The Duchess of Cornwall took a trip down memory lane when she visited an East Sussex farm – and revealed she used to ride to school on horseback in the area.
Camilla reminisced about her days growing up in the county when she was given a tour of Allington Farm, a holding run by an organisation which provides residential breaks for vulnerable young people.
In bright sunshine, the duchess took a tour of the farm, in Lewes, run by the charity, Jamie’s Farm, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and which Camilla supports as patron.
She met the latest batch of teenagers on the residential course and joined the pupils from Harris Academy Orpington in Kent as they prepared food and made bath bombs or bath salts.
When one girl spilt water down herself, Camilla sympathised and said: “Don’t worry it’s only a bit of water, water never hurt anybody.”
Camilla told a group of schoolchildren she was feeling nostalgic and had spent many a happy hour on a nearby bridleway and sometimes used to ride to school on horseback.
Her family lived for many years in The Laines, a large home on the edge of Plumpton village in East Sussex which is close to the farm.
As she toured the farm, the duchess could not resist stroking a lamb when she came across students holding the young animals and she even peered over a gate to look at Flopsy the pig and her 13 piglets.
During her day in Sussex, the duchess, who is president of Wine GB, visited the award-winning Ridgeview Wine Estate, a family-run sparkling wine business.
Her father, Major Bruce Shand, was a wine merchant and passed on his love of the grape to his daughter, who is known to favour a glass of red wine.
But she was happy to try some of the sparkling tipples on offer and was even given a gift of a rare archive wine to sample at home.
Ridgeview is run by chief executive officer Tamara Roberts and her brother, head winemaker Simon Roberts, whose parents Mike and Christine Roberts set up the vineyard 24 years ago.
They now produce a quarter of a million bottles a year and before she left the duchess was taken on a tour of some of the vineyards to see the vines.
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