English Tourism Week (March 17-26), is the annual celebration dedicated to England’s tourism sector. It is co-ordinated by VisitEngland who this year, will be using the strapline ‘amazing’ to highlight the amazing people, places, businesses, attractions, experiences and destinations that make up England’s tourism industry.Â
Here in Rye, the Mermaid Inn has been an amazing and unique attraction for over 600 years. She greets guests not only from the British Isles, but from all over the world and this year is no exception. Since January, she has welcomed customers from as far afield as the USA, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Spain and Ukraine to name but a few.
From the earliest stories of smugglers sitting in the bar with their pistols on the tables, to water diviners searching for underground secret passages, the Mermaid has a wealth of history behind her and doubtless many secrets yet to be discovered.
Tradition has been her keyword, from Shakespeare’s troupe performing for the owner, John Fowtrell in 1597, when he became mayor of Rye, to welcoming Morris men to dance in May each year. From far and wide, the Mermaid’s regulars return. Be they the American gardening groups, on their annual visits to explore the magnificent National Trust and English Heritage sites. Or the guests travelling in convoy from all across Europe with their British vintage classic cars, on their way to Glorious Goodwood.
Many tourists love the idea of going back in time, so it is often the case that televisions and room phones are missing when housekeeping arrive in the morning, only to discover that these items have been hidden under the beds, to make their stay even more authentic. Although some have had to be shown how to switch lights on, as they are used to just clapping or using an app, due to living in a totally modern world.
So from the town crier welcoming guests, Henry VIII themed parties, proper steak and kidney puddings, and producing over 18,000 full English breakfasts each year, she keeps her benevolent eye on it all.
The Mermaid is often asked why she doesn’t have a lift and why the car park isn’t bigger – with a twinkle in her eye, she did once put up a planning notice for a multi-storey car park on April Fools day!
We all come and go, but the magnificent siren of Mermaid Street, will still be beckoning travellers, from near and far, greeting them with her traditional welcome, telling them her stories and taking them back in time, when we are but a footnote in the history of Rye.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons/ Royal Academy of Arts, London https://commons.m.wikipedia.org https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, Kt bruce .