A MORE SOBER RETURN TO THE PIPEMAKERS

January 2025. Rye.

The trains in Rye are fairly reliable; one an hour to Ashford or Eastbourne. Buses are less reliable (like I’m surprised); the number 313 back to our caravan timed to depart just before the train arrives, or not arrive at all.

So my options are a) wait 40 minutes in the cold, b) have a pint in a warm pub then walk the 2 miles to the harbour. I mean, it’s not really a choice, is it ?

The Pipemakers looks the plain pub in town, the one with quizzes and live music and an “unmodernised” interior. It’s actually a Heritage building (blue “P” on the CAMRA pubs map), but as I have gentlefolk and children blocking my view of that heritage you’ll just have to settle with this old photo by Jack Bauer from the 17th season of “24”.

I can’t find any evidence on my blog of visiting the Pipemakers before, but I know I nipped in three years ago for a half of Harvey’s waiting for my Chinese takeaway from across the road. A takeaway I held on to even as I fell in a ditch on the walk back to Rye Harbour. The dent in the ditch still awaits repair.

So, an overdue return with a clearer head, and the sight of Tim Taylor’s Landlord being poured makes my mind up for me.

It’s gorgeous, cool and rich. My NBSS 4 seems to have increased the number of Pint Pots on CAMRA’s pub guide from 1 to 2, so I’m to blame.

I have a theory that folk are actually turning to cask, as pubs turn to beers that the general public have actually heard of. Or, at least, they’re not switching over to Madri or Seacider or Pastore’s sours quite as quickly.

It is, and I male no apology for the lazy tag, a Proper Pub. Gentlefolk by the huge fire, a dad with his lad post-school pick-up, two female friends having the sort of conversation I read Mumsnet for.

And in the Gents, a L***s sticker torn asunder.

No bag of crispy beef and Singapore rice to swing wildly on the walk back to the sea this time, and I beat the bus back by a minute.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

27 thoughts on “A MORE SOBER RETURN TO THE PIPEMAKERS”

  1. There seems to be a lack of joined-up thinking, when it comes to bus timetables, that and the lack of an app that gives bus information in real time, as well as updates on late running, or cancelled services.

    Given the fragmented nature too, of many bus services, an app that includes all service operators within a specific area, would be a godsend. I don’t know which government was responsible for the fragmentation of our bus services, although I can hazard a guess. (It’s all done to increase competition, if the politicians are to be believed).

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    1. Paul, Before leaving home I often check the “bustimes” site. From whatever timetable on it I click the map which shows the position and direction of each bus. You might be able to do the same when out and and about from your mobile ‘phone.

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      1. I’ve started using an app called Transit which for Minneapolis works well. I know others who use it in other cities. I’m curious if anyone has used it in the UK? It shows support for Kent, but I’m not sure what level of support. In the US I get real time info on the busses.

        https://transitapp.com/en/region

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      2. Dave, I see that lists Select Bus Services which has 41 vehicles based on a farm several miles from me but it only comes up with “Application error: a client-side exception has occurred (see the browser console for more information)”.

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      3. Yes, I use bustimes.org quite a bit. It’s much more up to date than Google maps, as they are proactive in updating their information.

        The map is based on a signal received from the computer on the bus that issues tickets. The absence of the bus on the map doesn’t necessarily imply that there is no bus, sometimes it’s just that its signal is not being received, or that the computer has stopped working.

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      4. I may test the app sometime in the UK. I was told about by local riders who thought it is better than our local bus app. I do like the interface. It uses the same data the metro bus app uses, but it seems more accurate. Other than more frequent data checks I’m not sure how they do it. I’m not surprised it has issues with a smaller bus line. These apps always seem weakest where you need them most.

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      5. Will had told me about the app being better than Google but I always forget.

        There’s an electronic display at the bus stop that ought to be accurate but merrily tells you a bus has arrived when it’s been cancelled. Thank goodness AI will solve all these problems.

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  2. That little section of the road to Rye Harbour which does not have a pavement must be scary in the dark.
    The lack of pavement there is the reason there is a Gap inthe English Coast path between Rye and Rye Harbour.
    This is one of two gaps in the South East the other being on the Isle of Sheppey where a caravan park is being difficult about access.

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  3. The torn sticker can’t disguise the fact that the slogan is “all Leeds aren’t we”. Which is not what I hear chanted in the South Stand at Headingley, or will do again when the Rugby League season starts in February, “all Leeds are we”. Which is ungrammatical as well as unconvincing.

    Despite my moniker, when it comes to League, I’m as Leeds as they come. Apart from my understanding of slogans. We’re all Leeds here at Headingley stadium, aren’t we!

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      1. How dare you! My daughters were born and raised in Leeds and have a perfect understanding of the English language and its grammar. Perfect, I tell you.

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  5. Returning to the Pipemakers. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve driven past the place. From the photos, it looks a nice, cosy and welcoming pub, so I shall give it a try, next times I’m down that way.

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  6. I was going to write one of my ‘patented’ cut-n-paste comments, but, after seeing all of the back and forth about buses and their quirks, I felt it best not to, ahem, interrupt the ‘train’ of thought. 😉

    Cheers

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    1. I think I know what you mean Morten and remember my Junior School, built in 1828, having a coke stove in the middle of the classroom, a portrait of the Queen on the wall, proper outside toilets and the cane.

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      3. I remember – as a six-year-old – being put over the firm thighs of a perfumed blonde schoolmistress and spanked. It was humiliating and unpleasant, but I reckon that half – or more – of the Real British Establishment would pay a king’s ransom for that.

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      4. No, it had been updated four times since then.
        I never imagined that I would meet her some thirty years later.
        Or that a pub in Netherton would have a coke stove to remind me of that classroom.

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