Hi All!

I just spent a weekend in Rye, a small town in Sussex, England. It is a really beautiful place, with lots of little cobbled streets and Tudor-style buildings. The town has amazing history, with walls dating back to the 1300's and a historic castle/tower to guard against French invasion. American author Henry James also lived there for a time, and his house and garden can be visited.

I highly recommend it as a travel destination, and it can even be done as a day trip from London if you are pressed for time. I wrote about my trip and posted lots of photos on my blog if you would like to read more: http://www.aladyinlondon.com/2013/02...er-travel.html

Happy Travels!

An interesting choice but I think Stamford in Lincolnshire is finer.

Thanks very much for posting this and the very interesting photos. I think it is always good to get a new perspective.

We loved the weekend we spent in Rye last May - I would also highly recommend the area!

Hi ALadyinlondon

I enjoyed reading about your wintery visit to Rye which I have always heard is lovely. Did you take public transportation down from London? If so, please describe.

A huge fan of Henry James, I have read a great deal about his days at Lamb House in Rye, particularly in the accounts of his traveling companion the American novelist Edith Wharton. In the early 1900s Wharton would bring her touring car and chauffeur over from Paris (money was no object), pick up James, and together they would take a “motor flights” all over the countryside, visiting other friends and writers. James loved these jaunts.

I just checked the National Trust site which gives info about visiting Lamb House – closed most of the winter but open on Tuesdays and Saturdays in the summer months.

I will be in London at the end of June – who knows, I may attempt the journey. Again, thanks for giving us a glimpse of Rye…

We also share your enthusiasm for Rye, having stayed there in September about 10 years ago. On that trip we visited other charming villages and towns as well, including Lacock, Chideock, Old Bosham, Lyme Regis, Mousehole, Fowey, St. Ives, Bradford-on-Avon. Lyme Regis and St. Ives were the only places where we encountered other tourists. "Oh, to be in England...."

Stamford is pretty good, the good scholars of Oxford moved there whenever the Gleaming Spires had the plague so the buildings had to be up to snuff. In fact Oxford students still have to promise not to teach in Stamford. Very pleasant river, old buildings etc.

You can reach Rye on public transport - but there is a change:

You can look up routes on http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Lady: Thanks for the report. Reading it and seeing the pics piques my interest in visiting some of the smaller towns in England. As I've said before, "So many places, so little time."

Your mention of Henry James reminded me that I just read Martha Grimes' novel "Dust," which features one of her characters, Melrose Plant, staying in James' house for a time.

Jamikins, thank you for the link. Staying in London in late June for five days near Charring Cross. Another option is to do a day trip to Cambridge. Time will tell….

Move along. Nothing to see in Rye. Ugly town, mean people (and quite undiscovered!)

I loved Rye and also the tiny vintage tourist railway across the swamps to Dunchurch or Hythe.

http://www.rhdr.org.uk/pages/history.htmlor to Hythe.

That'd be <b>Dymchurch</b>, PQ.

York, Plymouth, Oakham, Cambridge - a few of my favourites

All of England looks the same. Yawn

I'm glad so many others share my good opinion of Rye!

I have been to the Henry James house, but not on this trip. The garden is really stunning in the spring and summer.

I have taken the train to Rye from London before, and it is pretty quick and easy even with the connection. I definitely recommend it!

How would Dobby know?
Barely set foot outside of his flat, let alone village, for the six months he was in the UK. A trip into Manchester and one to London notwithstanding.

I never went to Manchester. And I did go to more places than mentioned. Just shows what you know. Sorry I don't give every detail of my life to anons on the internet. -.-

We also share your enthusiasm for Rye. We have stayed at the Mermaid Inn twice. -- once last Summer, and once in 2011. We fell in love with Rye and now feel as though its impossible to visit England again without stopping for a couple nights there even if its out of our way. Did you notice the birds? Doves, seagulls, rooks, blackbirds seem to thrive in Rye and are all quite tame. We thought they added to the wonderful atmosphere of the cobbled old town.

That's great, ancestralvoices! I have always wondered what the rooms at the Mermaid Inn are like. The rest of the hotel is so pretty that I would imagine they are great.

I did notice the birds on this trip. The white doves were really stunning, and the seagulls were everywhere! I agree that they added a lot to the atmosphere.