Kielder Water, Northumberland

Tucked away at the top of Northumberland, close to the Scottish Border and Hadrian's Wall, beautiful Kielder Water is the largest man-made lake in Europe.

The lake is owned by Northumbrian Water, and holds 200 billion litres of water to ensure the people and industry of North East England always have enough for their needs. Local tourist literature claims that if every person on Earth had their own toilet, each one could be flushed five times and still not enough water would have been used to empty Kielder Water.
(Thanks to mmChronic)

High In The Sky-Northumberland

London Eye, London

The London Eye has become, quite literally, the way the world sees London. It is one of the most spectacular and popular attractions in the world, drawing visitors from far and wide.is

Originally conceived by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield as an entry for a millennium landmark competition, the London Eye project took six years and the expertise of hundreds of people from five European countries to turn it into a reality. It is shown here during construction lying on its side over the river Thames.

London 360 Degrees

Castle Howard, Yorkshire

Castle Howard is a magnificent 18th Century house with extensive collections and breathtaking parkland and gardens.

Between 1979 and 1981, Castle Howard was the main location for the filming of Granada Television's adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. Although it is not certain that Waugh identified his Brideshead with Castle Howard, for many people, these two places have come to epitomise nostalgia for pre-war England.


Brideshead Revisited

Leeds Castle, Kent

Leeds Castle, set in 500 acres of parkland in the midst of the Kent countryside, takes it name not from the city of Leeds but from its first owner, a man named Leed, or Ledian, who built himself a wooden castle in 857. The first stone castle was built in 1119 on an island in the lake, and was later rebuilt and extended by Edward I, who added a set of outer walls, a barbican and the 'gloriette', a D shaped tower built on the smallest of the two islands in the lake.

The castle was a royal residence for six of England's medieval queens and a palace of Henry VIII. Much of the castle was restored and rebuilt in the 19th century, and many of the lavishly decorated rooms are open to the public.

Best of Britain's Castles

Wembley Stadium, London

The Empire Stadium, as Wembley Stadium was originally known, was built in just 300 days at a cost of £750,000, and constructed from 25,000 tons of ferro concrete, 1000 tons of steel, and over half a million rivets.

The stadium closed in 2000 for redevelopment. The new National Stadium is currently under construction, at a 2003 estimated cost of £757 million, and is now scheduled to open May 13, 2006 with that year's FA Cup Final.

The new design is for an all-seated capacity of 90,000 protected from the elements by a sliding roof. The stadium's signature feature is a steelwork lattice arch with a 315 metre span, erected some 22° off true, and rising to 133 metre tall. The arch was raised for the first time during construction of the Stadium in June 2004.

In this photograph the car park seems full while the stadium is empty. This might be due to the weekly market held on Sunday mornings which covers the entire parking area.

Queen : Live At Wembley Stadium

Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire

Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve is an area of some 430 hectares comprising sandy and muddy seashores, sand-dunes, salt marshes and freshwater habitats extending for a distance of about 3 miles along the Lincolnshire coast, from the southern end of Skegness to the entrance of the Wash.

The primary function of the Reserve, which is recognised as an area of international scientific interest, is to conserve this unspoiled stretch of coastline and its important communities of plants and animals and visiting wetland birds.

Guide to British Birds

Cardington Airship Sheds, Bedfordshire

The two Cardington Sheds can be seen dominating the skyline for many miles around. These truly impressive buildings were used to build and house the huge airships of the 1920's and 30's including the Vickers R101 which came down in France, killing around 50 people.

The first ship to come out of the Cardington airship facility was the R31. The ship was commissioned only 5 days before the Armistice on 11th November 1918

The sheds are now subject to a preservation order and one houses a six storey building used for Fire Research purposes. The other continues to be used for airship development and has recently been used as a sound stage for the Batcave set in the filming of the new Batman movie.

Ultimate Airship

Road Junction, Dartmoor

From the air, there is a symmetrical elegance in the layout of this road junction on Dartmoor. No less than five minor roads converge here on the A38, the principal road in South Devon which carries holiday traffic to the coasts of Devon and Cornwall.

The planners have gone to considerable lengths to provide safe entry and exit routes to and from the main road as well as a road bridge and subsidiary round-abouts.

Dartmoor Walks

Channel Tunnel, Kent

The Channel Tunnel, also called the Euro Tunnel or Chunnel, actually consists of three tunnels. Two of the tubes are full sized and accommodate rail traffic. In between the two train tunnels is a smaller service tunnel that serves as an emergency escape route. There are also several "cross-over" passages that allow trains to switch from one track to another.

Shown here is the point at which the railway lines go underground just east of the Ashford terminal. Trains roar through the tunnel at speeds up to 100 miles per hour and it's possible to get from one end to the other (31 miles away) in only 20 minutes! In the first five years of operation, trains carried 28 million passengers and 12 million tons of freight through the tunnel.

