‘For that moment, I was the CAPTAIN!

The magical landscapes of her childhood are at the heart of author Kate Mosse’s writing

- ZOE WEST

This picture was taken on an amazing trip on my own with my father. It was 1968 and I was six. My sisters were too young to go on a grown-up adventure. Not that we went anywhere. We may have been on a boat but we were moored at Dell Quay, near the Fishbourne Marshes in Chichester, where I grew up. I liked being outside and loved the idea of being daring, but I was actually quite cautious. Here I am, tiller in hand, father's cap on, taking my job very seriously. For that moment, I was the captain!

The Fishbourne Marshes was the landscape of my childhood. Every Sunday we'd feed the ducks at the millpond, then walk out on the marshes. It's an incredible place as it's always different, depending on whether the tide is up or down. We'd make up stories and my parents would play along, pretending we were marooned. When we were older, my sisters and I went out to make dens in the trees. It was our playground.