The Princess Royal travelled by bus and came face-to-face with bats and meerkats during a whistlestop tour of East Sussex.

During her three-hour visit yesterday afternoon, she made a series of trips to bolster the beleaguered tourist industry following years of hardship.

Princess Anne met a host of creatures at Drusillas Zoo Park at Alfriston, near Polegate, including endangered macaques and farmyard animals.

Section head Clare Reed said: "She was very informed about the different types of creatures there are and showed a keen interest."

The Princess was among nine Royal Family members taking part in British Tourism Day to help the hard-hit tourist industry recover from disasters like foot-and-mouth and September 11.

It was the first time so many royals joined a theme day to back a single aspect of British life and their destinations included Legoland, museums and tea rooms.

The Princess arrived at Seven Sisters, near Seaford, by helicopter dressed in a lemon yellow outfit and wraparound Oakley sunglasses.

People waiting for a bus opposite the attraction's visitor centre were surprised when she strode up and chatted to them briefly.

She was met at Seven Sisters Country Park by civic leaders, including Eastbourne Tory MP Nigel Waterson, the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex Phyllida Stewart-Roberts and Chief Superintendent Paul Pearce.

The park, set amid 700 acres of the Cuckmere Valley, draws almost a million visitors every year.

With visitor numbers now starting to pick up, tourism bosses in East Sussex predict this summer could be the best in the past few years.

As well as enjoying the scenery, the Princess also took time out to learn and received a presentation on a scheme aimed at encouraging greener forms of travel within the Cuckmere Valley.

As part of the initiative, visitors are encouraged to hire bicycles to ride across the Cuckmere Valley and prevent harm against the environmentally-sensitive landscape.

Since Bike Express was set up by the Cuckmere Valley Cycle Company last year, thousands of people have taken advantage of their 300-strong fleet.

Company director Simon Sherwen said: "Business has been good, particularly since Easter which is nice after having two abnormal seasons due to the autumn 2000 floods and foot-and-mouth."

Princess Anne joked to Mr Sherwen: "You actually get paid to do this type of work, do you?", before she met people from the Sussex Wildlife Trust which runs an environmental education programme at the park.

Later, she unveiled a plaque commemorating her visit and said: "What you are doing is very innovative and I hope that many other areas take an interest in what you are doing - irrespective of the weather."

The Princess carried on with the environmental theme by boarding the Cuckmere Community Bus to her next venue, 14th Century Alfriston Clergy House in nearby Polegate.

The bus, run by volunteers since 1976, links villages and remote spots to main towns, bus stops and railway stations in East Sussex.

At Alfriston Clergy House, she saw a typical thatched Wealden hall house with a century-old Judas tree in its cottage garden and stunning views across the River Cuckmere.

Mark Dowling, development director of Tourism South-East, said: "Tourism has had a difficult couple of years, what with September 11, the Iraq war and foot-and-mouth. It's good to see the Royal Family supporting tourism, which is worth £3 billion to the South-East alone. Many thousands of jobs depend on it."

Afterwards, the Princess again boarded the bus and moved on to Drusillas, which drew 350,000 visitors last year and won Sussex Family Attraction of the Year 2000.

She was introduced to more than 20 employees plus nine members of the Drusillas junior board of directors aged ten to 13 and asked them how often they met, what their functions were and whether they enjoyed being part of Drusillas.

Drusillas managing director Laurence Smith said: "So often tourism in this country is not given sufficient support despite its importance to the economy and jobs.

"So it is great that the Royal Family have taken this initiative and I'm sure it will benefit the whole region."

Wednesday June 11, 2003