The Mermaid Inn, Rye (Pt. 1), East Sussex

I have a reason for pushing this post to the front of the pile

During our recent couple of nights away after our house church weekend, we spent the day in Rye and met a delightful couple from the U.S.A.

They liked the idea of being on my blog so that they could show the photos to friends back home

Rye is a quaint medieval town and a delight to walk around. I will be sharing it with you in future posts

For this post we are going to be concentrating on The Mermaid Inn

Note it was re-built in 1420

Having walked around we decided to have lunch in the inn

Not the restaurant, but the Smugglers Snug almost under the fireplace

This door in the corner leads to what was a secret passage

Alan ordering and note the Hops hanging from  the ceiling

We are now right inside the fireplace and the gaping hole half way up was a priests hiding place

I am just showing pictures randomly as I wandered round waiting for our order

The entrance hall with picture gallery of famous people over the years

The inner courtyard

The Mermaid is a hotel too and here we see one of the staircases

See the ancient clock on the left

Before we arrived we had decided to order fish and chips for lunch.

The greatest crispy batter and succulent Haddock, caught today

accompanied with a pot of Mushy Peas dressed with herbs, a very delicious Caper Sauce and half a Lemon tied up in muslin with a pretty bow

The special paper that lines the basket takes one back to childhood when fish and chips were served in the fish and chip shops wrapped in newspaper (a greaseproof paper around the food)

Now this is Bruce & Becky Milne from Wisconsin with whom we shared a pleasant hour or so

Hi! Bruce and Becky - nice to see you again!

The infinity mirror in the ladies room

The restaurant now closed till evening

Photographs of some of the famous people who have stayed here 

Now the Queen Mother who would not have stayed here because of security did make a visit and other members of the Royal Family

The Silver cabinet

Hope you enjoyed your visit. The fish and chips were delicious, the chips so crisp on the outside and soft on the inside

Hosting a conference at church this weekend so will be away from computer for a few days.

http://www.christianspectrum.org.uk/

for anyone interested