Camber Sands

The road at 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 located east of the estuary of the River Rother at Rye Bay all the way to the East Sussex/Kent border.

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 and military units around the area and on the beach it is possible to hear military gunfire.

Shipwrecks

In the 19th century many ships washed up in the area such as The City of Delhi, The S.S. Alton Towers, S.S.H.A.Brightman, Queen Victoria of Dublin and the Van Domien^{[citation needed]}

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^[2].

Cultural references

Camber Sands, with its wide bay and large dune system, has been used in many TV programmes and films.

In 1962 the beach was used for the D-Day landing scenes in the epic war movie 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!

In 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.

On TV Camber Sands holiday resort was seen in an episode of the E4 teen comedy The Inbetweeners

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".

References

Coordinates: 50°55′59.5″N 0°47′45.9″E / 50.933194°N 0.796083°E / 50.933194; 0.796083