Rye, East Sussex Wednesday 3rd - Friday 5th June 2015

Rye, East Sussex

We were due to spend the weekend in Kent and with the weather forecast looking good, Dave suggested we make a trip down to Rye in East Sussex for a couple of days first. Never one to turn down a few days away, the hotel was soon booked and we were on our way down the A1, M25 and M20. We have learnt that we can't always stay off the motorways in England, especially around the South East. Sometimes you just have to get on with the journey. Still, it gave Dave a few opportunities to blip the throttle in tunnels (child!) and it was a pleasure to drive across the Queen Elizabeth Bridge (Dartford bridge) even though the new on line toll charging system seems to be faulty but I won't go on about it here. The car was running well and we were soon driving through the pretty Kent countryside until we crossed the border into East Sussex and arrived in Rye, in just under three hours and 145 miles from home. In true Dave and Lesley road trip style, the first thing we did was pull into the nearest park, unload our food and chairs and have lunch. From where we sat we could see our hotel immediately above us up the cliff but it proved to be difficult to actually reach it what with the cliffs, diversions and one way system. It's times like these that you wish you had an inconspicuous car- especially when it's the third time you've gone down the High Street in five minutes. On the plus side we managed to drive along every one of Rye's pretty cobbled streets and we knew the town well before we'd even checked in!

Our hotel, The Rye Lodge Hotel was very expensive and Dave was a little disappointed with it, having expected it to be grander and more luxurious  than it was. It was advertised in the Daily Mail with great emphasis on its champagne bar and leisure facilities but to be honest the bar was no more than a fridge with champagne in it and the Venetian pool whilst attractively laid out in a renaissance style was pretty small. However it transpired that all hotels in Rye are very expensive so while it cost us a lot more than we would normally pay, the price was in line with the locality. It had an ideal position perched on top of East Cliff overlooking the Estuary and Romney Marshes. It was originally a girl's school, built in the late 19th century in the gardens of the old monastery. Our room was furnished in Edwardian style (?) with great attention to detail. We had all the little extras that make a stay more comfortable including china cups and tea pot as well as towelling robes and so on. The staff were delightful and accommodating and last but not least the full English breakfast was delicious. The ambiance and layout of the breakfast room was a throwback to bygone times. We enjoyed our stay there and made full use of the balcony to sit and relax in the late afternoon sun. We liked Rye too. It is largely a tourist town filled mostly with silver haired people, so for once, Dave's imaginary "I am the Oldest" T shirt would have been out of place. It is a lovely little town and although we are not shoppers and so didn't patronise the little shops ourselves, it was lovely to see all those independently owned stores with not a Costa Coffee nor a Tesco Express anywhere in sight.

Dungeness Old Lighthouse

With a beautiful day expected, Thursday we were back in Kent for a day trip on the RH and DR (Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway). Before the train left we just had time to climb the 169 steps up the Old Dungeness Lighthouse to see the view over the Channel (we could just about make out Dover's white cliffs but it was just a little too hazy to see France), the vast Dungeness Nuclear Power Station and the fabulous panorama of Romney Marshes, not forgetting the now all to common wind farm. There is something about Dungeness that fascinates. It must be so bleak and remote in the winter and yet there were an assortment of small wooden houses, some of which were no more than sheds really. They are obviously occupied by people who neither want nor need to live in mainstream society and it is good to know that it is still possible to successfully live an alternative lifestyle in this country.

