The Times Weekend - UK (2021-11-20)

60 Travel

The Indo bathroom

homes are among the most photographed

in the UK, and Henry James’s old home,

Lamb House (which opens for the

Christmas season on November 29), are

well-known attractions, but also seek

out the extraordinary Alex MacArthur

Interiors, which is in a converted

14th-century monastery and by

appointment only.

Walk along the River Rother to

Camber Sands beach three miles away,

clamber over the dunes, and weave back

along the edge of the golf course. Back

in town, refuel with cake (I recommend

the passion fruit and white chocolate)

at Whitehouse.

Laura Pullman

toast crowd and are surely the prettiest in

Sussex. Instagramming millennials should

order the figs, raspberries, labneh and

pistachios on sourdough. The daily

smoothies soothed sore heads from the

night before.

What’s near by?

Always charming but increasingly hip,

Rye is booming and it’s terrifying how

much money you could blow in the

antiques, arts and interiors shops. Some

of the best — Puckhaber, the Confit

Pot and the (plant-heavy) Green House,

for example — have opened in the past

five years.

Mermaid Street, whose 16th-century

Monday morning isn’t around the corner.

The tiny, open-plan kitchen produces

admirably ambitious “small plates” (from

£6.25) with plenty to keep gluten-frees

and vegans happy. We went carnivorous,

happily devouring tuna ceviche, lamb

koftas and spicy prawn tacos. Pudding

— a raspberry and pecan tart — was Bake

Off-worthy.

The double rooms — Retro, Deco, Indo

and Boho — all have their own carefully

constructed style designed by Patenall,

who, praise be, isn’t afraid of colour. Indo,

all pot plants and lush greens, has a bath

big enough for two (for any couples still

in the bath-sharing stage).

The breakfasts cater to the avo-on-

What’s the story?
This restaurant with rooms, in a plum
location on the high street in Rye, East
Sussex, is a sign of the historic port town’s
trendy renaissance. It opened as
a daytime café in 2015. The 32-year-old
owner, Rosie Patenall, lived upstairs until
this summer when she moved out to
make space for four “boutique” bedrooms.
There’s a dinner service now too. She’s
a proud local and her farmer brother,
Oliver Furnival, runs Hoof, a “home-
reared” burger restaurant down the road.

What do we like?
The buzzing, everyone’s-friends-here
atmosphere and the flea-market chic
dining room with its mismatched chairs
and hanging plants. Locals of all ages are
there, tucking into the cocktails —
raspberry refreshers and lychee sours
(from £7.50) alongside the classics — as if

The Times

hotel guide

The Fig

Rye, E Sussex

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MATILDA DELVES PHOTOGRAPHY

The Deco bedroom

Laura Pullman was a

guest of the Fig. B&B

doubles from £90

(thefigrye.com)