Things to do in Rye and Camber Sands, East Sussex
A medieval hilltop town, marsh churches, steam trains, castles, gardens and Britain’s strangest headland, all within forty minutes of the cottage and the reason guests so often come back out of season.
Rye
A hilltop citadel of crooked timber, cobbles and chimney smoke that was once nearly an island. Give it a lazy half-day at the very least; it repays slow wandering far more than any checklist.
Mermaid Street & the Mermaid Inn
A steep cobbled lane of fifteenth-century houses. Halfway up is the Mermaid Inn, rebuilt in 1420 and once the haunt of the Hawkhurst smuggling gang. Duck in for a drink beside the giant inglenook even if you don’t eat.
Ypres Tower & St Mary’s
Rye Castle, the Ypres Tower, was built in 1249 to defend the port of Rye and has since been a fort, a home, a prison and a court hall. The Gun Garden beside it gives a free view over the harbour. Climb St Mary’s tower (narrow ladders) for a rooftop view that explains the whole landscape in one glance.
Landgate, the citadel & the shops
Enter as travellers did for six hundred years, through the fourteenth-century Landgate. Then antiques on the Strand, independent bookshops and galleries, and a street market every Thursday on Rope Walk.
The best things to do in Rye
Rye is a small hilltop town in East Sussex, one of the Cinque Ports, four miles from Camber Sands beach and about ten minutes from Beachside Cottage. It is small enough to explore on foot in a day, and its cobbled streets, independent shops and old inns make it one of the prettiest towns in the south east. If you visit Rye for the first time, these are the attractions in Rye we send every guest to, with opening times checked in October 2026. They are the best things to do in Rye whatever the weather.
- Mermaid Street, the prettiest street in Rye and one of the best known cobbled streets in England.
- Rye Castle Museum: the medieval Ypres Tower and the free museum on East Street.
- Rye Heritage Centre and the famous Rye town model.
- St Mary’s Church and its tower, with the best views in Rye.
- Lamb House, the National Trust home of Henry James and E.F. Benson.
- Rye Art Gallery and Rye Pottery, potting and painting in Sussex since 1793.
- Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre, a short drive from Rye.
- Camber Sands, the only dune beach in East Sussex, ten minutes away.
Rye Castle Museum and the Ypres Tower
The Rye Castle Museum has two sites. The Ypres Tower, in the Gun Garden past St Mary’s Church, was built in 1249 to defend the port of Rye against raids from across the Channel. Inside are displays on smuggling, the coast, policing and the old prison, including the cells where prisoners were held, and a balcony with views across Romney Marsh. It is open daily from 10.30am, until 5pm from April to October and until 3.30pm in winter; adult entry is about £4, and under 16s go free.
The second site, the East Street museum at 3 East Street just off the High Street, is a former bottling factory that tells the history of Rye, with an eighteenth-century fire engine among its treasures. Entry is free, and it opens at weekends from March to October when volunteers are available. See Rye Castle Museum for the latest times.
Rye Heritage Centre and the Rye town model
On Strand Quay, in the Old Sail Loft, Rye Heritage Centre is home to the Rye town model, which tells the story of Rye with sound and light. The Story of Rye show takes about twenty minutes and is the best introduction to the history of Rye before you explore it. There are also shows on Rye after dark and Rye in the Second World War, a free exhibition, a vintage penny arcade and guided walks of the medieval town. It is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am to 4.30pm. Rye Heritage Centre
Rye Art Gallery and Rye Pottery
Rye Art Gallery, entered from 107 High Street, has a permanent collection that includes work by Edward Burra, Paul Nash, John Piper and Graham Sutherland, alongside changing exhibitions and contemporary art, ceramics and jewellery for sale. It is open every day except Tuesday. Rye Art Gallery
Rye Pottery, in the Old Brewery on Wish Ward, has been making handmade, hand-painted pottery in Sussex since 1793 and is known for its English delftware and the Sussex Pig. You can see the makers and painters at work and buy pieces to take home. It is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm.
Free things to do in Rye
- Walk Mermaid Street, Watchbell Street and Church Square, the streets of Rye at their most beautiful.
- Take in the view over the harbour and the marsh from the Gun Garden beside the Ypres Tower.
- Visit the free exhibition at Rye Heritage Centre and the free East Street museum.
- Step inside St Mary’s Church at the top of the town.
- Walk the flat track at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, run by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, out to the river mouth.
- Walk from Rye to Camber, about three and a half miles beside the road and river, or catch the bus from Rye.
- Spend the afternoon on Camber Sands beach, free all year.
Activities in Rye and around
Beyond the museums there are plenty of activities in Rye and close to Rye. Visit Rye Harbour for the bird hides and the Discovery Centre, take a boat trip from the harbour, hire bikes for the ride to Camber, or join a guided walk to explore Rye with someone who knows its stories. A short drive from Rye takes you to Winchelsea, Bodiam Castle and the Kent and East Sussex Railway at Tenterden, and in the other direction to Camber Sands beach, where kitesurfing lessons run most of the year.
Shopping in Rye
Almost every shop in the centre of Rye is independent. Work up the High Street and its side streets for bookshops, galleries, homeware and gift shops, then drop down to Strand Quay for the antiques warehouses. Rye Pottery sells direct from its workshop on Wish Ward. The general market is on Rope Walk every Thursday, and the farmers’ market is on Strand Quay on Wednesdays.
What to do in Rye for a day
Arrive before 10.30am and start at Rye Heritage Centre for the town model. Climb up to the High Street, browse the shops and Rye Art Gallery, then have lunch on the Mint. In the afternoon walk up to St Mary’s and the Ypres Tower, wander down Mermaid Street, and finish with a drink at the Mermaid Inn or the Rye Waterworks micropub. If the tide is right, drive ten minutes to Camber Sands for the sunset.
