Aldingham Moated Manor from the Air | VIDEO

On the outskirts of Aldingham there is a raised earthwork surrounded by water on all sides, this is Aldingham Moated Manor.

This Moated Manor is closely linked to the motte and bailey castle, which we showcased in the previous episode of 'Heritage From the Air'.

During the 13th Century the family living at the motte and bailey castle, the Le Fleming's who built it in the early 1100s, needed to move because of coastal erosion. Due to this they built a new moated manor a short distance inland from the castle.

The manor consists of a mound surrounded by a moat for defence. The mound would have had a wooden structure built upon it, forming a new home for the family. This would have likely been surrounded by a wooden palisade, creating further defence.

In this new aerial video you can clearly see the moated manor and get a sense of it's incredible surroundings:

Video footage Copyright © Furness Hidden Heritage 2018, all rights reserved.

You can find out more about Aldingham Moated Manor in our previous blog post 'A Motte Without a Bailey and a Manor Without a Town, Aldingham', just click here.

Aldingham Motte from the Air | VIDEO

Aldingham Motte is all that remains of a Norman Motte and Bailey castle, once home to Michael Le Fleming.

Much of the original castles bailey has been lost to coastal erosion, as has part of the motte, a large mound where a wooden strong hold once stood.

In this video we take to the air to view what remains from above to give a sense of it's scale and how much erosion has taken of this once impressive Norman structure:

Video footage Copyright © Furness Hidden Heritage 2018, all rights reserved.

As well as the wonderful motte on show here, with it's surrounding ditch, you can also spot the marks of medieval farming with many ridge and furrow features visible in the fields surrounding the motte. Something I personally love to see. This land was no-doubt farmed following the Le Flemings moving down the hill to a new moated manor.

You can find out more about Aldingham Motte in our previous blog post 'A Motte Without a Bailey and a Manor Without a Town, Aldingham', just click here.

Gleaston Castle from the Air | VIDEO

The romantic ruins of Gleaston Castle are well known in Furness but take to the air and the site takes on a new dimension...

Back in 2013 we took a look at the fascinating, if sometimes unclear, history of Gleaston Castle. Now, some 5 years on, it was time to revisit the site from a different perspective - from the air.

In this short video you can see a variety of aerial shots taking in the splendour of this medieval ruin and the area it sits in:

Video footage Copyright © Furness Hidden Heritage 2018, all rights reserved.

The ruin is sadly in bad repair, as is made evident from the large cracks that can be seen rising up through several of the walls, but it still forms quite the impressive structure. Three of it's four towers are still standing proud, with door ways and windows often still intact.

It can be hard to get a real sense of what this castle once looked like or how it once was used but this video at least gives a new perspective on the ruin and shows just some of its former majesty.

Birkrigg Stone Circle from the Air | VIDEO

Birkrigg stone circle is one of the best known and preserved prehistoric sites of the Furness Peninsula. We took a look at this and the whole of Birkrigg Common in our past blog post Birkrigg Common, Prehistoric Landscape to Quaker Burial Ground but in this post we did something a bit different. We took to the air to view the stone circle in all its glory!

This wonderful video gives you a birds eye view of the ancient site and certainly gives you a different and unique perspective:

Video footage Copyright © Furness Hidden Heritage 2017, all rights reserved.

Luckily the sun was shining on the day this was filmed which helps to bring out all the humps and bumps around the circle. You can clearly see the slight mound just outside the inner circle and you can get a better idea of where the outer circle is and how it is shaped.

You will also notice a large sunken path/ditch beside the circle. It is unclear exactly what this is but it could be as old, if not older, than the circle itself and may have formed a processional way to the site.

Birkrigg Stone Circle is a true gem of the Furness Peninsula and is one of our favourite sites to visit. We hope you enjoyed his special aerial video and it has encouraged you to visit this wonderful site.


Keep an eye out in the future for more videos like this along with more written blog posts.