure. In 1982, Elizabeth, the Queen Mother stayed at the Mermaid upon her installment as Warden of the Cinque Ports (of which Rye was a member.) Alas, the room we stayed in was, I'm sure, far from any of the grandeur the Queen Mother probably experienced. It really didn't seem to have been updated since the original plumbing and electricity were installed - and who knows when that was. The bathroom and bedspread both looked to be circa 1970 - not a year known for it's forward thinking interior designs. We did eat at the very lovely and atmospheric restaurant for dinner, but again, disappointingly, the service was very stuffy and the food, tho presented beautifully, was only mediocre.
All was not lost, tho' because the pub was pretty awesome. From the hops hanging from the ceiling, to the fireplace that took up an entire wall, you could almost imagine the Highwaymen over the years who must surely have come knocking, knocking, knocking up to that old inn door. Now is a good time to mention another tidbit about the Mermaid Inn and its history of harboring smugglers. One of the most famous was a man named Christopher Syn, who was immortalized in the classic Wonderful World of Disney series, "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh", which any baby boomer worth his or her salt will remember. Click here! The town of Rye sits in the wetland area of Wallend Marsh, part of the bigger Romney Marsh.
Sunday started with a nice breakfast at the hotel (same stuffy service, tho') then a walk around in a bit of rain to do some shopping and visit the Rye Castle Museum and Ypres Tower, originally built as a fortress in 1249. To be honest, exhibits at both of these places (to which you can buy an inexpensive joint ticket) are somewhat amateurish at best, with displays of folding particle board (like you might see at a school science fair) and facts typed on paper, laminated, and taped on the wall in some cases. It all just felt a bit sad in a way, which was underscored when we inquired about purchasing some pottery, for which Rye is known, and were told that most of the potters have gone out of business and their goods hard to come by. We definitely got the sense that the tourism industry is Rye's bread and butter, and that the community - like many others - is dealing with underfunding in some important areas.
So despite a few glitches, I would completely recommend a day or overnight trip to Rye. We enjoyed ourselves, and could almost smell the salty air... sigh.
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