Is there anywhere cuter in Sussex than beautiful Rye?
The point of living a frugal lifestyle to me, being very careful with our money most of the time, is to be able to afford the odd treat. We would love to travel more than time or money allows, but we do get out and about as often as we can.
Today is my birthday and Mr S treated me to a night in a beautiful hotel near Rye to celebrate. It’s not an area we know at all but it was recommended by my brother and his wife and we found an excellent deal online. Rye certainly seems very quaint and picturesque – full of cobble stones (hard to walk on!), pretty little shops and antiques warehouses.
We had the most delicious meal at Webbe’s Fish Café in Rye. It wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t crazily expensive either and the food was excellent. I rarely eat out – I resent paying big bucks for mediocre food, and prefer to eat at home, but today our meal was perfect.
The hotel has a spa, so we came back about six to have a swim, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna – well, we thought we would get our money’s worth! You often get excellent value with a mid week break and our luxury hotel cost about the same as a cheap B&B.
We recommend a visit to Rye if you are in the area. You can find more information here. Tomorrow we are going to look at Camber Sands and Hastings – a whistle stop tour! Let’s hope the sun shines 😀.
Elizabeth says
Happy Birthday. It sounds like an excellent time!
Curly Top says
Happy birthday to you. It looks lovely in Rye – not a place I’ve been to. Enjoy your time away.
Jacquie says
Happy Birthday Jane. Glad you got good weather. Sounds like the perfect birthday treat.
Sue Hatherell says
Happy Birthday to you. I live on the south coast only 10 miles or so from Rye. There are lots of lovely places round about Rye. Webbes serves delicious food doesn’t it? If you get time Tenterden is lovely to take a stroll round, a small town about 7 miles from Rye and when in Hastings focus your visit on The Old Town, it’s delightful. Hope you have a wonderful time. Regards Sue H.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Thanks!
ilona says
Happy Birthday. You make a lovely couple. Pity the south coast is so far away from me., I would like to visit Rye.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Ilona, you could! Maybe stop at a youth hostel along the way
Margaret Powling says
Happy Birthday! I love Rye and, as Sue says, visit Tenterden. It’s a long time since I was there (with husband) but it’s a lovely town with some nice shops. You can also get the steam train there to Bodiam Castle (or you could when we were there!)
Rye is, of course, Tilling, in the books of Mapp & Lucia by E F Benson. If you’ve not read them, they’re great fun (if you like that kind of humour, of course.) They were dramatized for TV in the 1980s (with Geraldine McEwan, Prunella Scales and Nigel Hawthorne) and those two series are available on DVD, and they were more recently dramatized with Anna Chancellor and Miranda Richardson, not as good in my opinion, but then, re-makes are always compared with the original, aren’t they?
We once stayed in a B&B on the Military Road out of Rye which was reputedly the setting for Lucia’s house in the books. If you get the DVDs, you will see that a lot of the outdoor action was shot in Rye.
You have certainly chosen a lovely area for your short break.
If you have the time, visit the little village of Appledore, not far away, and then there is a lovely walk on NT land by the Royal Military Canal. It might be a bit early for the May blossom to be out, but it’s truly lovely along there, believe me. (There is, of course, an Appledore in N. Devon and also one tiny village of this name near Exeter, too.)
Margaret P
Sam says
Short get aways and day trips can really take me away from the ordinary and almost as enjoyable as a multiday vacation. It sounds like a really nice birthday celebration.
Julia says
Happy birthday Jane! Glad you’re having a lovely time.
VickiEY says
What a lovely birthday treat! Many happy returns from Vicki
Eloise says
I’ve never been to Rye but it has been on my list of places to visit for a while. Have a lovely time there and a very Happy Birthday.