We spotted Rye Windmill when we had a brief visit to Rye when we holidayed in Chichester last year. It was near to where we had parked our car and as we walked past the windmill we found out that it was a B&B. How quaint. The mill has an interesting history:

The distinctive and famous Rye Mill is a grade-two listed building and has been the inspiration for artists and photographers throughout the centuries. It occupies an historic site in Gibbet’s Marsh where a windmill has stood, in one form or another, since at least the sixteenth century. The Symondons map of Rye created in 1594 shows an illustration of a windmill in the exact spot where today’s mill now stands. Copies can be seen in Rye Town Hall and in the guesthouse.

The first recorded owner of a Rye Mill was Thomas Chatterton who built a ‘post mill’ in 1758. After his death his widow, Mary, passed it on to a Frederick Barry who demolished the ‘post mill’ in 1820 to erect a ‘Smock Mill’, similar to the one we see today. Milling continued until 1912 when the premises became a bakery. Eventually to be owned by the Webbs, a well regarded family of Rye bakers who were to become custodians of the Windmill for over 60 years.

Unfortunately, on a Friday 13th in 1930, the ovens of the bakery overheated and destroyed the wooden structure on the mill, leaving just the two story brick base. The mill was reconstructed in 1932 and it continued as a bakery until 1976. The ovens were put to good use when the mill became a pottery. The original oven doors can be seen in the base of the Windmill, behind what is now the bar.

The Mill first became a B&B guesthouse in 1984. Since then the Mill has gone through many improvements and, today, its present owners aim to carry on making The Rye Windmill a memorable venue and unforgettable experience for all patrons.

Mr C and I were up bright and early and before almost everyone else. We sat reading in the room that has been named The Library until everyone else was up and about. After a late breakfast of scotch pancakes, bacon, sausage and maple syrup, we said our goodbyes and set off towards Chichester. Taking a leisurely drive,  we stopped off in Rye for a cup of tea.

It was quite a jaunt from the car park to the town and when we arrived Mr C walked past all the tea shops to see if he could find one overlooking the water. He failed in his search and so settled for one that I was uncertain about. I didn’t say anything because after the long walk I was ready for a refreshing cold drink. We sat and waited for someone to come and take our order. We were still waiting 10 minutes later, as were several other people. Mr C asked if I thought we should leave to which I agreed.

I directed him to another tea shop which had caught my eye as we walked past. This was a far better choice and we were served immediately. The food looked delicious but we had only just had breakfast so we didn’t indulge.

Once back at the car we continued on our journey towards Chichester, detouring along the coast in order to find a suitable seafront place for lunch. We spotted a nice tea shop in Eastbourne and decided to stop there. However, we had a change of plan when Mr C suggested having fish for lunch. I looked at the menu and thought the idea was fun. Mr C chose battered fish whilst I elected to have fish bites with sea salt, herbs and tartar sauce. The man who served us said, semi jokingly, not to let the seagulls get it.

We made our way to the seafront and sat on a bench next to the gardens which were seagull free. I was just finishing my last piece of fish when I felt a tug on the piece of fish I was holding causing me to exclaim! I found myself eye to eye with a seagull that had swooped down silently with precision from behind me. As my hold on the tasty morsel was greater than his, he let go and sat a couple of feet away from me eyeing me up. I removed the end of the fish that he had grabbed and finished the rest as several of his mates lined up with him eying me up. Mr C threw the remaining morsel of fish in their direction causing the seagulls to dive for it.

Following this adventure we took a walk along the promenade where Mr C indulged in a Mr Whippy ice cream before we took a stroll along the pier. Whilst we were on the pier I noticed other seagulls trying to grab ice creams from unsuspecting people (unsuccessfully) by using the same silent dive-from-behind technique.

After returning to our car we continued along the coast road through Brighton, which was disappointing because a lot of the buildings were covered in scaffolding. The drive was taking a little longer than we liked so we headed inland to speed up the journey. Just as we were arriving near Chichester we received a call from the B&B wondering where we were as the paperwork they had been given advised that we would be arriving at 3pm when in fact we had notified that we would be arriving between 4-5pm.

The B&B is tucked away behind the Cathedral and it took a couple of circuits of Chichester to find it. On arrival we checked in and were shown to our room which was a delight with armchairs in the bay window overlooking the garden. Unfortunately the Cathedral was under wraps because of roof restorations. After we had unpacked and freshened up, we headed into town to find a suitable place to dine. It being Sunday many dining places weren’t open, limiting our options.

As we were considering a menu that was mostly burgers and steak, a man offered a couple of suggestions; Carluccios and Brasserie Blanc. He then gave us directions on how to get to them. We opted for Brasserie Blanc due to its varied menu options. After we had finished dining it was too soon to return to the B&B so we stopped off at a pub. At 10.30 the barman called last orders and promptly turned the lights on and the music off. It is a good job we hadn’t taken him up on his call for last orders, we wouldn’t have enjoyed it!! Instead of returning the glasses to the bar as we would normally do we left them on the table and decided not to return on another night.