The Landgate
The ancient town of Rye used to be surrounded on three sides by the sea. It’s still considered a coastal town, but now it’s two miles from the English Channel. It’s also a Cinque Port, one of five coastal towns in the south of England that were important in defending the island from invasions across the English Channel.
We went through the gate on our way to the Mermaid Inn. This was my first encounter with narrow, winding English streets and smaller roundabouts. Many streets were one-way, so the route I’d planned to get us to the Inn had to be changed. I didn’t have a GPS, so maps were our only reference. Most evenings before going to bed, I’d use the laptop to plan out the next day’s journies. We took many wrong turns on our adventures, which sometimes led to treasures like the Landgate.