What brings people back to Rye year after year?

13
5340

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.

So what makes Rye so special for them?

Jaz and Jonny Davey-Manning

Jaz explains: “We got married on July 20, 2018 and for a lovely wedding present our in-laws booked us a couple of nights with dinner at the Mermaid to start our honeymoon off. 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!

“We spent a day at Camber Sands, which is now definitely one of the favourite beaches I’ve been to in this country, and also spent a day in Hastings. I was so sad to leave Rye that my husband promised to bring me back every year for our anniversary, and we haven’t missed one yet. 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 2023. It was on this stay that we finally experienced some ghostly goings on at the Mermaid!

The Mermaid Inn

“Our first full day every year is always a mini pub crawl and walk around Rye which finishes with dinner at the Mermaid. Every year we always start off at the Cinque Ports pub: we love the warm feel to the place. The staff are so lovely that we can’t wait to pop our heads in to see them since the last year. We also like to spend a day whilst in the area to explore somewhere local we’ve not been before. 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.

“We love mooching in the antique shops (which sadly seem to be decreasing). We always go to get fresh shellfish from the fish shop by the river and walk around St Mary’s. I love to take new photographs every year. We also always have a look at the Rye market.

“Some years, if we haven’t been able to stay at the Mermaid for extra nights we go to the Hope Anchor which has lovely rooms. Ypres Castle is our go-to beer garden and we love to walk over to the Globe Inn – we love its quirkiness and again the seafood!

“Our main attraction however is our stay and dinner at the Mermaid, most definitely!
We can’t wait for our little one to become old enough to experience it herself and, we hope, carry on our tradition.”

Jonny Davey-Manning

Are you a return visitor like Jaz and Jonny? What brings you back to Rye year after year? Leave a comment below or email info@ryenews.org.uk.

Image Credits: Jaz and Jonny Davey-Manning .

Previous article10% hike in Rye council tax
Next articleThank you for your support

13 COMMENTS

  1. I lived in Rye throughout my childhood leaving for Yorkshire after I married. The house I grew up in became mine with the sad demise of the rest of my family. I come down to stay there whenever I can. It takes 3 trains and I bring my cat in a pram. I love Rye, I swim in the sea at Jury’s Gap and eat all the fresh seafood I can. My school friends are still there, it is my second home but is first in my heart ❤️

  2. Oh yes, me too!
    In 1974 with my parents we spent a day in Rye for the first time.
    They had made firm friends in Hastings thanks to the twintown exchange with Dordrecht in the Netherlands.
    Ever since, I have come to Rye at least once a year.
    It is a wonderful place which by now holds many fond memories.
    My 50th visit I celebrated with a couple of nights in the Mermaid, but usually I will book a cottage for a week.
    Lamb house with its beautiful garden,walks to the nature reserve and to Winchelsea, on the cliffs between Hastings and Fairlight. For me it is always something I look forward to.And I always feel a pang of regret leaving. But I comfort myself with a promiss to come back and a heavy case with some nice material from Merchants and Mills.
    This year I already booked my week again, and I hope to visit the Cobbles on my birthday
    Thank you Rye for the warm welcome I always feel, and thank you Rye news for keeping me up to date while at home in Holland.

  3. I first came to Rye 30 years ago to see the locations in Monica Edwards’ series of children’s books set in Rye Harbour and the surrounding area. I have been coming regularly ever since with family and friends. I always feel at home here and have had many happy times in and around Rye.

  4. In 1968 my husband and I made our first trip to England. We took a coach tour for ten days and at the end were desperate for a getaway by ourselves. Bert had read about the Mermaid Inn and thought it sounded perfect so we booked there, and he was right. We made biennial trips to England after that, visiting different parts every time, always ending up at the Mermaid. When he became ill our travels stopped for several years. After he died in 2015, I was uncertain about traveling alone, but needn’t have worried. The Mermaid staff greeted me with “Welcome Home” and I now have dear friends in the town. Four generations of my family have visited Rye and all have loved the beauty and friendliness of the place. I will continue to come annually for as long as I am able.

  5. Our first ever trip to Rye was in 2013 when my sister moved there and we have been visiting Rye every year since (except for the 2 years of COVID travel restrictions). We have a Rye of our own on the Mornington Peninsula ~ 62 miles south of Melbourne, Australia, but this seaside holiday town, although named after its older sister, Rye East Sussex, has a very different vibe with a very modern history. We return year after year to experience the quaint history of beautiful Rye with its many secrets which do not cease to fascinate us like the tunnels used by smugglers, Ypres Tower, Camber Castle and Landgate so it’s no wonder that this town is number one on our travel bucket list.

    • I’ve visited your Rye Tania, on a couple of many trips to Melbourne, visiting my then in-laws, who lived in South Yarra but had a house near Frankston. Great scenery and gardens, and the wineries were always worth a visit. Beautiful area.

  6. My wife and I discovered Rye quite by accident after hiring a car with plans to drive from Canterbury to LHR via Stonehenge. We stayed at the Hope Anchor and fell in love…with Rye. We returned the following year staying at Jeake’s House. The following year we determined to come for the Christmas Festival, taking a room above the Standard Inn’s pub and waving to the parade participants from our open window. In all we ha visited Rye for ten years before we met the landlord of the Rye Waterworks Micropub who amazed us with his hospitality. We were hooked. Next holiday season we will forget about the sidetrip to London. For us, Rye, pub landlord Dave, his staff, Sparks the dog, the patrons of the Waterworks, and the hardworking volunteers of the Christmas Festival are THE reason to travel from California. There is no place like Rye and its wonderful denizens.

  7. I don’t live in rye , but I try to come at least once a month. First place I go to is rye harbour I walk to the Mary stanford lifeboat house , go into the bird hides then to the discovery center for hot chocolate and cake. I love the open skies of the area and the juxtaposition of the wind farm and dungeness in the background. Back into rye and if the church tower is open I go up there and take in the amazing panoramic views. Ethel loves me is my favorite shop and I always go in and buy something. I love rye and the romney marsh. It will be my final destination as my ashes are going in the sea at rye harbour.

  8. I would like to ask can anyone remember the talking bench at rye harbour where you pressed a button and you could hear a history of the harbour ??

    • I remember. It was located outside the bird hide on the river/sea wall/path.
      It had recollections of events and history recorded by the local community

  9. A heartwarming story, and we all love a bit of romance! It’s wonderful when visitors truly appreciate our amazing towns.

  10. On the reverse side, I was brought up in Woburn Sands and Aspley Guise, a lovely part of England. I wasn’t around at the time, but Dick Turpin had a hideout down Weathercock Lane.

  11. Have been going to rye for over 50 years as a caravaner and now visit at least 10 times a year and have fell out of the micro pub many times,also bonfire night is a brilliant night was hoping to retire there

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here