Eyes in the sky: see Northumberland from a vintage plane

Photographs by Nicholas JR White

Down to my left sits historic Bamburgh Castle, the Norman fortress rising red and majestic in the dunes, and surrounded today by haar – a bank of misty sea-fret that’s been hugging the shore since morning, now beginning to fray and dissipate in the July afternoon heat.

In the cockpit behind me, Justin Helliwell, a recently retired RAF wing commander, pilots G-EMSY with gentle ease – “empathic flying” he calls it. “Nothing sudden, you don’t want to jostle or wrestle her, she’s nearly 90 years old!”

In the air it’s really too loud to talk. In my seat, sheltered by an instrument panel and tiny windscreen, things are pretty tranquil, if cacophonous, but to lean out a little is to be exposed to a buffeting storm. Added to which the Tiger Moth’s roar, vibration, and the way it bobs and jinks about the sky, makes communication tricky. Luckily the view is spectacular, a full sweep of Northumberland wonders: the giant rumpled mass of the Cheviot Hills to the west; Holy Island and Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve to the north; ahead of us, the seaside villages of Alnmouth and Amble, which promise excellent food and drink. And almost directly below us now spreads Alnwick (pronounced An’ik), home to the mighty Barter Books, arguably England’s finest secondhand bookshop – all well worth a visit once back on terra firma.

Biplanes featured in much of my childhood reading – zooming across the pages of Tintin, Richard Scarry’s Busy World, The Little Prince, Rupert Bear – and later, Dastardly & Muttley. But my interest became a passion when I first saw Alfred G Buckham’s aerial shots of Edinburgh and the Forth Bridge on a family holiday to Scotland. Between the wars, Buckham’s daredevil aerial aesthetic became famous worldwide. One of my favourite shots, Durham, Storm Breaking, c1925, captures a biplane emerging from thunder clouds while, below, Durham Cathedral glows, spotlit by shafts of sun, apparently defying the tempest to come.

I’ve often thought of the image while travelling on the East Coast mainline. Now, with a major retrospective of Buckham’s work in the offing at the National Galleries of Scotland, I’m paying tribute with a visit to Northumberland and Bamburgh Castle – halfway between Durham and Edinburgh; just the sort of landmark Buckham would have loved to shoot.

How might he have gone about it? With the help of photographer Nicholas JR White, and the pilots and planes of nearby Eshott Airfield, I’ve set out to discover exactly that.

Northumberland county is beautiful, its seascape especially so. Between Berwick-upon-Tweed and the River Coquet estuary at Amble, the coastline has been designated a National Landscape, “a legally protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”.

As well as being uniquely rich in wildlife and history, this 40-mile stretch is delightfully varied in terms of topography – boasting some of Britain’s finest beaches, together with mudflats, headlands, marshes and coves – the result of geological juxtaposition, hard dolerite and black basalt abutting softer sandstone and oolite. To walk the seaboard is to be constantly amazed by the views around the next hill, dune or bluff. Will the next panorama feature Arthurian castles, lighthouses perched on serrate rocks, churches in wildflower meadows, mysterious islands, white beaches, natural harbours or a picturesque village? Sometimes, many of the above.

Nicholas and I toured the coast in the days before our flight, tracing much of the 97-mile St Oswald’s Way, a long distance route between Holy Island and Hadrian’s Wall, which links locations associated with the early seventh-century king of Northumbria, who played a major part in bringing Christianity to his people.

In the summer heat, on foot, we encountered many stunning panoramas: the skies above Bamburgh billowing with starling murmurations, the low sun flooding the sands and towering castle ramparts gold; Earl Grey’s Bathing House near Howick Sands, where steps lead down to hand-cut sun-warmed pools, and crazed remains of shipwrecks visible at low tide. Nearby the magnificent ruined fortress of Dunstanburgh lies open to the sky – the drama, detail and extent of all these sites, viewed from above, was a startling epiphany. And for those who remain on the ground there’s a happy number of good pubs to drop into en route, the famous Jolly Fisherman in Craster chief among them.

