Autumn at Aydon Castle

Aydon Castle sits quietly in the Northumberland countryside, sheltered by woodland and wrapped in history far older and more turbulent than its peaceful appearance suggests. Built in the late 1200s as a high-status manor house for Robert de Reymes, it began life as a place of comfort rather than conflict. But the constant threats along the Anglo-Scottish border soon reshaped its purpose. By the early 14th century, with raids and political upheaval never far away, the manor was fortified into the strong, walled residence that survives today. Battlements, a defended courtyard and thick stone walls transformed this once genteel home into a structure capable of enduring the violence of the era.

Standing inside the courtyard and looking up at the remaining walls, it’s easy to appreciate how much of the original medieval layout survives. From the drone, the shape is even clearer — a neat, self-contained world built for both living and protection. Capturing it from above this afternoon gave a brilliant view of the surrounding landscape: rolling farmland, quiet tracks and woodland that almost swallows the site from ground level. It’s one of those places where the past feels particularly close, partly because Aydon hasn’t been heavily altered or reconstructed. What you see is remarkably close to what its medieval owners would have known.

Exploring and photographing spots like this is exactly why I love what I do — finding the places that history tucked gently out of sight and showing them in a new way.