WELCOME TO NORTHERN ENGLAND

An aerial look at Washington F Pit, one of the last major survivors of the town’s mining past. F Pit dates back to the eighteenth century and eventually developed into a huge colliery employing more than 1,500 men. The shafts reached hundreds of feet underground, while roadways spread horizontally through the coal seams beneath Washington, including a known underground connection with Glebe Colliery nearly a mile away. Above ground were workshops, boilers, sidings, baths, offices and coal handling facilities, but most of the site disappeared after the pit closed in 1968. The winding house, headgear and steam winding engine were deliberately preserved, leaving a small but powerful reminder of the industry that once dominated this landscape.

An aerial look at Nenthead Mines in the North Pennines, one of the most complete surviving lead-mining landscapes in the area. Mining here developed on a huge scale, particularly under the London Lead Company. Ore was brought out through long levels, processed on dressing floors, powered by water from reservoirs and leats, and then smelted nearby. The company also reshaped Nenthead itself, providing housing, a school, chapel, public water supply and other facilities for its workforce. From above, the surviving remains show just how extensive the operation once was - not simply a mine, but an entire landscape built around extracting and processing lead.

An aerial look at St Peter’s Church in Monkwearmouth, one of Sunderland’s most important historic buildings. Founded by Benedict Biscop in AD 674, the monastery brought specialist stonemasons and glassworkers from Gaul to Northumbria, helping introduce new building and glazing techniques. The young Venerable Bede also came here, and parts of the original Anglo-Saxon church still survive more than 1,300 years later. It’s a remarkable link between early Christianity, learning, architecture and the beginnings of Sunderland’s long relationship with glass.

Thomas Bouch’s name became forever associated with the Tay Bridge disaster, but his career was far bigger than a single catastrophic failure. Hownsgill Viaduct near Consett opened in 1858, replacing a difficult system of rope-worked inclines with twelve enormous brick arches carrying the railway around 150 feet above the gill. For more than a century it served the industries around Consett, and today it survives as part of the Waskerley Way and Coast to Coast route. The bridge also carries a sadder history, with repeated deaths at the viaduct eventually leading to the installation of the high protective railings seen today. More than 160 years after Bouch built it, Hownsgill remains one of the strongest reminders that his engineering story deserves to be remembered in full.

An FPV flight around Ashgill Force, capturing the waterfall from as many angles as possible. Flying low over the water, sweeping around the rock face, threading through the trees and climbing towards the top of the falls gives a completely different view of the gorge and the sheer force of the water. A short flight, but plenty packed into it. #NorthernPerspectives #AshgillForce #FPVDrone

A low FPV flight following the River Nent upstream through the historic mining landscape at Nenthead. Nenthead became one of the major centres of lead mining in the North Pennines, particularly under the London Lead Company, with a huge network of mines, dressing floors, watercourses and associated buildings developing through the 18th and 19th centuries. Zinc later became increasingly important too. Today it remains one of the most complete historic mining landscapes in the North Pennines - and following the river through it by FPV gives a very different view of how the whole site fits together. #NorthernPerspectives #Nenthead #FPVDrone

A short FPV flight along Ash Gill, threading through the trees, following the water upstream, climbing Ashgill Force and finishing with a run through the bridge above. A compact little flight, but a brilliant mix of woodland, moving water and stonework all in one run. #NorthernPerspectives #AshgillForce #FPVDrone

An evening FPV flight around one of the North East’s most recognisable landmarks - the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. Opened in 2001 and designed by WilkinsonEyre with engineers Gifford, it became the world’s first tilting bridge. The pedestrian and cycle deck and its supporting arch rotate together, producing the famous ‘blinking eye’ movement that allows vessels to pass beneath. As daylight disappears and the bridge lighting begins to reflect across the Tyne, it’s a cracking structure to explore from the air. #NorthernPerspectives #Gateshead #FPVDrone

A short aerial highlights reel from the Houghton Feast fireworks in Houghton-le-Spring. Captured from above as the display lit up the sky over the town and funfair, with some huge bursts and a brilliant finale.