The Ship Inn, Rye, East Sussex
A friend from Johannesburg came to London for business recently and stayed for the weekend, so we decided to take her to the countryside for a rural retreat. After pondering where to go, my wife suggested Rye, a beautiful town full of cobbled streets and half-timbered, skew-roofed houses. Quintessentially English, Rye is perched on a hill overlooking the Romney Marshes in East Sussex, not far from the medieval towns of Battle and Hastings – the latter where poor old Harold met an untimely death in 1066 (and where I nearly bought a t-shirt in a local souvenir shop that carried the slogan; “I Spy With My Little Eye Something Beginning With A!”). Just one and half hours from London, it’s the perfect place for a weekend getaway. There’s loads to see along the way – Bodiam Castle (a 14th century military structure complete with rounded corner turrets, battlements, the original portcullis and a full moat), Royal Tunbridge Wells, the aforementioned Battle and Hastings, the Church of St Thomas a Becket in Winchelsea and the not-to-be-missed Batemans, the home of Rudyard Kipling which lies just half a mile from the village of Burwash. So not a dull drive by any means. In the town of Rye itself you can climb up the belltower for stunning views of the surrounding countryside (and read humorous signs)
Rye Humour
or pop into any one of a number of antique shops to find some real bargains (I picked up a beautiful old wall clock that dates from around 1905 for 60 pounds) and then retire to a 15th century pub for a steak and guiness pie and a pint of local ale in front of a roaring fire. But the highlight of the weekend was staying at The Ship Inn, a lovely old 16th century B&B which consists of a large downstairs pub and 10 rooms upstairs, each differently appointed and made original with quirky touches like rubber ducks and frogs in the bathrooms, union jack cushions on the beds, funky artwork on the walls and various other bits of bric-a-brac that told you the owners were having fun when they furnished the place. On checking in we discovered that the owner is an ex-Krugersdorp chap called Theo Bekker, who, with his Croatian wife (they met in Israel – long story – don’t ask), have been running this charming place for about 18 months. Over a full English breakfast the next morning it struck me that you find successful South Africans all over the world and in some of the most unlikeliest places. And wherever they do turn up, they import with them that South African hospitality that no other nation can match. That ability to meet someone new one minute and invite them to your home for a braai the next; that generous spirit that flings open doors to spare rooms and picks up strangers from the airport. Just something that most South Africans do without even thinking or batting and eyelid but which is sorely lacking in a lot of other countries, including the UK. But that’s another blog for another time. For now, get yourself down to Rye and support Theo and The Ship Inn. Check out the website at http://theshipinnrye.co.uk/