The George in Rye

This 16th century coaching inn is right in the centre of this charming town and it has had a major makeover from new owners Alex and Katie Clarke (DFLs themselves). The George is the first choice for chic Londoners looking for metropolitan style and fresh air not too far from the capital. In her previous life, Katie was a set designer for TV and films and there's a definite theatrical air to the George with rich fabrics, cool colours, period furniture mixed with ultra-modern details like plasma screen TV, and thoughtful touches like a hot water bottle in crocheted cover, books on your bedside table and decent lighting so you can actually read them. (Why do so many hotels have rubbish lighting?) The George is a warren of interconnecting rooms and levels and staircases with antique timber beams and lovely bow windows looking out onto the High Street. There are 24 bedrooms, a jolly public bar that attracts a lively local crowd as well as hotel guests, and a smart dining room that's good enough for special occasions as well as a relaxing off-duty break. You can expect simple but delicious food such as steamed mussels with garlic and saffron white wine, rack of local Romney Marsh lamb, slow roast pork belly, locally-landed turbot, English cheeses and plenty for vegetarians. The handsome Georgian ballroom is a great place for fairytale weddings with its light airy position on the first floor and pretty as a picture decorative plasterwork. 98 High Street, Rye, 01797 222 114 www.thegeorgeinrye.com

 

The Flushing Inn in Rye

This veteran restaurant is also an historic 16th century property but as different as it could possibly be from the urban chic of the George (above).The Flushing Inn is a snapshot of traditional Britain, with an unchanged interior of antique panelling and a dramatic fresco dating back to 1540. In the sunny lounge at the rear of the house, some modern - and eccentric - wall paintings have been commissioned by the owners, with many personal and local references. The Flushing Inn has been family-run for the past 40 years, first by the Mann family and now by their daughter Heather and her husband John Flynn. Although John trained as a chef, Heather does all the cooking today, and it's good old-fashioned food of an amazingly high standard given her tiny kitchen that looks out over the garden. Much of the produce is locally sourced and many dishes have family names. You can expect oysters from Whitstable, mussels Flushing style, a wonderfully retro melon with white port, Sheila's renowned fish soup, Mrs Flynn's homemade terrine, Varne Bank scallops Louise, Rye Bay Dover sole, and lobster Elizabeth. A large jug of iced water comes automatically to your table - the bottled stuff never caught on here. There's an excellent wine list with a good showing from some local vineyards, Carr Taylor just a few miles north of Hastings, and the Saxon Valley label. Not surprisingly, given the close proximity of Rye to the Channel Tunnel, many of the regular visitors here at European, especially Belgium and Northern France. Foreigners must love the unchanged true-blue nature of the place, what England was like before we all became citizens of the world. 4 Market Street, Rye, 01797 223 292 www.theflushinginn.com

 

Swan House in Hastings

This is a magical B&B right in the heart of the historic Old Town. The core building from 1490 retains exposed beams, oak panelling and an open fire while the Victorian extension has extra bedrooms and sunny patios. Interiors are light and spacious, very New England, with quirky shell-encrusted baths, trompe l'oeil paintings and dramatic pieces of antique furniture. Co-owner and fashion designer Lionel Copley created the look but resident owner Brendan McDonagh (once a Belfast librarian) provides the warmth, cooking gourmet breakfasts, arranging parking and supervising his enthusiastic dogs Daisy and Toby. "There's a spell about Hastings," says Brendan. "Guests suddenly get it and the next morning they have property details." One Hill Street, Old Town, Hastings, 01424 439 014, www.swanhousehastings.co.uk

 

Pomegranate Restaurant in Hastings

For the best seafood in town, try this friendly restaurant, snugly situated in a quiet winding street behind the seafront. Joanna Poulton is the cheerful front of house and her partner Jamie Stephens uses local fresh fish in his cooking. Try tiger prawns with lemongrass, black cod with pak choi, French bouillabaisse, seafood platter with lobster, and classic Dover sole. The local fisheries has now been certified sustainable so you can tuck into Dover sole without guilt. Deluded unreconstructed carnivores who say they don't like fish can have cassoulet, local venison or steak and frites. 50 George Street, Hastings, 01424 429 221

 

Judge's Organic Bakery in Hastings

Early-adopters of Hastings were businessman and organic pioneer Craig Sams and his wife, journalist Josephine Fairley. Their company Green & Black's Chocolate made headlines worldwide and they have two new projects to further their mission of health and wellbeing. They took over a long-established bakery dating back to 1826 and created Judge's Organic Bakery which makes mouth-watering organic breads and was voted one of the 50 Best Food Shops in Britain by the Independent. The shop is full of enticing aromas of freshly-baked bread and there's a wide range including wholemeal, malted and proper white English breads as well as French baguettes, rye bread and seeded loaves. For your picnic or to eat in the shop you can buy Cornish pasties, chocolate brownies, jam doughnuts, hot soup, pies and pink meringue pigs. 51 High Street, Hastings, +44 1424 722 588 www.judgesbakery.com

 

Wellington Square Natural Health Centre in Hastings

The second enterprise that Sams and Fairley have opened in their adopted town is this elegant health clinic with more than 40 treatments and programmes all centred on natural principles. Josehine Fairley's book The Ultimate Natural Beaty Book was a best seller and she has used all her expertise and contacts to entce an impressive roster of therapists and professionals to the clinic. Treatments include cranio-sacral therap, deep tissue massage, acupuncture, Alexander technique, Reiki, reflexology and many different types of massage including Ayurvedic and Shiatsu. The centre is very busy and draws from a wide catchment area, not least because there's no competition with these high standards. The Pilates studio with views over the sea is the only fully-equipped studio for miles around. Wellington Square, Hastings, +44 1424 442 520, www.wellingtonnaturalhealth.com

