View allAll Photos Tagged hidef
This aerial photograph looks down over the core buildings of Exton Hall and its immediate service complex, set within the parkland at Exton near Oakham, Rutland.
Exton Hall (country house)
The main house in the foreground is Exton Hall, built in 1850–1851 as the seat of the Noel family, Earls of Gainsborough. It replaced the earlier mansion whose ruins lie elsewhere in the park. The hall is a mid-Victorian country house, characterised by its formal façade, corner towers and balanced plan, expressing aristocratic status in the 19th century.
Estate chapel
Attached to the east side of the hall is the private estate chapel, built at the same mid-19th-century phase. It provided a place of worship for the household and guests, separate from the parish church of St Peter and St Paul nearby.
Service court and stable buildings
Behind the hall is the service courtyard, developed to support the running of the estate. The most distinctive feature is the circular stable yard, dating from the late 18th century, an efficient and fashionable design used for housing horses, coaches and grooms’ accommodation.
Most stable yards on English estates are rectangular or U-shaped, which are cheaper and simpler to build and extend.
Circular or oval stable yards are rare and usually appear only on large, well-funded estates where architectural display mattered as much as function.
They were most fashionable in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when estate owners were experimenting with symmetry, efficiency and visual drama.
The circular plan allowed excellent circulation for horses and carriages.
It gave a clear separation between working areas and the principal house.
It made a statement of wealth and modernity—this was not a purely practical choice.
Well-known comparisons:
Woburn Abbey has an early and influential circular riding house and stabling complex.
Badminton House includes a notable circular stable court.
Croome Court has curved and radial service buildings influenced by 18th-century planning ideals.
A circular stable yard is a deliberate architectural flourish, not an everyday estate solution. Its presence at Exton signals ambition, confidence and expense, aligning the estate with the most progressive ideas in Georgian landscape and estate design.
Surrounding ranges include coach houses, stores and later garages.
Ancillary estate buildings
Additional ranges and pavilions around the courtyard housed workshops, estate offices and domestic services, carefully screened from the main approach so that the working life of the estate did not intrude on the formal appearance of the hall and gardens.
Together these buildings illustrate how Exton functioned as a complete country estate, combining grand domestic architecture with carefully planned service infrastructure.
Aerial photo of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire – home of the Dukes of Rutland for over 1,000 years. The current castle, completed in the 1830s, stands on the site of three earlier fortresses.
Type L for the HiDef view!
Party boat getting ready in Dubai Marina. These days I am mostly shooting in my neighborhood so expect to see more marina shots :)
Dubai Set | Digital Blending Set | Night Photography Set
Join me on Google+
Swaffham, Norfolk — an aerial photograph of the market town at the heart of Breckland, showing the Georgian market place and the distinctive Buttercross, built in 1783 by George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford. The town was granted a charter to hold markets in 1186, and its long history as a trading centre continues today with the Saturday market visible here.
The large red-brick building at the top centre is the former Corn Hall, completed in 1858, now used for community events and exhibitions. Swaffham’s prosperity grew from agriculture and the nearby Fens, and it expanded rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the handsome façades around the square date from that Georgian era.
Swaffham is also known for its association with the “Pedlar of Swaffham” legend, commemorated in a carving on the church of St Peter and St Paul, one of the finest town churches in Norfolk.
A busy, characterful market town surrounded by gently rolling Breckland farmland.
Aerial view of Fort Gilkicker - a Palmerston fort built at the eastern end of Stokes Bay, 1863 to 1871. Its purpose was to defend the anchorage at Spithead and the western approach to Portsmouth Harbour.
Hampshire UK aerial image
Aerial view of Carrow Road, home of Norwich City Football Club, lit up for an evening match and standing out brightly against the surrounding city. The stadium, originally opened in 1935 after the club moved from The Nest, has grown and modernised into the landmark seen here, with a capacity of over 27,000. Each of its four stands — the Barclay, the River End (Geoffrey Watling City Stand), the Jarrold Stand (South Stand), and the Norwich & Peterborough Stand (now known as the Regency Security Stand) — can be seen illuminated in this view.