We stayed at the Whittling House – a hotel and restaurant in the village of Alnmouth that sits on a curve of the River Aln – an ideal staging post to explore Northumberland’s wonders. Snug, gracious and friendly, it’s a place for locals to chat over coffee or an unhurried G&T. Next door in the dining room the menu is a thoughtful mix of local and seasonal dishes, with kippers from Craster, Northumberland-bred beef, Whitby scampi and oysters from Lindisfarne. With 10 comfortable rooms to suit couples and families, the Whittling House also provides a splendid cooked breakfast to kickstart the day, be that supine at the beach or airborne over Morpeth.

To take our shots of Bamburgh à la Buckham, we’d organised to fly two aircraft in relatively close formation. Justin Helliwell – until recently flying Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain memorial flight – would take to the sky with me in Tiger Moth G-EMSY, while fellow Eshott pilot Peter Brooks would fly alongside with Nicholas in a silver Chipmunk monoplane – the latter directing photographic operations by means of his headset and “a sophisticated series of hand movements”. (Some of which apparently involved directing Justin to waggle and roll my biplane sideways in quite alarming ways.)

Earlier, post pre-flight briefing and tour of our flying machines, we’d sat beside the runway at Eshott Airfield – 10 miles inland – watching microlights take off and land, steadying our nerves with a cup of tea from the café, trying to channel Biggles and Amelia Earhart and look unfazed, relaxed.

But for all that, our flight was astonishingly serene, we drifted more than darted over the blues and greens below. “It’s a kite with an engine in many ways,” Justin told me shortly before take off, great lift but sedate. G-EMSY ’s cruising speed is around 80 knots, about 92 miles an hour. On the day of our flight, the cricketer Jofra Archer was bowling faster at Lords.

I’d thought of that as we accelerated across the airstrip, the storm and din of the open cockpit building until the ground fell away and we were up. The most wonderful feeling. No motion sickness; only joy. To be suddenly so high and climbing higher, the horizon expanding – to have a bird’s eye view. What a thing.

And, yes, there was the silver Chipmunk beside me, and yes, there was Nicholas making those promised hand-gestures and, oh…

“Here we go!” calls Justin over the intercom, as Bamburgh skims into view.

And somewhere I hear Alfred Buckham, laughing.

Tigerflights experiences at Eshott Airfield start at £249 (tigerflights.co.uk)

Where to stay
On the historical Charlton Hall Estate, The Tempus offers striking rooms in enchanting surrounds (rooms from £150), while the Bailiffgate Hotel in Alnwick is the country’s newest boutique hotel, with views of the castle opposite (rooms from £150).

Where to eat
In Bamburgh, the Potted Lobster dishes up great value, delicious local seafood, else refuel at the village’s Walled Garden cafe. For something special, book in for the 14-course tasting menu at Sonnet in Alnwick.

Must visit
Explore Northumbria’s ancient history at the Ad Gefrin Anglo Saxon Museum. Setting sail from the Seahouses, Serenity Farne Island Boat Tours are perfect for wildlife lovers, sailing all year round. Stop by Cragside to see Victorian Tudor Revival architecture and gardens at their best.

1. Aerial Collective, based at Duxford Airfield, near Cambridge, offer flights in two seat Supermarine Spitfires, as well as other iconic WWII aircraft including a Hawker Hurricane and a Bristol Blenheim. 

2. Aero Legends are the only UK operators licensed to provide public fighter jet flights. Book a visit to North Weald Airfield, Essex, to experience ‘Red Arrow’ style formation flying in an ex-military Strikemaster. 

3. Founded in 1957, The Tiger Club aims to encourage all aspects of sport flying, including aerobatics, air racing, formation and display flying. Visit them at Damyns Hall Aerodrome, Upminster, to fly in a range of vintage aircraft including Piper Cubs and Tiger Moths.

4. If a flight ‘inside’ a biplane sounds too lily-livered, The Wing Walk Company offer out-of-fusalage experiences for individuals & charities from airfields in Kent, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Somerset.

Dan Richards is the author of Overnight: Journeys, Conversations and Stories After Dark, recently published by Canongate Books