The Chunnel

Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire

Pinewood Studios, the UK's answer to the Hollywood studios, cover over 200 acres with 80 stages and has the resources to suit productions from pilot to blockbuster.

Over the years the studios have accommodated some of silver screens most spectacular moments, memorable stars & ambitious sets. Batman, Lara Croft, James Bond and Superman have all walked the corridors, while the stages and back-lots have become ice palaces, Cambodian tombs, space ships, Paris Operas - in fact anywhere in the World and absolutely anything that can be dreamed up from the imaginations of famous directors, can and has be recreated here.

The largest building with the white roof is the vast 007 stage, used for all the Bond movies, with its impressive water tank.


James Bond: Die Another Day

Menwith Hill, North Yorkshire

Menwith Hill Base near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, is the largest electronic monitoring station in the world. Run by the US National Security Agency (NSA), it is one of a global network of Signals Intelligence (SIGNIT) bases, codenamed ECHELON. The Menwith Hill site covers 560 acres of land and includes 4.6 acres of buildings.

The 23 golf-ball like radomes house satellite dishes, which, along with high frequency radio supports and fibre optic cables, intercept communications from Europe, Russia, the Middle East and North Africa. All telecommunications traffic to and from Europe and passing through Britain can be intercepted at the base, including private telephone calls, faxes, and emails.

Spies Among Us

Thelwall Viaduct, Cheshire

The Thelwall Viaduct carries some 150,000—160,000 vehicles per day as the M6 motorway spans the Manchester Ship canal in Cheshire.

In July 2002 all but one lane of the northbound viaduct was closed following the discovery of 136 failed roller bearings vital to the bridges expansion and contraction. This stretch of the M6 near Warrington became notorious for traffic jams and long tailbacks as two years of work progressed to replace all the bearings. The viaduct was fully re-opened in February 2005 after the £52m project was completed months ahead of schedule.

Roadworks: Photographs and Words

The National Bowl, Milton Keynes

The National Bowl is a Major entertainment venue located in the modern city of Milton Keynes. It is a massive outdoor venue which can hold 65,000 people. 1992 saw the addition of a huge sound stage which enabled it to attract some major stars.

The National Bowl has seen the appearance of David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Metallica, Bon Jovi and in 2001 Robbie Williams staged three sell out concerts.

Memories of Milton Keynes

New Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Not wishing to be accused of having a southern bias, we have scoured the northern parts of the UK to find some landmarks. Sadly the photography stops just south of Edinburgh so we cannot show you that beautiful city, but we did find this spanking new bridge over the Tyne river in Newcastle. It is so new we cannot find it's name on the map.

Look how it gleams pearly white, just goes to show its not all grim oop narth!

High In The Sky-Tyne and Wear

Brighton Pier

The southern coastal town of Brighton has two piers.

Brighton's West Pier, opened in 1866, is England's finest seaside pier and the first one to be Grade I listed. Although closed since 1975 and since ravaged by the elements and a major fire, it has survived as a magical and enduring part of seaside England and an essential feature of the Brighton seafront.

The Palace Pier to the East remains open and attracts over three and a half million tourists each year, making it the most popular free tourist attraction on the South Coast of Great Britain.


Brighton Rock

Fovant Badges, Wiltshire

The Fovant Badges form part of the most complete group of chalk-cut hill figures in England. They are a highly visible record of the period in local history when, during World War I, this area of Wiltshire was home to a vast military encampment straddling the villages of Fovant, Compton Chamberlayne and Sutton Mandeville. The regiments came from across Britain and from the countries of what was then the British Empire. Perhaps to take their minds off their imminent transfer to the Western Front, the soldiers carved great monuments (some are nearly 200 ft across) through the downland turf into the steep hillside. These cuttings were backfilled with chalk, forming clearly defined figures in the tradition of Wiltshire's famous white horses.


The Lost Chalk Hill-Figures of Britain

Sellafield Power Station, West Cumbria

Sellafield (formerly Windscale) is one of the largest nuclear engineering centres in the world.

Three reprocessing plants have been in operation at Sellafield, with the first plant (B204) commencing operations as early as 1951. This plant was utilised solely to produce plutonium for the United Kingdom’s weapons programme. In 1964 this plant was shut down, and since then, a further two plants were constructed: the Magnox Reprocessing Plant (B205), which began operations in 1965, and the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP), which started up in 1994.



Fearing Sellafield

Maiden Castle

Covering an area of some 47 acres, Maiden Castle is the largest hill fort in Britain and lies 2 miles south of Dorchester in the county of Dorset. 'Maiden' derives from the Celtic ‘Mai Dun’, which means ‘great hill’.

