Sunday 7 October 2012

Rye Smile

Sorry about the dreadful pun but Karen and I spent a superb weekend at Rye on the South coast. We didn't wish to travel too far from home; for various reasons we've been feeling rather tired lately and needing a little time just to ourselves to recharge the old batteries and put a smile back on our faces. We love this area as it always seems to delight us with its fabulous wildlife, fresh air, beautiful landcsapes and 'skyscapes'.


This hut is so photogenic situated on the shingle beach accompanied by Yellow-horned Poppies.

I find being beside the sea so inspiring.


The other great feature of this weekend was the amazing food and hospitality that we received. On Saturday evening we strolled around Rye enjoying the many old buildings (these cobbled streets must have many tales to tell).
We also dined in style at Rye's superb Webbe's Fish Restaurant. Karen kicked off with 'Tiger prawn, aubergine, courgette tempuraThai cucumber and chilli dip', whilst I tucked into  'Hastings potted crab and toasted soda bread'. For main course Karen chose 'Grilled Flounder with smoked bacon, pan fried potatoes and cider sauce'. I treated myself to the 'Steamed panache of fish ( plaice, salmon, prawn, mussels, bass, cod & grey mullet!) with baby vegetables and saffron sauce. I finished off with 'Pear and blackcurrant crumble with vanilla custard and ice cream' - phew, it was sumptuous. I promise we did lots of energetic walking the rest of the time!

We were completely 'spoilt' by Tony and Diane Hayes, the owners of Oakland's B&B. In our all too short stay they made us feel like true friends and took time to chat with us and put us at our ease. Their house is on the ridge overlooking Rye and just down the road from Hastings and Battle (the whole area is known as 1066 country). Our room had stunning, uninterrupted views to the sea and over all the surrounding, beautiful countryside.  They were also responsible for the fact that we did not need any lunch - their wonderful breakfasts seemed to last us right through to the evening (well, apart from a cup of tea and cake at around 4pm)! Our breakfast cosisted of:
Fresh fruit and fruit juce, croissant pastries, perfectly cooked porridge, followed by bacon, sausage, tomatoes, eggs, black pudding & mushrooms - all made with very high quality ingredients. Then (just to make certain), toased homemade bread with their own delicious jams and marmalade. They even made tea just how we like it best - a 50-50 blend of 'Earl Grey' and 'breakfast tea'. Well we do have a certain reputation to maintain here in England!

I have NEVER seen so many dragonflies before. It is their breeding-season and the lovely sunny weather had brought them  out... all at once.


A final view looking over to Camber Castle. Henry VIII should really have named it Winchelsea Castle and I don't think the locals have forgiven him yet. In ancient times the town of Winchelsea stood on a shingle bank, behind which was situated a large bay called the Camber, which made an ideal safe anchorage for ships. In the 13th century the shingle bank was washed away and Winchelsea was submerged. Winchelsea was rebuilt on higher ground farther to the west in 1288.
When Henry VIII enbarked upon a vast coastal defence program (undertaken to protect vulnerable or important places on the south coast) Camber Castle was built at the location of Old Winchelsea.
History lesson now over; I'm off to join weightwatchers!!!


 
 

26 comments:

  1. Looks like an amazing place to visit, what beautiful sights! Hope you both had a wonderfully relaxing visit!

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    1. It was just what we needed thanks Tammy.

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  2. When I admire the wide skies of your photographs I understand the luck of the English watercolorists!
    What a lovely place, seems to be in seventh heaven!Happy Days and beautiful places that you describe so well ,dear Jerry...you communicate to me the joy of being there!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed looking at it Rita. Yes the skies were fabulous - I'm afraid I don't have the genius of J M W Turner!

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  3. Your post reminds me of a holiday in Rye we had when my son was little! Rye is such a charming place and we visited lots of castles in the surroundings. Great memories! And reading your post you had a wonderful and delicious time as well!

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    1. Thanks Judy - we thought it was a lovely combination of charming but a 'real' place, i.e. not just 'chocolate box'.

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  4. A time for yourselves and recharge batteries, good for you. That hut is amazing, looks unreal it is so good, in fact I love all your photos.

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    1. Thanks Ann - yes that hut is just asking to be painted!

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  5. Hola Jerry. Me alegro mucho de que vuestras cortas vacaciones hayan sido tan bellas con agradables alimentos y paseos hermosos. Las fotos son muy buenas. Por aquí no se ven demasiadas libélulas. Un abrazo. Sonia.

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  6. Thank you Sonia, I think it must be an especially good year for dragonflies.

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  7. Jerry...I enjoyed the beautiful photography (though I have to admit, the one of the red roof house looks a bit odd), your mouth watering descriptions of the delicious food you ate made me hungry, it sounds like you had the perfect time off.

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    1. Jude, that shed has looked like that for as long as I can remember. It looks stragely ok when seen in the flesh/corragated iron!

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  8. I can see why you love this area!! The scenery is stunning!!

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    1. Yes Liz - can't wait to get down there again.

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  9. It looks and sounds like you had a wonderful time Jerry. I hope you both found it very restorative. The photos are lovely and the one with the hut definitely looks like a painting!

    I love reading what people have eaten when they dine out, it all sounded very special....if only I liked fish!!! Weight Watchers certainly came to mind after reading the very tasty breakfast menu ;-)

    That really was a terribly painful pun :-)

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    1. Glad you like my photos Jan. The breakfasts were rather crazy especially considering I normally just have cereal. I don't understand it - I always think my pus are really good, for some reason my daughter groans every time!

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  10. Bonitas fotos las que publicas, Jerry. Me parece muy interesante eso que dices de dedicar un poco de tiempo a nosotros mismos, recargar las viejas baterías y devolver la sonrisa a nuestros rostros. Creo que eso es el secreto de la vida.
    Ah, mi té preferido es el Earl Grey.
    Un abrazo para todos.

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    1. You are right Francesc, we need to look after ourselves otherwise we will be of little help to anyone else. You have good taste in tea, in fact I think we share a number of similar interests. I like the way blogging ignores international boundaries. Un abrazo.

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  11. So pleased you enjoyed your week end in what can only be described as a
    quintessentially English guest house in a lovely location.The hospitality and traditional English breakfast is very appealing.

    Too bad I live so far away, or I would love to take a break in Rye.After my next post I will however be taking a break nearer home.

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  12. What a gorgeous getaway. The sky and landscape are just beautiful. Your dinner sounds delicious and great capture of the dragonfly. Wonderful post and photos. Have a great day!

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    1. Thanks Eileeninmd yes the landscape there is so inspiring.

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  13. Rye happens to be close to where I live, just 30 mins away. In fact, my friend lives there and my husband works there often. Last year on our anniversary, we stayed in Rye at a very old hotel called The Mermaid Inn. Gorgeous place!

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  14. Rye happens to be close to where I live, just 30 mins away. In fact, my friend lives there and my husband works there often. Last year on our anniversary, we stayed in Rye at a very old hotel called The Mermaid Inn. Gorgeous place!

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    1. Wow, I'm instantly very envious that you live so near to Rye - it took us nearly 2 hours from home.

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  15. Jerry, that sounds like such a pleasant get-away, and I wouldn't apologize for a pun as good as that one! Your photos, as always, are superb; I love the big sky, and the waves rolling in, and the dragonfly doing push-ups.

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  16. Connie, a dragonfly doing push-ups is a wonderful explanation - I couldn't argue with that!

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