Walking Mermaid Street and Rye's citadel

Rye was a Cinque Ports harbour on a hill surrounded by sea; the sea withdrew and left a medieval town overlooking the marshes. Start on Mermaid Street, cobbled and steep, with timber-framed houses with names instead of numbers, and the smugglers' inn, the Mermaid Inn. Climb up West Street and Church Square to the church of St Mary, go round the square and come out at the Ypres Tower and the Gun Garden, with views of the marshes and the sea. Finish along the High Street and the Landgate, the last gate of the town wall. It is free and takes an unhurried hour and a half.