Fun Facts Films about Camber Sands Beach:

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.

Follow That Camel was shot here during the early months of 1967, with Camber Sands representing the Sahara Desert, although filming had to be stopped several times because the dunes were covered in snow.

The Monuments Men was shot here in the early part of 2013.

The Invisible Woman (filmed in 2012, released in 2013), a period drama about the life of Nelly Ternan, has several scenes on the sand.

The Theory of Everything, about the life of Stephen Hawking, includes a scene on the sands and dunes.

The Pinewood Studios endorsed short film Sand Boys was shot entirely on the south most parts of Camber Sands.

[[Scenes from "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" were filmed here in early 1962. The film's main character (the runner), Colin Smith, portrayed by actor Tom Courtenay, and his friend take their girlfriends to Skegness for a weekend, and some scenes were filmed on this beach and in the dunes.

Television

Camber Sands was featured in Series 2 of Green Wing. Characters Alan Statham and Joanna Clore appear on the beach in the finale and in the Park Resort Holiday Park.

The dunes were featured in a 2010 advertisement for Wall's.

Camber Sands was the planet Aridius in the 1965 Doctor Who story The Chase, and then in 1986 was the filming location for a scene in the final two parts of the story Trial of a Time Lord, as part of an elaborate illusion generated by the Valeyard in the Matrix.

Camber Sands was also featured within the Netflix original series, After Life where Ricky Gervais's character walked his dog in episode 3.

The Inbetweeners episode “Caravan Club” takes place in Camber Sands.

Sports

The beach has become a popular location for kitesurfing, kite landboarding and kite buggying due to its 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. There is also an annual professional darts tournament held at the Pontins resort by the British Darts Organisation.

Second World War and inland to the east

The dunes were fortified and used for exercises in the Second World War. There is a roughly square MoD danger area and base inland of the east of the area. The dunes resemble topographically those seen in parts of Normandy and challenging desert terrain. Similar training facilities exist at Braunton in North Devon, in Scotland and in Pembrokeshire.

Features

✅Sandy beach

✅Swimming

✅Resorts

✅East Sussex

✅Kitesurfing

✅Kiteboarding

Warning

Tide comes in fast

Wild Life

The land to the west of the River Gade in the park is a designated Local Nature Reserve managed by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.

The nature reserve contains “parkland, scrubland, neutral and semi-improved grassland, along with acid and marshy grassland, swamp including tall fen, water-cress beds and alder woodland. In addition there are areas of open water including the River Gade, the Grand Union Canal and a number of ponds.”

Former water-cress beds within the park have now developed into marshland and Muntjac Deer and foxes can sometimes be spotted in the woods.

46 different species of breeding birds are present in Cassiobury Park as well as 7 of the 17 bat species which are native to the United Kingdom.  More details of the birds that have been spotted over the last century have been compiled by Ian Bennell.

In 2010 and 2011 a series of wooden posts were erected around the nature reserve to provide a nature trail highlighting some of the birds and animals that can be found in the park.

The History of Cassiobury Park

In 2014 a book was published called “Cassiobury: The Ancient Seat of the Earls of Essex”. This was written by Paul Rabbitts and Sarah Kerenza Priestley and contains lots of information about the history of Cassiobury Park. The Earls of Essex lived in Cassiobury House for more than 250 years. By the start of the 20th century the house was no longer used as a permanent residence and the estate began to be sold off.

Features

✅Park

✅Hub and paddling pools

✅Bandstand

✅Sports facilities

✅Education opportunities

✅Volunteering

✅Nature

✅Responsible dog owners at Cassiobury Park

✅History

✅Explorers and Forest School

✅Park projects

✅toilets 

✅Cafe