In the foreground is part of the historic Colman’s mustard works, a site once central to Norwich’s industrial identity. Some of the large factory buildings and warehouses remain prominent, though mustard production itself has since moved away from the city.
To the left, the River Wensum curves through Norwich, its lights reflecting on the water, while the modern residential developments of Riverside cluster close to the stadium. The railway line is visible running parallel to the ground, with Norwich railway station just beyond the floodlit stands, highlighting how Carrow Road is tightly woven into the fabric of the city.
This aerial perspective captures Norwich as a blend of history and modern life: a city of industry, football, and riverside living, with Carrow Road shining as the beating heart of the Canaries’ loyal support.
Aerial view of a rainbow above Settle in the Yorkshire Dales - aerial imagery from a sub 250g drone.
Aerial view of the Ribblehead in North Yorkshire - completed 1874. Over 100 men lost their lives during its construction. Yorkshire UK aerial image
The two working drawbridges have been drawn up every night since 1510.
Aerial view of Helmingham Hall in Suffolk - UK aerial photography
Aerial image: HMS Queen Elizabeth & HMS Prince Of Wales moored in front of the Portsmouth naval base & historic dock yards
Rockingham Castle was a haunt of Charles Dickens, who was a great friend of Richard and Lavinia Watson—ancestors of the current family. The castle was arguably the inspiration for Chesney Wold in Bleak House. Rockingham Castle aerial image - Northamptonshire UK
5-2-2016 - Islamic Republic of Iran, Airbus A340-313.
Probably one of the rarest aircraft to visit us at Gatwick this year (so far). It arrived on 3-2-2016 from Tehran in connection with Syrian peace talks being held in London. It departed on 5-3-2016 back to Tehran.
*Snapseed Edit.*
Info:
The aircraft was built in 1999 and carried the test reg. F-WWJS. It was delivered to Air Canada as C-GDVV on 11-2-1999. Later delivered to Air Jamaica as 6Y-JMP on 5-3-2002.
Turkish Airlines was the next to operate the aircraft as TC-JIK - They took delivery on 6-9-2008.
From there it went into service with Air Blue as AP-EDF on 29-9-2012.
Asian Express Airline took delivery of the aircraft as EY-680 on 10-9-2015.
Meraj Airlines took delivery of the aircraft as EP-AJA on 15-9-2015 and leased it out to the Iran Government.
C/n - 257
Seaford Head Local Nature Reserve, & Sussex Wildlife Trust. Seaford Head & the Seven Sisters in East Sussex UK - aerial image
Aerial view of St Benets Level Drainage Mill & Thurne Mill on the river Thurne - Norfolk Broads UK - www.norfolkmills.co.uk/WindmillsD/st-benets-level-drainag...
The castle where Henry VI was born. Aerial view of Pembroke Castle in Pembrokeshire - Wales UK aerial image
Easton Bavents, Suffolk – one of the fastest-eroding coastlines in England.
These images show The Easternmost Cabin on Easton Lane – one of the last surviving properties on this stretch of coast. It now stands on the very edge of the land: fields, roads and houses that once lay further east have already gone.
Easton Bavents was once a village listed in the Domesday Book (1086) with its own parish and a church, St Nicholas. By the early 1800s, erosion had already claimed much of the settlement – and the church fell over the cliff in the 1830s. No trace of it survives on the ground today.
Since the 19th century, more than 400 metres of land have disappeared, and recent rates of erosion have reached 2–3 metres per year. Some properties are protected by sea walls and rock armour, but the unprotected cliffs continue to retreat.
To the south lies Southwold, which now covers the former parish of Easton Bavents. To the north the land becomes wilder, leading towards Covehithe and Benacre – another coastline steadily being claimed by the North Sea.
