A winter walk on West Wittering beach just right to blow away the Covid blues
t was clear that West Wittering beach is not just for the summer.
The brisk sea breeze made for rosy cheeks beneath bobble hats as we strolled along the long sandy beach enjoying the brisk sea breeze. With the large café closed the many picnic benches became full of friends and families with welcoming flasks of tea and al-fresco dining.
We walked for over two hours meeting so many other walkers, many like us with a four-legged companion. Our little dog, Dora, dashed around the deep sandy beach, playing with many other dogs until a rather large, overpowering chocolate Labrador thought she was a ball to chase!
We met twitchers and photographers who were searching the marsh grasslands for birds.
The tide was out, but still the water was not far from us as a sudden dip allowed for small sailing boats and a canoeist to be close to us to pass the time of day – it must have been so cold on the water.
There is something rather special about the seaside that blows all the worries of Covid away, clears the head to tackle another day of lockdown. Perhaps it was Covid that made the West Wittering such an attraction this wintery day?
Anyway, a large car park allows for socially distance parking with a £2 charge, no pre-booked parking required as was
Ithe case this summer. A winter walk requires a hot coffee, and as you leave the car park there is just space to park and pop into The Landing coffee shop for a cappuccino to enjoy sat across the road on the green taking in the fading light of another Covid day.
Many of you may be glued to the Netflix fictional serious, The Crown. Being a horse lover, like many, must have instantly recognised that the scene with Erin Doherty, the actress playing The Princess Royal, competing in the show jumping phase at the 1979 event, where she finished sixth, was our very own Sussex venue, Hickstead.
The huge Longines International
Arena with its permanent grandstands and multitude of show jumps made a convincing backdrop, the cheering crowds apparently added through computer graphics. Princess Anne is seen jumping a clear round over a sizable course of jumps that included some of the famous fences, such as the Al Shira’aa Derby wall.
In the scene, the characters of The Queen and Prince Philip, played by Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies, are seen in the Master’s Box, cheering their daughter on. They are also joined by the character of Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), who is later depicted having one of his early meetings with the young Lady Diana
Spencer (Emma Corrin) when queuing to leave the event.
“I’m a huge fan of The Crown so we were more than happy for part of the new series to be filmed here,” says Hickstead director Lizzie Bunn. “It was quite a production, taking several weeks to setup and four full days of filming. Quite a few members of the Hickstead team were involved in filming the scenes too, playing roles such as the gate steward and the official waving a flag at the finish. They all had to go to Elstree to be fitted out with costumes from the era, which was great fun.”
I know that when they filmed the Jilly Cooper book about show jumpers the Surrey show jumper William Funnel was the stand-in jockey, so who was Anne’s stand in? It was the young girl that my son used to show jump alongside in their school team. A local Sussex lady, Amy Inglis, who is a regular competitor at Hickstead and was a member of the British Nations Cup team there in 2019.
Princess Anne did actually compete at Hickstead, most notably winning the combined training in 1973 on her famous horse Doublet. The Princess Royal has also visited the showground on a number of occasions in an official capacity, while Her Majesty The Queen is the official patron of the Longines Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead.