Visiting Rye & Camber Sands: The Perfect Day Trip from London
Rye, in East Sussex, is one of England’s best-kept secrets. It’s got the charm and beauty to match the country’s most popular spots, but somehow it’s still escaped the tourist hordes. Located between green rolling hills and the English Channel, it’s one of the best-preserved medieval towns in England — the kind of place where cobbled streets lead to half-timbered pubs, independent bookshops spill onto the pavement, and the pace of life genuinely slows down. Add Camber Sands, one of the closest stretches of golden sandy beach to London, and you’ve got one of the best day trips you can do from the city.
I’ve done this one more than once, and it still doesn’t get old.
VISITING RYE & CAMBER SANDS BEACH: THE ESSENTIALS
Transport / Rye is easy to reach from London — trains from Kings Cross take around an hour and run almost every hour and you can book them using Trainline. From Rye to Camber Sands it’s only a 10-minute drive or a 15-minute bus ride. For more flexibility, renting a car is a great (and often cheaper) option if you’re two or more — I use DiscoverCars.
Stay / The best options depending on your style include: B&Bs and cottages in Rye Town (see all options here) Beach houses in Camber Sands (see options here).
Connect / Stay connected with an eSIM — I use Sim Local (get 5% off with code TRAVELWITHPAU). Grab one here.
Get Insured / Unfortunately, things can and do go wrong when you travel. World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.
Why Visit Rye & Camber Sands
The combination is what makes this trip special. You can spend your morning wandering Rye’s quaint cobbled lanes, visiting ancient churches and medieval towers, and browsing independent shops — and then head to the coast in the afternoon for miles of golden dunes and sea air. It’s the perfect pairing of English history and English summer, all within 90 minutes of London.
How to Get There
By train: The easiest option. Trains run from London St Pancras to Rye via Ashford International, taking just over 90 minutes. Alternatively, trains run from London Charing Cross via Hastings. Services run hourly. Book in advance on Trainline for the best prices.
Getting from Rye to Camber Sands: It’s only 10 minutes by car or a 15-minute ride on the number 100 bus, which runs hourly. You can also walk — there’s a lovely 3-mile route via Rye Harbour along National Cycle Network Route 2.
By car: About 90 minutes from central London via the A20/M20. For groups of two or more, driving often works out cheaper than the train and gives you a lot more flexibility, especially if you want to explore Rye Harbour. Hire a car for the day through DiscoverCars — they compare rates across all the main providers so you always get the best deal.
A Brief History of Rye
Rye has a history that punches well above its size. It was one of the original Cinque Ports — a confederation of coastal towns that provided ships and men to the Crown in exchange for special privileges — and sat right on the front line of centuries of English coastal defence. The French raided the town in 1377, burning much of it to the ground, which is why much of what you see today dates from the rebuilding that followed.
By the 18th century, Rye had become one of the most notorious smuggling towns in England. The Hawkhurst Gang operated out of the Mermaid Inn, using the town’s maze of secret passages to move contraband brandy, silk and tea under the noses of the authorities. Some of those passages still exist — more on that below.
Things To Do In Rye & Camber Sands
Wander Mermaid Street
This is the one street everyone comes to Rye to see — and it lives up to the fuss. Cobblestones run steeply downhill between half-timbered houses that lean slightly towards each other overhead, and every building seems to have its own name carved above the door. It’s the most photographed street in Rye, and deservedly so.
Visit the Mermaid Inn
The Mermaid Inn has been here since 1156, making it one of the oldest inns in England. It was the Hawkhurst Gang’s headquarters during the height of Rye’s smuggling era, and the inn is allegedly still haunted by several of its former guests. You don’t need to stay to visit — pop in for a drink and a proper look around.
Rye Heritage Centre
Start here if you want context before exploring the town. The Heritage Centre runs a 15-minute sound and light show using a beautifully detailed scale model of Rye, walking you through the town’s history from the Cinque Ports era to the present. It’s also the starting point for guided walking tours of Rye (£10 per person, under-14s free) — genuinely worth doing if you want the full story.
Climb St Mary’s Church Tower
St Mary’s is a 900-year-old church in the centre of Rye, and it houses the oldest functioning church turret clock in England — the clock mechanism is still original. You can climb the tower for a small fee and get views across the surrounding countryside and out towards the coast. Well worth the climb on a clear day.
Landgate Arch
A 14th-century stone gateway, Landgate is the last surviving gate from the town’s original medieval defences — built after the French raid of 1377 as part of the town’s rebuilt fortifications. It’s free to walk through and makes for a great photo.
