Photos: Top five are scenes from Rye. Bottom three are from Hastings.
Today it was back on the road again. A few clouds still prevailed but the weather forecasted cool north winds with light cloud cover so we headed off to the seaside towns of Rye and Hastings. With cobbled streets and old timbered dwellings surrounded by colorful gardens, Rye is an artist’s dream. It is set on the side of a hill so all the streets in this town go either up or down. At the center of town, on the highest hill, stands the Church of St. Mary the Virgin which is more than 900 years old. The huge turret clock in the front tower dates back to 1563 and still keeps perfect time and the huge pendulum swings inside the church. Just beautiful. Rye has a castle also, but we decided to pass on it. I think we are castled out. We visited a few of the many quaint shops in this town and in one we came face to face with a duck who just had to come to America. It is adorable. All black with a brown beak and an English plaid ribbon around it’s neck. We haven’t given it a name as yet but we will before we introduce it to Duck.
From Rye we drove down the coast to Hastings. A direct contrast to Rye this is a fairly large Victorian town with lots of hustle and bustle. It’s claim to fame is the 1066 battle between William, duke of Normandy and King Harold of England which resulted in the Battle of Hastings. Harold suffered a devastating defeat and William became William the Conqueror.
We parked along the beachfront and walked into the old town which is at the base of a cliff. We had a nice lunch of Fish and Chips (we must remember we are in England) and strolled through some of the shops. From the town we wandered into the maritime area along the shore and visited the Old Fisherman’s Museum which was housed in an old church. At this museum we learned that in Hastings there is no harbor so all fishing boats must be launched from the beach by being pushed backwards into the water by a bull dozer and retrieved by attaching a cable through the front part of the keel which is connected to a powerful winch on shore. These boats are not small boats, approximately thirty to forty feet. There must have been thirty boats on shore that are launched daily. It would have been interesting to watch this operation but it was low tide when we were there. The beach is covered with a thick blanket of stones. There is no sand whatsoever. And the tide range must be fifteen to twenty feet and we were told by a local fisherman that the window for launching and retrieving these boats is only three hours before and three hours after high tide.
From Hastings we headed home arriving just before dark. Tomorrow we are once again heading into London. We will tell you all about it on Friday.
From Rye we drove down the coast to Hastings. A direct contrast to Rye this is a fairly large Victorian town with lots of hustle and bustle. It’s claim to fame is the 1066 battle between William, duke of Normandy and King Harold of England which resulted in the Battle of Hastings. Harold suffered a devastating defeat and William became William the Conqueror.
We parked along the beachfront and walked into the old town which is at the base of a cliff. We had a nice lunch of Fish and Chips (we must remember we are in England) and strolled through some of the shops. From the town we wandered into the maritime area along the shore and visited the Old Fisherman’s Museum which was housed in an old church. At this museum we learned that in Hastings there is no harbor so all fishing boats must be launched from the beach by being pushed backwards into the water by a bull dozer and retrieved by attaching a cable through the front part of the keel which is connected to a powerful winch on shore. These boats are not small boats, approximately thirty to forty feet. There must have been thirty boats on shore that are launched daily. It would have been interesting to watch this operation but it was low tide when we were there. The beach is covered with a thick blanket of stones. There is no sand whatsoever. And the tide range must be fifteen to twenty feet and we were told by a local fisherman that the window for launching and retrieving these boats is only three hours before and three hours after high tide.
From Hastings we headed home arriving just before dark. Tomorrow we are once again heading into London. We will tell you all about it on Friday.
Sounds like boating in that town is very interesting! I did miss you on the rainy day. Good chance for you to relax and recharge your batteries.
ReplyDeleteI knew you'd find boats eventually.....I'm so confused on the days, but that surely doesn't matter!!! Just enjoying my "visit" to England in a way only I would enjoy!! Enjoy London!!!
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