Rye Day Trip Guide
Rye has everything I want in a day trip: a walkable town that’s easy to get to by train, plenty of great cafes and shops, and quaint, charming streets that are a refreshing change from London. This storybook village was such a lovely place to explore for the day. Here is everything I got up to during my visit!
Getting there: The train takes about 1 hour and 15 mins from London. I left from St. Pancras and there was a quick change at Ashford International.
Mermaid Street
This iconic, postcard-worthy street feels like it’s straight out of a fairytale. Wander along the cobblestones and take in the picturesque, historic houses.
This was the first place I went when I arrived and I walked back multiple times throughout the day to try to get pictures without people walking through!
Whitehouse Cafe
I stopped for lunch here and could not recommend it enough! The cafe has really lovely, elegant interiors and the food was delicious. There’s also a bakery/coffee shop if you just want to stop for a takeaway while you wander.
St. Mary’s Church Tower
Ever since I toured Bath Abbey, I’ve been on the lookout for other churches that allow visitors to climb to the rooftop to take in the views. I was very excited that St. Mary’s invites visitors to enjoy the panoramic views of Rye from their rooftop. It cost £5 and was a self-guided walk to the top of the church.
The views are absolutely spectacular, however I would not recommend this to anyone who is not great with heights or small spaces. You have to walk through small stone passageways and climb ladders to reach the top.
Independent Shops
Rye has some amazing shopping with a variety of independent shops along the High Street. I particularly loved Les Animaux, Duck and Dog, Through Your Wardrobe, and The Green House.
Other Cafes
Rye is home to the Knoops hot chocolate cafe, so I had to stop into the original shop. I picked up their white chocolate matcha in collaboration with Jenki.
I also stopped at Cornish Bakery, which is a lovely cafe chain across the south of England. I had the BEST strawberry lemonade I’ve ever had here!
Lovely wanders through Rye
The true highlight of this visit was simply wandering around, seeing all the charming corners of Rye. The architecture is so beautiful and there were so many gorgeous flowers throughout the town.
Rye is the perfect town to walk around picking out which house you’d most like to live in. Mine is this pink one :)
Some things I didn’t get to on this visit:
Winchelsea Beach: There is a 15 minute bus journey to get to a nearby beach, but it was quite blustery on the day I visited so I opted to stay in the town. The bus only runs on the hour so keep timing in mind if you’re planning to get the train back to London.
Ypres Tower: Because I had just done the church tower, I didn’t pay to enter the castle. However, it’s still interesting to walk around the grounds and there’s a pub through the gardens.
