Travelbug - Lunch at the Mermaid Inn

That's all I have for Brighton and so our next adventure was to East Sussex. This year marks the 950th anniversary since the Battle of Hastings so I thought it was time to explore the area. Miss M and I caught the train to Maidstone (Kent) and hired a car to drive around and visit some local castles and Hastings itself of course.

On our first leg, we drove to the town of Rye....just out of curiosity. I had read about the cobbled streets and that there was a castle (of sorts) there so I wanted to check it out. I have already written a post about Rye on Cath@Home but while we were there we had lunch at a lovely Tudor building called the Mermaid Inn. I thought it deserved it's own post.

 The Mermaid Inn is about half way down this little cobbled street called Mermaid Street. You can see the sign sticking out on the right side of the photo. Miss M and I were exploring the area when we came across it and decided it was as good a place as any to have lunch. In retrospect, I don't think we could of picked a better place.

There didn't seem to be a main entrance on the street so we walked through this archway into a courtyard and around the back to find a short, stout little wooden door with a handle and thumb latch....so "olde worlde" and entering seemed like going back in time.

The room was dominated by a giant fireplace which really took up about one quarter of the space. The room is called the Giants Fireplace Bar and really wasn't much bigger than my own living room.

Afterwards, I read that there is supposed to be a secret passageway somewhere in this fireplace....I didn't see it. 

As you can see there is a lovely fire burning in the grate which was very welcome on a cold February day. It really added to the ambiance of the room as did the rafters which were partially covered with dried flowers.

Even the ceiling sconce had to be lit in this dim room which made me wonder when a merry band of smugglers would wander in for their ale!

Miss M and I sat next to this window to have our lunch, Beef Burgers with Blue Cheese (not very Olde Worlde) with a Cider for me and Ginger Beer for her. The food was good at our table and surrounding tables also had some amazing food arrive.

 I think we will remember our experience at the Mermaid [Smugglers] Inn for a very long time.

I have included some information links at Cath@Home about Rye....it is a wonderful little town and I would love to visit again in the warmer months....might be sooner than I think....but that is another story.  I think next time I will stay here overnight....wonder if I will be brave enough!

I went for a little visit to the loo while there which took me down a narrow little passage with creaky floorboards and past a very old looking staircase.....I didn't think I needed to take my camera with me to the loo, but I really wish I had. Google Maps have some really great images of this.
Take a look inside HERE

I am linking this post up at: