Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Biggles on Hadrian\'s Wall
#1
Well, I don't know what you were doing yesterday, but I had the rare privilege of a flight along Hadrian's Wall on a gorgeous summer evening. Some of you may recall my plans to do this from way back when (some even contributed to the cost of it) and the first results can be seen here. Of the 394 photos I took, a goodly portion were rubbish and will have to be weeded out, but some were okay, and a few far from shabby. It is going to take me a while to work through them (they all have to be processed to adjust the exposure and then captioned... once I have worked out what it is I photographed in some cases!).

Part of the original goal was of course to make the photos available under a Creative Commons licence which I have done. I was using a brand new camera and my pilot found the idea of not just flying from A to B a bit of a novelty but he proved to be a star, even if I was a photographic klutz. Nevertheless, this may not be my last venture into these realms.

I tried attaching an image to this post by way of a taster but all I got was the PHP grumps for my efforts.

Mike Bishop
You know my method. It is founded upon the observance of trifles

Blogging, tweeting, and mapping Hadrian\'s Wall... because it\'s there
Reply
#2
You've got some really good pictures there, and that must have been a fun project. I especially liked how you labelled parts of the photograph (I had no idea this was possible!) so clueless people such as myself would know what they were looking at.
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
Reply
#3
Oh wow! I would LOVE to do that - really envious! The weather was very kind to me during my visit and on the last day at Chesters I really didn't want to leave Northumberland at all and sat at Steele Rigg for ages just admiring the sun soaked landscape.

Cracking one of Segedunum...and the huge roundabout at wall mile 7 (A69) was a year of my life back in ...ahem...a few years ago now. (And I did a section of the Wall at Buddle Street too actually, but just off your photographs of Wallsend)

Are there any good Vallum shots from the central section? The sunlight seems just right for emphasising it.

More piccies please when you have sorted them!!

And are they for a book? WIll they be published?
Moi Watson

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Merlot in one hand, Cigar in the other; body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, what a ride!
Reply
#4
Great stuff, Mike, look forward to more.

And as the Biggles of Hadrians Wall, the RMRS is proud to provide you with anti aircraft cover....

[Image: aagun.jpg]
[Image: wip2_r1_c1-1-1.jpg] [Image: Comitatuslogo3.jpg]


aka Paul B, moderator
http://www.romanarmy.net/auxilia.htm
Moderation in all things
Reply
#5
Brilliant photo Caballo! Made me splutter tea all over my keyboard though!! :lol: Confusedhock:

Edit: Was it a Bofors?
Moi Watson

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Merlot in one hand, Cigar in the other; body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, what a ride!
Reply
#6
Fabulous photo!.....had me laughing out loud.......and yes, it is a standard World War II vintage 40mm Bofors AA gun.... Smile D lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)

"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
Reply
#7
Quote:the RMRS is proud to provide you with anti aircraft cover....

Wow, I didn't know the ESG had an air force ;-) )

Sadly the days of re-enactors hurling grapefruits around seem to be long gone, but this is perhaps understandable, as things seem to be escalating out there
[Image: main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_it...alNumber=2]


Mike Bishop
You know my method. It is founded upon the observance of trifles

Blogging, tweeting, and mapping Hadrian\'s Wall... because it\'s there
Reply
#8
It could have been labelled as a 'Bofors and afters' shot, perhaps?

Oh dear - so sorry! Just could not resist.

Mike Thomas
(Caratacus)
visne scire quod credam? credo orbes volantes exstare.
Reply
#9
Quote:It could have been labelled as a 'Bofors and afters' shot, perhaps?

Oh dear - so sorry! Just could not resist.

Mike Thomas
(Caratacus)

Ouch! Big Grin
Moi Watson

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Merlot in one hand, Cigar in the other; body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, what a ride!
Reply
#10
Great shots Mike. I looked at the slideshow first and missed your tags. Very interesting! I have a cd about the same subject, but they largely skip the built-up areas.

Maybe next time you could lob some grapefruits on the cohorts below.. :wink:
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
Reply
#11
Quote:Sadly the days of re-enactors hurling grapefruits around seem to be long gone


Or perhaps not....

Hopefully these videos of "Bestia" will work? A wonderfully made catapult by Len Morgan , that has juiced quite a few grapefruits over the season.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/MikeHaxel ... 9177515458
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/MikeHaxel ... 5809936018
[Image: wip2_r1_c1-1-1.jpg] [Image: Comitatuslogo3.jpg]


aka Paul B, moderator
http://www.romanarmy.net/auxilia.htm
Moderation in all things
Reply
#12
Mike,

Great photos. Thanks.

Was that usually good weather for that time of year? What were you flying? At about what altitude?
"Fugit irreparabile tempus" (Irrecoverable time glides away) Virgil

Ron Andrea
Reply
#13
Flying in this (with its decidedly groovy reg), but I wasn't doing the flying, thankfully. Too busy fiddling with cameras. Interestingly my pilot had overlaid my Hadrian's Wall Google Earth plot on his sat nav which was extremely effective, given he had not previously devoted an hour and a half of his life to flying along a load of old stones.

Had to stay below 2500ft and most of the flight was at 2000ft, some of it a tad lower.

Pretty typical weather for late August, early September, but it was an exceptionally beautiful evening and the only low cloud was over Wallsend.

Mike Bishop
You know my method. It is founded upon the observance of trifles

Blogging, tweeting, and mapping Hadrian\'s Wall... because it\'s there
Reply
#14
Great photos Mike. Thanks for posting them and the labels. It makes it a little clearer where the wall runs.
The section through the town is always hard to envisage, but these help a lot.
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
Reply
#15
Those are some good photos. Thank you for the link.
Craig Bellofatto

Going to college for Massage Therapy. So reading alot of Latin TerminologyWink

It is like a finger pointing to the moon. DON\'T concentrate on the finger or you miss all the heavenly glory before you!-Bruce Lee

Train easy; the fight is hard. Train hard; the fight is easy.- Thai Proverb
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Borders folk may descend from Africans from Hadrian\'s Wall Robert Vermaat 30 9,254 10-26-2021, 07:26 AM
Last Post: John1
  Hadrian's Wall in 198AD JenniFletcher 2 1,142 09-11-2017, 08:33 AM
Last Post: JenniFletcher
  The forts and their Garrsions in Northern England prior to Hadrian's Wall felixgallus 2 1,565 07-24-2016, 03:51 PM
Last Post: Fabricius Carbo

Forum Jump: