The Princess Royal visits National Coastwatch Station at Hengistbury Head
Published
The Princess Royal visited volunteers at the National Coastwatch station at the Hengistbury Head in Dorset. As Royal Patron of National Coastwatch, Her Royal Highness celebrated the charity’s 30th anniversary of helping to save lives around the coast.
The Princess Royal, made an extra special day for Dorset volunteers when she visited the National Coastwatch station on the clifftop at Bournemouth’s Hengistbury Head.
Her Royal Highness is Royal Patron of the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI), a charity run entirely by volunteers. This year it celebrates its 30th anniversary of helping to save lives around the coast.
The Princess Royal attended a reception at the nearby St Nicholas Church Hall. The reception was attended by over 50 NCI watchkeepers and Station Managers from other NCI Stations in the region as well as NCI Trustees Dr Chris Aps, Regional Trustee and Eric Taylor, Head of Operations.
About the National Coastwatch
All 2,700 National Coastwatch volunteer watchkeepers help to keep people safe and save lives at sea by maintaining a daily visual and radio watch of the coast, looking out for potential danger. They report coastal and local land-based safety-related incidents to HM Coastguard so that expert help can be sent, including Coastguard Rescue Teams and helicopters, the RNLI, independent lifeboats and all emergency services.
Hengistbury Head is one of six stations on the Dorset coast; Swanage, Portland, St. Albans Head and two in Lyme Bay. NCI Needles is also a local station sharing a lookout over Christchurch Bay. NCI Stations have HM Coastguard Declared Facility Status which means they are formally recognised as part of the UK’s maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) organisation.
Related content
Message from The King to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War
It is our duty to remember what was once called “the Forgotten War”.
A message from The Princess Royal following Cyclone Gabrielle
You should all be proud of the resilience, strength and care for your communities you are showing in the face of adversity.