Number 10 Dr Syn at New Romney

Our affection for steam railways has now extended to include the 13 mile long RD and DR. (Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway). It is only a 15" gauge railway and was built in 1920s as a rich man's plaything (millionaire racing driver Captain J Howey) but it proved to be a huge tourist draw right from the start as well as a vital part of the Second World War effort, when it was used to transport supplies in a miniature armoured train. We started our journey on a diesel and as we pulled out of Dungeness station, we were aware of the diverse and beautiful landscape that this little country of ours has to offer. We started in a remote shingled area awash with salt loving wild flowers and were soon in the green and pleasant farmland so typical of England with the hills rising in the distance. After alighting to look at the excellent model railway museum in Romney we then joined a train pulled by the black number 10 Dr Syn steam locomotive, returning on the green number 7 Typhoon. I love the smell of coal smoke and steam. It's not a nostalgia thing as there were very few steam trains left in operation during my childhood and I have no memory of them. In between our journeys we took a pleasant stroll along the promenade overlooking the pebble beach in Hythe, stopping for our picnic lunch on this glorious day, the first time I've worn shorts for a whole day this year. Now this did make me feel nostalgic as all trips to the seaside do! I can't get enough of it, a symptom of living in the most landlocked part of the country I imagine and having fond memories of childhood holidays which in the "good old days" were restricted to one week a year if you were lucky.

The car decided to conk out on us on our way to the hotel. Luckily it was only a blown fuse and it seems to be a problem related to the aerial or radio so we didn't use that again during the trip! Something you don't see around Bedford much are layby produce sellers. Strawberries and Kent Cherries, they just had to be done.

Our evening meals weren't startling, just a pub meal at the Old Bell and the inevitable  Fish and Chips from Kettle o fish, neither the best nor the worst we've ever tasted. We pub crawled to Ypres Castle Inn- nice garden but not great lager choices for Dave, The Hope Anchor which was entertaining, listening to the locals gossip  but our favourite place was a nice inn in Mint Street, The Standard- a recently renovated 15th century pub, run by young staff which attracts locals and visitors alike.There were fewer senior travellers here so Dave's T shirt was out again. Dave experimented with some new lagers including Estraminet and I drank Orchard Pig's Reveller Cider and fortunately only one small glass of The Hog Father Cider which turned out to be 7% proof!

                                                  Fisherman's Net Shops, Hastings

Friday, we were changing hotels so took the scenic route via Hastings and having never been there before we took the opportunity to park the car and walk, as usual with the top down and suitcases still visible. ( We managed to get 32000 miles around the USA without getting them stolen, how far will get around the UK? Watch this space). Unique to Hastings are odd looking Fisherman's Net Shops, tall black wooden huts  which used to be used for drying nets. The rest of the town is a fairly typical seaside resort, a mixture of beautiful Georgian terraces and unsightly amusement arcades. Funny the things you come across.

 It was the start of the World Adventure Golf  Masters (mini golf to you and me). We witnessed players from all over the world practising for the big tournament. Who knew? The pier is currently undergoing refurbishment (hurrah- I love piers) Suddenly the sky got extremely dark and we were a mile away from our car. Oops. We didn't make it back before the rain started but luckily a good Samaritan had pulled the tarpaulin in the car up and over our belongings. The rain didn't last long but we were treated to quite a light show over the sea and just as we left, I was nearly blinded by a flash of light at the top of the cliff above us, immediately followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Luckily it was all short lived. Apparently not far away there had been hailstones big enough to damage cars and some pretty extreme weather so once again our guardian angel was looking after us.

A visit to Hastings would not be complete without a visit to the site of the most famous battle and  date in English history. The battle of Hastings, 1066 took place where the town of Battle is now. To find the site where King Harold was killed we had to enter the English Heritage site for the Abbey and battlefield. William the Conqueror founded Battle Abbey out of gratitude for his victory and as a monument to the thousands who died there. Sadly it is mostly ruins now due to the actions of the wonderful Henry VIII when he ordered the destruction of the monasteries a few centuries later. The town is another pretty little tourist town and well worth a visit.  

                                                     Site of the Battle of Hastings 1066

The final leg to our hotel near Maidstone went along the winding B1096, a good choice, for we finally got to see a number of Oast Houses and a few hop crops for which Kent is famous. Settled in for the evening, our batteries were recharged ready for the weekend ahead.