I had planned to fly to Cumbernauld and visit nearby Kincaid House, historic seat of Clan Kincaid and maybe even overfly it for some aerial shots, but its sods law that the day you have managed to hire a 'plane and find a co-pilot for a photographic mission will be misty with low cloud and drizzle.
I met my co-pilot Mike at the airport and while awaiting a hoped for improvement in the weather we went for lunch. Just as the visibility began to improve a little we were concerned to see the 'plane that I had booked weeks ago departing from the airport, having now been hired to someone else on the assumption that we would not now be using it.
Fortunately the owner of this Piper Cherokee Warrior was willing to make it available to us at short notice. By now though it was getting rather late for Cumbernauld and the weather there hadn't improved so we opted for a short cross country trip to Eshott instead.
There was a buzz around Carlisle Airport with a car rally and gliding taking place today.
As Mike hadn't flown this aircraft previously and was to fly the outward leg of the trip, he wanted to do a circuit and a touch and go landing at the home airport before setting course for Eshott. I often fly over St. Kentigern's Church at Irthington Village, but as this is underneath the flight path just a mile from landing at Carlisle Airport, I am usually far too busy at this point in the flight to contemplate photography. Mike's decision to fly an approach for a touch and go afforded me this rare opportunity to photograph St. Kentigern's Church. St.Kentigern's Church is a Norman building, erected in the twelfth century and has later Victorian Gothic additions, including a clocktower. The Church was thoroughly restored during the 1970's.
We flew over Hexham, with the River Tyne seen here on the left of picture. Appropriately I was wearing my Teviotdale district tartan, as the lighter blue and the yellow stripe in the tartan derive from the colours of the flag of Hexham priory.
In 1514, the year after Flodden, Lord Dacre (Bailiff of Hexham and March Warden) led a band of raiders that included Hexham men into Scotland. The Hexham Priory flag was captured by the Hawick callants, and was appropriated as the Hawick Flag, with the initials H C and a vertical line added. The banner, carried annually at Hawick Common Riding is a lasting reminder of this skirmish, the Battle of Hornshole.
At the consecration of the Hexham Abbey nave in 1908 Hawick lent a copy of the banner to be carried in procession, and by 1914, the 400th anniversary of its capture, Hawick had presented Hexham Abbey with a replica. In 1972 the Provost of Hawick gave a new flag to the people of Hexham as a token of the friendship established between the two communities.
Now on base leg for Eshott Airfield, a former RAF station, dating from World War II, and situated five miles inland from the east coast fishing village of Amble. The airfield was used from 1942 by 57 OTU (Operational Training Unit) for training Spitfire pilots. The road at the bottom of the picture is the A1 Great North Road from London to Edinburgh.
Beside the aircraft at Eshott, in Teviotdale kilt, taken by Mike.
As we went into the small terminal at Eshott for a coffee I was asked by one of the locals had we arrived from Perth. My co-pilot Mike, who is a sassenach and doesn't really get the kilt thing said he must have gained that impression from my "costume" !
And so back to Carlisle - my turn to fly so no more photos today !
Linear Mode