The dimensions of the fort are truly immense, and must have presented a formidable obstacle to any attacking force. Even today, after 2000 years of erosion, the ramparts in some areas rise to a height of 20ft (6m).

Many hill forts can be found in the ‘Wessex’ (an old Anglo-Saxon county) area but Maiden is by far the most impressive, and commands some breathtaking views across the county.

Maiden Castle

Elton John's House

Woodside in Old Windsor, Berkshire is one of two homes in the UK owned by musician Elton John and his partner David Furnish.

Each June the estate is the venue of the "must attend" annual White Tie & Tiara Ball to Benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Peachtree Road

Alton Towers Theme Park

Alton Towers is the United Kingdoms number one theme park, with rides and attractions aimed at every member of the family.

Alton Towers was originally a family stately home which was opened to public visitors in the 1960s. It became a theme park in 1980 when the Corkscrew ride was installed.

In 1990 the Park became part of The Tussauds Group. which also owns Chessington World of Adventures, Warwick Castle, Thorpe Park, The London Planetarium and Madame Tussaud's waxworks in London , Amsterdam, Australasia , New York and Las Vegas.


Bollocks to Alton Towers

Waterloo Station, London

Waterloo is the UK's largest station, covering an area of 24.5 acres. It is named after the Battle of Waterloo in which Napoleon was defeated near Brussels. Somewhat ironically, it is now London's gateway for train passengers from France and Belgium.

In 1998, French politician Florent Longuepée wrote to Tony Blair, demanding unsuccessfully that the station be renamed on the grounds that the name is insensitive to French visitors.


Waterloo Station

Eden Project, Cornwall

The Eden Project is set amongst the china clay country just East of St Austell - the major clay-mining town.

When this picture was taken (presumably before 1999) the site was still a crater of of clay and dirt. Since then vast 'football shaped' domes, called biomes, have bubbled out of the bottom of the crater.

The largest dome is around 200m long, 100m wide and 57m high. However, even though it's the largest greenhouse in the world, it is hidden from view in a 60m deep crater the area of 35 football pitches. Just like bees make their honeycombs, the domes are made of hexagons - 625 in total, each up to 11m wide, covered in 3 layers of transparent foil - inflated to make lightweight, triple-glazed pillows.

We will keep checking on Multimap to see when new photography arrives showing these beautiful creations.


Plants of Eden (Eden Project)

Cheddar Gorge

Cheddar Gorge is a beautiful valley with a typical karst character. It has many caves and other karst features. Limestone cliffs reach up 150m from the valley floor and the road leading down the valley is steep, narrow and winding. The caves are located at the lower end of the gorge, near the town of Cheddar.

The name Cheddar is always connected with the Cheddar cheese. And really, this is the place where the cheese comes from. And to make it complete, the cheese is really much connected to the karst: the karst areas are not suitable for more than feeding cows, and the caves and cellars in the limestone are an ideal place to store and mature the cheese.

During the excavations at Gough's Cave, at Cheddar, in 1927–28, human bones were recovered, all of which had been split in a manner resembling the way animal bones are opened to get at the marrow. Skull fragments found there from five individuals showed fractures that appeared to have been made when the bone was still fresh. Further excavations in 1986–87 produced about 120 human cranial and postcranial remains from a small area near the entrance of the cave. The remains represented at least five individuals, consisting of three adults and two children.



In Search of Cheddar Man

Battle of Britain Memorial, Kent

On a spectacular clifftop position can be found the Battle of Britain Memorial that was built to commemorate those who fought and lost their lives in the summer of 1940. Taking the form of an immense three bladed propeller cut into the chalk hillside with, at its centre, the statue of a lone seated airman, this is a fitting tribute to those young men who so bravely and unselfishly served their country.

The siting of the memorial here is particularly poignant as it was in the skies above, in the summer of 1940, that the RAF struggled to gain air supremacy over the Luftwaffe and so prevent the otherwise inevitable German invasion. The battle, that cost so many their lives, lasted until the end of October and, as well as being the last major conflict over British soil, the victory marked the turning point of World War II.


Battle Of Britain

Millennium Dome, London

The Millennium Dome is the world's biggest dome and was built on the international date line to celebrate the new millennium which officially started in Greenwich, England on 1st January 2001. For the whole of 2000 it contained a vast exhibition celebrating all aspects of human achievement to date.

The Millennium Dome closed to visitors on 31st December 2000 a few hours before the new millennium began. Since then it's future has been the subject of much debate.

Now, a world-class entertainment and sports Arena is being created within the Dome that will seat up to 20,000 people. The project is due to be completed by the Spring of 2007, and it is already playing a key role in London's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.


Dome: A Photographic Record of the Millennium Dome