How to get to Rye
- Rye by train
- Rye station is on the Marshlink line, about 25 minutes from Ashford International, which is 37 minutes from London St Pancras. The train to Rye drops you a short walk from the centre of Rye.
- By bus
- Stagecoach bus 102 runs from Rye to Camber in 15 to 20 minutes, roughly hourly.
- By car
- Park at Gibbet Marsh, which costs £2.85 for the whole day, or at Strand Quay, and walk up. The citadel streets are steep and cobbled.
- By bike
- The Rye to Camber cycle route is three flat miles on National Cycle Route 2. See our cycling guide.
Where to stay in Rye and Camber
To stay in Rye itself you will find inns and B&Bs in the town. For a self catering stay close to Rye with a beach on the doorstep, Beachside Cottage in Camber is ten minutes from the centre of Rye: two bedrooms, each with a super-king zip-and-link bed that splits into two singles, up to two dogs welcome, and a garage plus parking, so you can drive into Rye in the morning and walk to Camber Sands beach in the evening. See the cottage or check availability.
Events in Rye
Rye Bay Scallop Week fills the town’s restaurants with Rye Bay scallops in late winter, the Rye Arts Festival runs in September, Rye Bonfire Night lights up the town in November, and Christmas in Rye brings a makers’ market and Lamb House dressed for the season. See what’s on and our guide to Christmas in Rye.
Around Rye: places worth the detour
The places day-trippers drive straight past.
Camber Castle
Henry VIII’s artillery fort of 1539, stranded a mile inland when the sea retreated and now alone among grazing sheep. There is no road. You earn it on foot across the levels from Rye or Rye Harbour. Exterior circuit free; guided interior tours in season.
The walk →
Winchelsea
Often called England’s smallest town: a medieval grid laid out for Edward I, three surviving stone gates, and the great half-ruined church where Spike Milligan is buried. His headstone reads “I told you I was ill”, in Gaelic. Book a tour of the medieval wine cellars beneath the town if the dates line up.
Photo: Paul Farmer, CC BY-SA 2.0
Fairfield Church
St Thomas à Becket stands utterly alone in a sheep field, reached by its own causeway path. It looks like something from a dream and is a favourite with photographers at dawn and dusk. If it is locked, a sign directs you to where the key is kept.
Photo: dennis smith, CC BY-SA 2.0
Dungeness
Britain at its strangest and most beautiful: a vast shingle headland of fishermen’s shacks, two lighthouses (climb the Old Lighthouse) and the light film-makers dream about. Seek out Prospect Cottage, Derek Jarman’s black-and-yellow home with its driftwood garden. It is a private house, so admire from the path.
Photo: Adam Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway
One-third-scale steam locomotives that have run along this coast since 1927, a proper railway in miniature, not a fairground ride. Board at Dungeness and steam across the marsh; a joy at any age. rhdr.org.uk
Photo: Richard Vince, CC BY-SA 2.0
Castles, gardens & Ellen Terry
Bodiam Castle (National Trust) is the castle a child would draw, rising sheer from its moat, and pairs with the Kent & East Sussex steam railway. Great Dixter at Northiam is Christopher Lloyd’s world-famous garden. Smallhythe Place is Ellen Terry’s impossibly pretty half-timbered home in what was once a Tudor shipyard.
Photo: David M Clark, CC BY-SA 2.0
Hastings Old Town
A full classic seaside day about 35 minutes away: two Victorian funicular lifts, tall black net shops and a working fishing beach with the largest beach-launched fleet in Britain, the free Shipwreck Museum, Hastings Contemporary gallery, crazy golf, arcades and rock pooling at low tide. The Old Town chippies by the net huts are worth the trip in themselves. In October, the torchlit bonfire procession is one of the great nights of the Sussex year.
What’s on this season →
Eating and drinking
Rye Bay lands some of Britain’s best seafood, scallops in winter and sole and plaice all year, and the town’s food scene punches well above its size. Always book ahead for evenings.
The Owl & Harry’s at The Gallivant
The Owl is the village pub: unpretentious, dog-friendly, locally sourced, and exactly what you want after a windswept walk. Sunday roasts go fast; book through The Owl’s website or on 01797 225284. Harry’s, the restaurant at The Gallivant just across from the dunes, is our pick for a treat night: a serious kitchen built around local boats and farms, and an English-wine-heavy list. Book a table at Harry’s well ahead.
The Gallivant also runs yoga every morning from 8am to 9am, in its studio or on the beach, for all levels and from £14. Book a yoga class.
Fish, beams and brunch
Webbe’s at the Fish Café for Rye Bay fish done properly (book online); the Mermaid Inn for six centuries of beams and smuggler stories (book online); the Standard Inn, a restored fifteenth-century pub on the Mint with dogs welcome in the bar, which does not take bookings; The Fig for brunch, walk-in only, or dinner (book online); and Knoops, the made-to-order hot chocolate specialists who began in Rye.
The essentials
Several good chippies contest the crown around the Mint and Landgate. Eat them warm on Strand Quay. Rye does afternoon tea properly. For the cottage: the village store for beach-day basics, Jempson’s in Rye (larger store at Peasmarsh), Rye’s Thursday market, and the Wednesday farmers’ market on Strand Quay. For an evening out, The Grapevine Champagne & Jazz Bar in Rye has live music.
Four miles from all of this
Beachside Cottage puts Rye ten minutes up the road and the beach a short walk the other way. The best of both, with a garage and parking, and the 102 bus for car-free days.
Wish you were here?
You could be.
Sandy floors forgiven, sunsets encouraged, and seconds of everything. Check live availability and book your dates securely online.