Rye (England)

Rye is a town in East Sussex that in medieval times was one of the Cinque Ports responsible for England's maritime defence. It stood at the head of a bay, which silted up, leaving the town two miles from the sea. This meant that later industry and development passed it by, so its attractive old town centre has been preserved. In 2021 Rye had a population of 4975.

Get in

 * "Before the Roman came to Rye or out to Dover strode, the rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road...."
 * - GK Chesterton

By train
Trains run hourly from Ashford International, taking 20 min. They continue west from Rye to Winchelsea, Hastings, Bexhill, Pevensey Bay and Eastbourne. Ashford has fast trains from London St Pancras but Eurostar no longer stops there. Change at Eastbourne for Brighton.

is in town centre. It has a ticket office and machines, a waiting room but no toilets. There is step-free access but the two platforms are separated. The station building is by Platform 2; if you can't use the footbridge (no lift) it's a quarter-mile via a staff-assisted crossing to Platform 1.

By bus
Stagecoach Bus 101 runs hourly from Hastings, taking 50 min via Ore, Fairlight and Winchelsea.

Bus 102 runs hourly from Dover, taking 2 hr 20 min via Folkestone, Hythe, Dymchurch, New Romney, Lydd and Camber.

The main bus stop is at the railway station.

Get around
Rye itself is best explored on foot. Use the bus (as above) for Camber Sands or Winchelsea. Bus 313 runs to Northiam every two hours, for Great Dixter House and Gardens.

Rye Hire rent bicycles.

Taxi operators are Rye Taxi Services (+44 7774 633046), Mike's (+44 7496 965050), Village Taxi (+44 7479 012485), Taxiwise (+44 7707 737017) and All7 (+44 7775 377777).

See

 * Town centre is picturesque, with steep cobbled streets lined with timber-framed houses. The Church of St Mary (Episcopal) is 12th century and you can climb the bell tower.
 * Castle Museum is the display area at 3 East St. This is free (donations welcome) and only open Apr-Oct: Sa Su 10:30AM-4:30PM.
 * was built in 1329 and is the only survivor of the town's medieval gates. It can be passed by light traffic, max width 4.1 m.
 * Camber Sands are two miles southeast past the golf course.
 * is just a rickety old shed on the shingle beach towards Winchelsea, but one with a tale to tell. Mary Stanford was the Rye Lifeboat, which put out in a gale at daybreak on 15 Nov 1928 to assist the Alice, a freighter from Riga involved in a collision. Five minutes after she launched came word that the crew of Alice had already been rescued so recall flares were fired, but the lifeboat crew can't have seen them. At 10:30 the lifeboat was seen to capsize, and all 17 crew were lost. The lifeboat was not self-righting as such a boat would have been too heavy to drag and launch on this shore.
 * is a smaller version of Rye and was likewise a Cinque Port. The village was washed away by the sea in 1287 and rebuilt on its present site. Court Hall Museum is open May-Oct. In the churchyard of St Thomas find the grave of entertainer Spike Milligan (1918-2002) with his epitaph Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite, Irish for "I told you I was ill."
 * Camber Sands are two miles southeast past the golf course.
 * is just a rickety old shed on the shingle beach towards Winchelsea, but one with a tale to tell. Mary Stanford was the Rye Lifeboat, which put out in a gale at daybreak on 15 Nov 1928 to assist the Alice, a freighter from Riga involved in a collision. Five minutes after she launched came word that the crew of Alice had already been rescued so recall flares were fired, but the lifeboat crew can't have seen them. At 10:30 the lifeboat was seen to capsize, and all 17 crew were lost. The lifeboat was not self-righting as such a boat would have been too heavy to drag and launch on this shore.
 * is a smaller version of Rye and was likewise a Cinque Port. The village was washed away by the sea in 1287 and rebuilt on its present site. Court Hall Museum is open May-Oct. In the churchyard of St Thomas find the grave of entertainer Spike Milligan (1918-2002) with his epitaph Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite, Irish for "I told you I was ill."
 * is a smaller version of Rye and was likewise a Cinque Port. The village was washed away by the sea in 1287 and rebuilt on its present site. Court Hall Museum is open May-Oct. In the churchyard of St Thomas find the grave of entertainer Spike Milligan (1918-2002) with his epitaph Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite, Irish for "I told you I was ill."

Do

 * Cinema: Kino Rye is on Lion St in a former church.
 * Rye Sports Centre is on The Grove north of the level crossing. It has a gym, fitness classes and pool.
 * Golf: Rye GC is a mile southeast towards Camber. The Old Course is 6284 yards, par 68. The Jubilee is 12-hole, creating two loops of nine, on land reclaimed from the receding sea.
 * 1066 Country Walk is a 31-mile trail from Pevensey via Herstmonceux, Battle and Winchelsea to Rye.
 * Rye Jazz & Blues Festival is late August.
 * Rye Arts Festival is held over two weeks in September.

Buy

 * Jempson's is the main store, next to the station. It's open M-Sa 6PM-10PM.
 * There's a string of commercial art galleries along High St.
 * Rye Market is held in Regent Square by the station on Thursday 9AM-3PM.

Eat

 * Marino's is a fish and chips takeaway at 37 The Mint, open daily noon-9PM.
 * The Fig on High St serves excellent meals and has rooms.

Drink




Further out

 * Hare and Hounds on A268 is a B&B and campsite, tel +44 1797 230483. It's no longer a pub.
 * Camber has lots of self-catering cottages.

Connect
As of May 2022, Rye has 4G from all UK carriers. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Hythe east is another Cinque Port but has lost its medieval centre. Come here for the safari park and the New Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Miniature Railway.
 * Hastings the next town west is rather rundown. The Battle of Hastings was fought at nearby Battle.