 

Dunkerley's in Deal

Deal is an old smugglers town close to the treacherous Goodwin Sands. Many vessels have run aground and sunk on this dangerous part of the coast and wrecks from long ago frequently re-appear as the sands change shape. The place is packed with history, tales of derring-do and scandalous figures like Nelson and Emma Hamilton but for today's visitors, the slightly faded gentility, bracing sea air and long promenades are just the thing for a weekend. You must visit Dunkerley's, the landmark hotel and seafood restaurant right on the front, owned by Ian and Linda Dunkerley. From the moment you relax into a comfortable chair in the piano bar you'll feel at home. The glamorous lady pianist is the smartest person in the room - Deal is a dress-down sort of place. The warren of dining rooms on the first floor serves unsurprising but satisfying food - just the thing for a country weekend: roast beef with all the trimmings, fishcakes, grilled local sole served with warm potted cockles, deep-fried cod with hand-cut chips and mushy peas, and a very satisfying slow-cooked roast shoulder of lamb with lots of veg and confit garlic. Yummy. There are 16 rooms, six of which have great views over the English Channel and they all have TV, direct dial telephones , hairdryers etc. You won't have to slum it. It's a real gem and much loved by old and young. When you're feeling peckish between meals, have a cream tea in Dunkerley's or nip outside to the seafood stall on the front for a plate of oysters in the fresh air. 18 Beach Street, Deal, Kent, 01304 375 016 www.dunkerleys.co.uk

 

The South coast has come back to life thanks to DFLs, Down From Londoners, who've spotted great houses going for song, good schools, a carefree bohemian atmosphere, sea air and easy routes into London. It's great for weekenders too.

Things to see and do

Rye is an ancient town with a charter dating back to the 11th century and there's masses to see here but make sure you take comfortable shoes - cobbled streets are very picturesque but murder to walk on. St Mary's Church dates back to the 14th century and from the top of the tower (lots of steps, quite scary on a windy day) you have 360° panoramic view of the surrounding countryside with Rye Habour, Camber Castle and the nature reserve to the south, the Smugglers Tower and Lamb House to the West. Lamb House is a Georgian beauty and probably the most literary house in the UK. The novelist Henry James lived there for nearly 20 years and E.F. Benson, the one-time Mayor of Rye, used both the house and the town as the scarcely-disguised setting for his Mapp and Lucia novels. Rumer Godden was the last of the building's three writer inhabitants, best known for Black Narcissus and The River which were both made into movies.

Rye has some of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful town streets in the country and buildings that are straight from Central Casting. Make sure you take a look at Mermaid Street, Watchbell Street and Church Square.

The Mermaid Inn in Mermaid Street is full of history and atmosphere. The sea originally came right up to this part of the town and there would be boats moored there and the streets thronged with sailors and smugglers. The Inn has 30 bedrooms and a lively public bar festooned with dried hops and the walls hung with armour breast plates and crossed swords. There's a huge open fireplace stacked with freshly cut logs, and warlike pikestaffs on the wall above.

Drop in at My Old Sweet Etcetera (3 High Street, Rye) for antique jewellery and vintage clothes, or Mint Antiques (54 The Mint) for a treasure trove of goodies especially glassware.

The Apothecary (1 East Street, Rye) is a cute boutique b&b with a snug coffee shop that looks like library with bookshelves and leather seats.

Hastings is a handsome seaside town with striking Regency buildings and it was one of the first to get the revitalisation of the south coast underway. Surrounded by steep hills which shield it from rough northern winds, it enjoys an exhilarating micro-climate. The long shingle beach is home to picturesque traditional fishing boats and tall wooden huts known as Net Shops. Take a look at the atmospheric Fisherman's Museum to get a real sense of the tough life endured by sailors and fishermen in the past. Along with its sister town, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings is not particularly easy to reach by road or rail and has avoided London commuters and mass-market day trippers who create the undesirable "Brighton effect".

You can also stay at Zanzibar, a boutique hotel overlooking the sea just where Hastings merges with St Leonards. It has eight rooms and a slick modern design, just right for demanding weekenders. 9 Everfield Place, Hastings, 01424 460 109, www.zanzibarhotel.co.uk

Another small chic hotel, The Cloudesley, opens this summer in St Leonards with seven rooms, exclusive fabrics and furnishings, and a private garden of fruit trees, bamboo, slate and even a Buddha for Zen-like tranquillity. The Cloudesley will open late June at 7 Cloudesley Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. No phone number or website yet but you can call the owner on 07969 048 757.

Try the Boulevard Bookshop Cafe (32 George Street, Hastings) a tiny 25-seater Thai restaurant set among the bookshelves of a genuine bookshop. There's no alcohol licence so bring your own and there's no corkage charge.

Don't miss the extraordinary Shirley Leaf and Petal shop and museum, the 100-year old company making artificial flowers, leaves, twigs and even giant trees for films, theatre and opera productions, and TV commercials. Remember the thousands of red rose petals thrown into the arena in Gladiator? Well they came from Hastings. As did the foliage in the Drury Lane stage production of Lord of the Rings and the recent Tutankhamun exhibition commissioned large gold metallic leaves for trees. The museum charts the original processes, machinery and business history of the artificial flower trade with thousands of original samples and lavish materials. 58 High Street, Hastings, 01424 427 793.