Simon the Pieman

Rye


Many local cream-tea cognoscenti assert this traditional tearoom, Rye’s oldest, does the best scone-cream-jam combo this side of Romney Marsh. Further foes of tooth and waistline tempt from the shop’s window, though in the winter you may be lured in by the roaring real fire.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Rye attractions

1. Church of St Mary the Virgin

0.03 MILES

Rye’s welcoming, community hub of a church is a hotchpotch of medieval and later styles. Its turret clock is the oldest in England (1561) still working…

2. Lamb House

0.07 MILES

This Georgian town house is a favourite stomping ground for local apparitions, but its most famous resident was American writer Henry James, who lived…

3. Ypres Tower

0.09 MILES

Just off Church Sq stands the sandcastle-esque Ypres Tower (pronounced ‘wipers’). You can scramble through the 13th-century building to learn about its…

4. Mermaid Street

0.12 MILES

Most start their exploration of Rye on famous Mermaid St, a short walk from the Rye Heritage Centre. It bristles with 15th-century timber-framed houses…

5. Chapel Down Vinery

6.47 MILES

Located 2.5 miles south of Tenterden on the B2082, this award-winning vineyard produces some of Kent’s best wine and bubbly. Tours should be booked well…

6. Shipwreck Museum

8.9 MILES

An old-school repository of junk salvaged from various vessels that have sunk in the Channel, plus sections on fossils and diving.

7. Fishermen’s Museum

8.91 MILES

Shoals of barnacled exhibits swim around the huge Enterprise fishing boat at this Stade museum, housed in a former fishermens’ church. Next door you can…

8. Stade

8.95 MILES

The seafront area known as the Stade (below East Hill) is home to distinctive black clapboard structures known as Net Shops. These were built to store…