WHAT TO EAT IN RYE
Fish baps, farm shops & vending machines
When my guided meditation tells me to imagine myself approaching a clearing on a beach, I don’t think it means pebbles underfoot, a stiff breeze and blustery sky - I’m pretty sure it’s aiming for white sand, palm trees and still turquoise waters. But truly, some of my favourite memories belong on the unruly English coastline.
I spent a lot of my early childhood in Bognor Regis (typing that, I wonder whether the ‘Regis’ suffix suggests a touch of misleading grandeur). The beach was all pebbles - uncomfortable, impossible to lounge on. At high tide, you could be strolling down the promenade and suddenly get slapped in the face by a whale-like spray from the crashing waves. There wasn’t much to do except hobble about on the beach or run along the sea wall. But growing up pre-screens, that’s exactly what we did. One of us would run while the other shouted “Stop!” and the runner had to guess what part of the wall relief below they’d landed on. A crab?!
And yet, we had fun.
When we were a bit older, we’d hang out on the pier, feeding pennies into slot machines in the arcade. The air smelt like sea breeze and doughnuts. It’s where I fell in love with vinegary cockles dusted in white pepper, spearing them with a toothpick out of a small polystyrene cup. I went back recently, after nearly 30 years, and nothing had changed. I found it both eerie and comforting.
An enduring love of a scruffy beach is about more than just nostalgia. For me it’s about how I end up in these places. It’s always with family or friends. I love a long walk, a kick-about on the beach, a mooch around a sleepy seaside town, and a good pub dinner to round it all off. We all have different friends for different kinds of trips, don’t we? My school friend Louise is a “throw everything and the dog into the car and head to the sea without a plan” kind of friend. And so we did. On a whim, to Rye, chasing that particular kind of magic you only find in off-season English seaside towns. And that was Rye and its surroundings for you - one minute you’re having a religious experience with a plate of seafood, the next you’re trespassing in a famous filmmaker’s garden
It was my first time to Rye, armed with LOADS of recommendations from my friend Shona (thank you!), and honestly, the food scene here is exactly what I want from a seaside town - unpretentious, a bit quirky, and deeply satisfying. No white tablecloths or tasting menus needed (though they exist if that's your thing). Just good honest food that tastes even better when you've been for a big beach walk first. In this newsletter I’ll share with you both what we loved and what we found to be overrated.