A Camber Holiday Cottages Staycation… Hello, Rye!

A couple of weekends ago, the stars aligned and me and my two oldest pals said cheerio to our husbands and children and escaped on a train, headed to one of the sweetest, most beautiful towns I know in England – Rye. We were staying in one of the gorgeous Camber Holiday Cottages, so we were a hop, skip and a jump away from the station and right in the centre of town.

When Georgina and Richard Holt had their first baby, they up-sticks and left their pad on Portobello (my home too, for around 10 years…) and began renovations on Richard’s parents’ farmhouse in Camber. They’ve been adding to their property portfolio over the past 20 years and now have a gorgeous collection of holiday hideaways, including the one we stayed in. And a more perfect position for a holiday cottage in Rye, I never did see.

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We turned down a sweet little cobbled street and found ourselves outside Ockman House. We opened the front door and were welcomed into a large, bright hallway, with the most enormous open-plan kitchen and dining area to one side and a gorgeous airy living room to the other, with French doors leading out to a dining area and barbecue on the deck. We ran about the house, exploring ALL the rooms, trying to count how many toilets there were and yelling to each other – “Have you seen THIS BIT??”

Ockman House is unusual because you can choose to book just one floor, which sleeps 6 people, or you can choose to book the entire house, which sleeps 8. We had the whole house to ourselves so we could properly explore and see it in all its glory. It was a very special place to be and the location could not have been better. We rolled out the door each morning and landed in this cafe or that – everything was on our doorstep.

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The house was the perfect base for us to explore Rye. After a day of mooching and brunching and chattering, we would come home, stick the kettle on, eat cake and drink tea. We lounged in front of terrible (brilliant) rom coms, we cooked spaghetti bolognese and had leisurely coffees before we headed out each morning. It was incredibly comfortable, warm and luxurious. We absolutely loved it.

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There is no place better to mooch, than Rye. (Apart from Whitstable – but I’m biased as that’s where my beautiful Whitstable holiday cottage is!) It is gloriously picturesque, it has the history, the scenery and it is packed with wonderful independent shops and antique dens to delve into and explore… It’s one of my absolute favourite places and to enjoy it with my dear friends and stay somewhere so perfect, made for a very, very special weekend indeed. We enjoyed hot chocolate from Knoops, lusted over fabric and sewing paraphernalia at Merchant and Mills, tried not to spend all our hard earned cash at The Shop Next Door and anyway, we had no hard earned cash as we’d already spent it all at Rae and Puckhaber round the corner.

On the second day we walked to Camber Sands in the sunshine and a strong wind… We walked along the beach, breathed in the peace and quiet and found ourselves stumbling upon The Gallivant, where we stopped for cocktails and bar snacks, with sand in my hair and a couple of twigs to boot – never have I felt so ramshackled and glamorous in equal measure, simultaneously 🙂

We took a taxi home, via Marino’s Fish Bar, where we picked up some of the best Fish and Chips I’ve ever had, for supper. We ate them back at the house, with ketchup and vinegar and salt and all the scrumptiousness…they were delicious. And it’s nothing short of a miracle that when we woke up the next morning we were ready for hearty breakfast at The Fig.

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After brunch, we made our way back to the station, just as the heavens opened and it started to pour with rain! We ducked into the cafe next door to the station, which is no ordinary station caf. It’s a cosy little hideaway, with plenty of seating, pots of tea and homemade cakes. I could have stayed there for a good couple of hours, but soon it was time to board and we were on our way home to London.

If you are thinking of go to Rye, GO. And if you are going to Rye, you need to book Camber Holiday Cottages, because, well, did you read this blog post? It’s a rave. And it’s a rave because it was wonderful. And it really was the perfect place to spend our perfect weekend.

Maybe I will see you there…