Visit to Rye

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High Speed Train
Mark found that the High Speed Train has been running between St Pancras and Ramsgate, and it stops at Ashford International. On 13 May, we took the High Speed Train from St Pancras to Ashford International. I took the High Speed Train when travelling to Chilham with my cousin last year. I explained to Mark that the cars of the High Speed Train were manufactured at Hitachi Factory in Japan, and he found it very comfortable and efficient. We transferred to the normal south-eastern service at Ashford International. It took 1 hour and 15 minutes by train from London to Rye.

The Top O’ The Hill Hotel
I had printed the map for the hotel of The Top O’ The Hill from the internet. As we came out from the Station Approach, we turned left, followed Cinque Street, Pope Walk, Love Lane, and Deadman’s Lane. The Deadman’s Lane was surrounded by dense wood and it was very dark and silent. Nevertheless, there were a number of cars coming through. I found a little uphill footpath, and we followed it. It led us to one of the residential streets off the main road. Identified with the post code of the hotel, the map gave us a vague direction and made us a little confused with the actual location of the hotel. Mark phoned the hotel. As the name suggested, our hotel was located at the top of the hilly road. We were offered one of the terraced apartments at the back of the Car Park. Our flat and room number was 5. Red, purple, and white (decorated) roses were decorated on the frame of the mirror, a bouquet of the same coloured roses was displayed in the bed, and a couple of Mills & Boons books were placed on the table beside the bed.

Strolling through Rye
While drinking a cup of tea, we realised that following the Rye Hill on the A268 Road was the easiest way to access to the town and station. Going down Rye Hill, it led us to Landgate, Hilders Cliff. We both remembered the art galleries, pottery shops, stationery shops, confectionaries, bakeries, tearoom and hotels, etc, all of which has been unchanged since 2005. We walked on High Street, popped in the shops and reached Rye Heritage Centre/Tourist Information near Quay. We picked up some useful information with maps. We continued strolling through Rye, and walked on the cobbled hilly street with timber framed houses, i.e. Mermaid Street. Many tourists were rambling through and taking photographs of the charming buildings and picturesque corners. The cobbled street led us to Lamb House where Henry James and B.F Benson once lived. We carried on walking and reached St Mary Church and Ypres Tower. We overlooked the immense pasture from the Gun Garden. Afterwards, we walked down the stops, crossed over the road, and followed the footpath along the river and allotments. There was a line of fishing boats stopped on the bank of the river. We rested a bit at the park near the Quay in the late afternoon.

Top O’ The Hill Pub
The staff at Top O’ The Hill ran the pub restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinners, and Sunday roast lunches. We decided to have dinner at the pub on 13 May. Like many pub restaurants, they served authentic British food and some international food, e.g. Thai Curry, Lasagne. There was a miscellany of objects, e.g. porcelain, old sewing machine, lamps, copper saucepans displayed on the mantelpieces, recesses, and windowsills, and it created an authentic environment. I had Lasagne with salad and chips, Mark ate chicken with vegetables and new potatoes. We were both pleased with the meals and decided to have dinner again there while we were in Rye.

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