This is not a disaster of a single day – it is centuries of land quietly slipping away.
An aerial view of Downham Market’s historic town centre, with the old Market Place clearly visible at the heart of the image. The white octagonal clock tower — built in 1878 as a gift from the town’s mayor, James Scott — stands as the focal point of the square, surrounded by 18th and 19th-century shopfronts, inns, and cottages.
The narrow High Street runs northward through the middle of the scene, its tight alignment reflecting medieval origins long before modern traffic arrived. The carstone and red-brick buildings that line it are typical of West Norfolk, giving the town its warm, earthy tone.
At the top right, partly hidden by trees, lies St Edmund’s Church, dating from the 13th century and built largely of local carr-stone. The combination of church, market square, and clustered streets captures the essence of a traditional Fenland market town — compact, full of character, and steeped in centuries of trade and community life.
aerial view looking across Blakeney Harbour and the Holkham National Nature Reserve towards Wells next the Sea - north Norfolk aerial image
If you click on the picture, you can actually see the pollen on the bloom. One can also see the pollen on the Vinca leaves. Fascinating pic in hidef.
Aerial view of the Great Naval Hospital (now private homes) in Great Yarmouth. Completed in 1811, it was commissioned by the Admiralty to care for the sick and wounded of the Royal Navy's North Sea Fleet in its battles with the Napoleonic French Navy. Norfolk aerial image. www.rnhgy.org.uk/
Aerial view looking north over Brancaster Staithe on the Norfolk coast, the winding channels of the tidal harbour lead out towards Scolt Head Island and the North Sea beyond. The view perfectly captures one of the most distinctive stretches of the North Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty — an ever-shifting landscape of saltmarsh, sandbanks, mudflats and tidal creeks shaped twice a day by the sea.
The small harbour at Brancaster Staithe is clearly visible near the bottom of the frame, busy with parked cars, sailing boats, fishing vessels and dinghies hauled up at the high-water line. This is home to Brancaster Staithe Sailing Club and a working fishing quay – cockles, mussels and samphire are still harvested here in season. At low tide, the mudflats stretch out dramatically, revealing the intricate channels that local boaters know so well.
Beyond the harbour lies Scolt Head Island National Nature Reserve, a 4-mile-long barrier island formed over thousands of years by longshore drift. It protects the coastline from storms and provides vital habitat for little terns, oystercatchers, ringed plovers and seals. First designated a nature reserve in 1923, it was one of the very earliest protected coastal sites in Britain and remains one of the best examples of an undeveloped barrier island system in Europe.
You can also see the main entrance channel that small boats use to reach open water. At certain tide states this entrance can shift or become shallow – locals know to check the tide tables carefully. The sand spit towards the top left of the frame is constantly moving and only accessible on foot at very low tide.
Brancaster itself sits just inland, with its cluster of houses, the coastal road and the surrounding grazing marsh. This area is part of a wider stretch of coast where sea-level rise and erosion are being closely monitored – Scolt Head Island has gradually migrated landward over the past century, evidence of how active and dynamic this coastline remains.
That whole island, together with the surrounding saltmarshes and intertidal habitats, forms part of:
Scolt Head Island National Nature Reserve (NNR) – designated 1923
Scolt Head Island & Burnham Flats SSSI – part of a wider coastal SSSI network
Also included within the North Norfolk Coast Ramsar Site and Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
It is additionally a Special Protection Area (SPA) for birdlife.
Why it’s protected
The area is classed as an SSSI because it contains:
Rare and dynamic barrier island and saltmarsh systems
Breeding grounds for little terns, ringed plovers, oystercatchers and sandwich terns
Wintering wildfowl
Important geomorphological features that demonstrate active coastal processes
The aerial view shows one of the finest examples in the UK of a living barrier island system – exactly the sort of landscape the SSSI designation is intended to protect.