Nowhere in Cornwall comes close to this stretch of the south coast

While walking up Mermaid Street, its bulbous cobbles elbowing through the soles of my shoes, I reflected that this must have been the sixth occasion I had ascended this picturesque street in my 34 years.

Rye is one of my favourite towns in Britain. I love its wonky half-timbered buildings, its smoky old pubs and the distinct Sussex-ness of the place – it has a bonfire procession each November, and the town crier is often heard bellowing through the narrow streets on wedding days.

I am not alone in holding a soft spot for Rye. More than a million people visit every year, and its population swells by more than 20,000 in summer. Even on my latest visit, on a Friday in September, there were numerous snap-happy tour groups milling about. But during my visits I’ve also learnt that there’s much more to Rye than its historic centre.

Within a drive of 30 minutes or less you will find a charming hilltop village with a haunting past, a dystopian Mars-scape nature reserve, one of the best beaches on the south coast and a collection of fascinating medieval churches – all squeezed within an area of just 40 square miles.

Sure, Cornwall has its coves and epic coastal walks, the Lakes combine literary clout with stunning landscapes, but for quirky charm and living history there isn’t a more enriching corner of the British Isles than this.

The majesty of Rye

Depending on your direction of travel, you might catch a glimpse of Rye long before you arrive, poking up like a thimble from the marshy green landscape. Rewind a few hundred years and it would have been a very different approach.

That’s because Rye was once surrounded by the sea; its name derives from the West Saxon “ieg” which means “island”. For centuries it played an important role in defending the south coast from the French, initially as a “limb” of the Cinque Ports before becoming a full member of the confederation in 1336.

Such is its majesty that Rye is a long-running royal favourite, with Elizabeth I bestowing the title “Rye Royal” after a three-night stay in 1573.

Mermaid Street and its eponymous pub, The Mermaid Inn, is the star attraction. The pub has cellars dating back to 1156 and was rebuilt in 1420, making it one of the oldest in the country. There are other excellent drinking holes in town, including the quirky Globe Inn Marsh, the Ypres Castle Inn with its grassy pub garden, the George in Rye, an old coaching inn in prime position, and the more modern Waterworks micropub housed in an old public toilet.

There’s more to the town than its pubs. A thoroughly enjoyable day would involve fuelling up on banana waffles and a strong coffee at breakfast spot The Fig, before climbing to the top of St Mary’s Church for the best view in town, exploring Rye Castle Museum in the afternoon and then settling in for a film at the Kino for the evening.

The dystopia of Dungeness

Around 25 minutes from Rye, just over the border in Kent, is Dungeness, an expansive shingle nature and bird reserve nicknamed “Britain’s only desert” – which isn’t strictly true given that it receives a drop too much rain, but it certainly feels like one. And it’s only getting bigger, by around a metre per year as more shingle crashes into the shore and builds up the foreland.

Dungeness has long attracted creatives. Derek Jarman, the director and activist, lived in Prospect Cottage until his death in 1994. These days it’s become a playground for amateur photographers. The combination of old abandoned fishing vessels, marooned hundreds of metres from the shore, rusting pieces of machinery left to the elements, and the disused nuclear power station creates a dystopian, post-apocalyptic atmosphere quite unlike anywhere else on Earth.

After exploring the shore you can hop on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway and travel west through the marshes, pop into the Snack Shack for a sublime lobster roll, roam the wonderful Dungeness Open Studios – run by long-standing resident Paddy Hamilton, or pop into the family-run The Pilot for a fine pint of real ale. The RSPB reserve, just inland, is a landscape of freshwater pits and wildflower meadows that provide a temporary haven for migratory species.

The ancient town of Winchelsea

Some 800 years ago, medieval Winchelsea was a major centre of commerce on the south coast, located on a shingle spit that extended far beyond today’s Dungeness. The town emerged as one of the busiest of the Cinque Ports, but in the mid-13th century rising sea levels and extreme weather battered the town, with a fierce tempest delivering the final blow in 1288.

King Edward I promised Winchelsea would rise once again, and he was a man of his word. A new Winchelsea emerged, this time at altitude a couple of miles inland, with a bustling market servicing the wine trade and ornate mansions built in a grid layout around the cathedral-like Church of St Thomas, which still stands.

Winchelsea makes for a pleasant afternoon escape from Rye (a seven-minute drive away), with the little Farm Kitchen deli, a village shop and the New Inn serving as the hub of this micro-community, with a population of just 500, down from 5,000 in its heyday.

Big skies at Camber Sands

A 10-minute drive from Rye, Camber has the longest stretch of sandy beach for miles around and the only dune system in East Sussex. For decades, the resort had a cheap-and-cheerful air to it, dominated by its static caravan parks and the Pontins site (now abandoned), but the opening of The Gallivant in 2011 brought a sense of seaside chic to proceedings.

If you’re looking to swim, it’s worth checking the tide times or else it’ll be a very long walk for your dunk (and a long walk back to your towel). Although one bonus is that you might get a glimpse of horses galloping along the beach, which is permitted two hours before and after low tide.

The medieval churches of Romney Marsh

For many centuries, Romney Marsh was seen as remote and rather odd – dangerous, even, from the point of view of outsiders. The area was reclaimed from a vast lagoon of sand and shingle which formed by debris sliding off the Weald. Little hamlets were built on its islets, and in those hamlets emerged a community of wooden churches, some of which still stand today after centuries of upkeep and renovation.

Today, the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust is tasked with preserving and maintaining the area’s 14 medieval churches. If you only have time to visit one, make it St Thomas Becket in Fairfield, the most iconic of them all.

The tiny church dates back to the 12th century and casts a solitary figure in a field dissected by dykes and grazed by sheep. It was once surrounded by a little settlement, but these dwellings have long since disappeared. You can call the churchwarden to arrange a visit.

Where to stay

During my most recent stay I visited The George in Rye, a sprawling 16th-century coaching inn that has been renovated and skillfully recast as the most luxurious place to stay in central Rye. In a prime location, bang on the high street, the Grade II listed hotel dates from 1575 but has been redesigned and furnished with contemporary touches.

My room for the night, the Bridal Suite, was decorated with opulent lamps which rattled as I navigated its sloping floor, with a roll-top bath and a vintage telephone adding to the illusion of time travel.

In the restaurant, try the Maldon rock oysters and the line-caught Rye sea bass, and contemplate whether this may be where George Clooney sat during his stay at the hotel. See the Telegraph Travel’s hotel reviews for other special places to stay in the area.

How to get there

Rye train station is connected to Ashford International (22 minutes) which has direct trains into London St Pancras International (38min). From Rye you can also get to Eastbourne (57min), where there are links to Brighton (39min) and London Victoria (1hr 31min).

There are plenty of car parks in Rye, the most practical being the Cattle Market car park (£2.50 for 24 hours), although beware it is closed on Wednesday night and Thursday for the weekly market.