Even the most hard-boiled cynic can`t fail to be softened by Rye`s cobbled lanes, mysterious passageways and crooked half-timbered Tudor buildings. With names like Watchbell Lane, Mermaid Street and Wish Street you can`t fail to be enchanted by a town that time seems to have passed by. Crooked half-timbered houses line a muddle of steep cobbled lanes, there are beach walks, ancient inns and even a castle. All this, and more, makes Rye the perfect place for a laid-back weekend break.