Rye Castle Museum & Ypres Tower
The Ypres Tower is one of the oldest buildings in Rye — a squat medieval tower that has served as a castle, a prison and a mortuary over the centuries. The museum inside is small but genuinely interesting: look out for the smuggler’s lamp and the medieval herb garden in the grounds. Small admission fee; free on weekends from April to October.
Lamb House
For literary types, this is a must. Lamb House was home to Henry James from 1898 to 1914, and he wrote several of his later novels here, including The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl. The National Trust now runs it as a small museum. E.F. Benson, who wrote the Mapp and Lucia novels set in a fictional version of Rye, also lived here later.
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
Just outside the town centre, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is one of the best birdwatching spots in Sussex — over 280 species have been recorded here. It’s also a good spot to see seals, especially in winter. The walk out along the river is lovely at any time of year.
Go Shopping
Rye has a genuinely good collection of independent shops — galleries, antique dealers, vintage homeware (Crock & Cosy is a favourite for vintage kitchenware), and the Rye Deli for local food. There’s also a Thursday market at Rope Walk. Much better than it sounds.
Things to Do at Camber Sands
Camber Sands is a rarity on the South East coast: seven miles of golden sand backed by rolling dunes, in a part of the country where most beaches are shingle. It’s one of the closest sandy beaches to London and one of the best.
Hit the Beach
The sandiest stretch is at the western end — the further east you go, the more the beach transitions to shingle. The dunes make for naturally sheltered picnic spots even when it’s breezy (which, let’s be honest, it often is). RNLI lifeguards are on duty from May to October, 10am–6pm.
Dog owners note: Dogs are restricted from the main beach between 1st May and 30th September. There’s a dog-friendly section at the eastern end during this period.
Kitesurfing and Watersports
Camber Sands is one of the best kitesurfing beaches in the UK, and there are several operators running lessons and equipment hire — try the Kitesurf Centre or Rye Watersports. Paddleboarding and power kiting are also available if kitesurfing feels ambitious.
Seal Safari and RIB Tours
Full Throttle Boat Charters runs speedboat tours and seal safari trips from Rye Harbour, which is right next to Camber. These are brilliant if you’re visiting outside peak summer — the seal colonies at Rye Harbour are one of the area’s best-kept secrets.
Walk the Dunes
You don’t have to get in the water to enjoy Camber. The dune system here is the only one in East Sussex and is a nature reserve in its own right. A walk through the dunes and along the beach at lo
Where To Eat in Rye & Camber Sands
In Rye:
- Landgate Bistro — widely considered the best restaurant in Rye. Locally sourced ingredients, classic French-British cooking, unpretentious atmosphere. Book ahead.
- Webbe’s at The Fish Cafe — great seafood in a relaxed setting, right in the centre of town.
- The Fig / Whitehouse Rye / Hayden’s — all good options for coffee, brunch and lunch in the daytime.
- Rye Waterworks Micropub — the first micropub in East Sussex, housed in a converted Victorian water pump. Eight local ales, two keg beers and twelve ciders. If you like a proper pub, this is the one.
- The Mermaid Inn — the restaurant here is award-winning and the setting (Tudor beams, open fireplaces) is hard to beat for a long lunch.
At Camber Sands:
- The Owl — a friendly beachside spot with good vegetarian and vegan options, which is refreshingly rare at the coast.
- Beach cafes and fish and chip kiosks are dotted around the main car park area.
Where to Stay
Rye is small enough to do as a day trip, but if you want to stay over — and it’s worth it — here are the best options.
In Rye:
- Search B&Bs and hotels in Rye on Booking.com. The town centre is compact so almost everything is walking distance.
- Hayden’s — a popular B&B right in the centre, consistently well-reviewed for its breakfast and welcoming hosts.
- Mermaid Inn — if you want atmosphere and history, this is the one. Boutique rooms, award-winning restaurant, allegedly resident ghosts.
At Camber Sands:
- Search beach houses and holiday rentals at Camber on Booking.com. Staying at the beach means you can catch sunrise over the dunes, which is genuinely special.
Where To Stay in Rye & Camber Sands
There are so many options here, from B&Bs in Rye Town to self-catering cottages a short walk from the center. See all options, ordered by price and filtered by those with good reviews here.
Staying in a beach house in Camber Sands is also an option if you prefer to spend the weekend at the beach and wake up for a dip in the sea (it’s really not cold!). That’s what I did and loved it! At the end of the day Rye is just a 10 min drive away. See options in Camber here.
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