TV Watch: Countrywise & Romney Marsh

I’d never watched Countrywise before yesterday evening, but glancing idly through the listings I spotted the words ‘Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway’ and gave the programme a go. I’m so glad I did, because it featured the landscape which is the background to Monica Edwards’ Romney Marsh stories. We saw the endless shingle beach at Dungeness, the vast grazing lands of the Marsh, dotted with Romney sheep and, of course, the sea. Best of all was the section devoted to the little railway. I wrote about it here, so was delighted by a close-up shot of the Hurricane. Since all the engines have been in use since the 1920s, this was the very same engine featured in Operation Seabird and in Malcolm Saville’s The Elusive Grasshopper. My only disappointment was that we didn’t get a look at Camber Castle. One of my favourite mental images from Monica Edwards’ books is of Tamzin and Rissa riding out to ‘Cloudesley’ castle. The programme is still available to view via the link above.



Illustration by Anne Bullen for The Summer of the Great Secret