Camber Sands
For historical information on the area, see Camber article
Camber Sands is a beach at the village of Camber (near Rye), East Sussex, England. It is the only sand dune system in East Sussex and is located east of the estuary of the River Rother at Rye Bay all the way to the East Sussex/Kent border.
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[edit] Dunes
Camber Sands is a site of scientific interest, geographical interest and nature conservation due its large dune system. This area is the only existing system in East Sussex.[1] There are also several MoD bases around the area.
[edit] Parking
There are two main car parks in Camber called Western and Central, both have direct access to the beach. The Western car park closes at 8pm in the summer.[2]
Parking prices in Camber Sands Western car park are:
0-1hrs £1.50
1-2hrs £4.00
2-4hrs £7.00
4-6hrs £9.00
6-8hrs £11.00
8hrs + £13.00
[edit] Sporting activities
The beach has become a popular location for kitesurfing, kiteboarding and kite buggying due to its large size, compact sand and favourable wind conditions. Kite launches are only allowed in the designated area at the eastern end of the beach near the Jury's Gap car park.[3]
[edit] Cultural references
Camber Sands, with its wide bay and large dune system, has been used in a variety of creative media.
[edit] Films
The beach was used in the 1958 film Dunkirk starring John Mills to recreate Operation Dynamo. They were used again as Normandy beaches during D-Day in the 1962 epic The Longest Day.
Carry On Follow That Camel was shot on location here during the early months of 1967 when Camber Sands doubled for the Sahara Desert although filming had to be stopped several times because the dunes were covered in snow.
[edit] Television
Camber Sands holiday resort was seen in an episode of the E4 teen comedy The Inbetweeners. It was also featured in Series 2 of Green Wing. Alan Statham and Joanna Clore appear both on the beach in the finale as well as in the Park Resort Holiday Park. The dunes were featured in a 2010 advertisement for 'Walls'.
[edit] Music
Camber Sands is mentioned in "Europe Is Our Playground" (B-side to "Trash") by Suede, "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" by Squeeze (also covered by Head Automatica), "Diamonds and Pearls" by The Holloways, and "Heavyweight Champion of the World" by Reverend and The Makers. It was also used as a title to Fatboy Slim's EP single Camber Sands (EP). Feeder's 2003 video for "Forget About Tomorrow", was partially shot on the beach.
The song "On Camber Sands" appears on Gordon Giltrap's album Troubadour, and is a common feature in his live sets. Jose Vanders refers to Camber Sands in her song "For Now".
The cover of the 1980 LP record Beat Boys In The Jet Age by mod revival band, The Lambrettas, was photographed on Camber Sands.
The cover of the Bucks Fizz album I Hear Talk, was photogaphed at Camber Sands.
Paul McCartney and his band Wings filmed the music video for their Back to the Egg album track "Baby's Request" at Camber Sands in 1979. This was shown as part of their 1981 TV special, on BBC 1, featuring many videos recorded entirely in the Sussex area to accompany the tracks.
[edit] References
- ^ Sand Dune Management Plan East Sussex County Council
- ^ http://britishweekendbreaks.co.uk/cambersandsbeach
- ^ Kite Zones The Kitesurf Centre
Coordinates: 50°55′59.5″N 0°47′45.9″E / 50.933194°N 0.796083°E
