Aerial Journeys | Looking at the British landscape from the air
CHANNEL | BBC 2
FIRST BROADCAST | 25 May 1969
DURATION | 47 minutes 25 seconds
FIRSTBROADCAST
1969
As mankind's need for transport has evolved, the land around us has been changed dramatically. Man-made waterways and iron bridges were once at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, but now railways cut a web into the landscape and the old dirt roads that once bore horse-drawn carriages have been expanded into motorways that stretch 2,000 miles across the country.
The narrator of this programme is actor Leo McKern, who was best known for playing the dry-witted hero of 'Rumpole of the Bailey', and making three appearances in the role of 'Number Two' in the surreal, paranoid 1960s drama 'The Prisoner'. The chalk horse seen in the opening scenes of this programme can be found at White Horse Hill in Uffington, Oxfordshire.
Aerial photographers discuss their work from the early 1900s onwards.
News report on the first live television filming from the air.
Raymond Baxter reports on the South Coast Air Race.
The BBC makes its second attempt to broadcast live from the air.
The first episode of a groundbreaking series on Britain as viewed from the air.

Aerial views of mankind's various modes of transport through the ages.
What were the implications for a countryside under constant threat of development?
Britain's seaside life, viewed from the air.
'Tomorrow's World' explores the scientific feat of aerial photo mapping.
An aerial journey from a lighthouse in the South West to the north of the Shetland Isles.
Take a journey over land and through time with this film of Wales shot entirely from the air.
John Noakes meets members of the Red Arrows.
Britain's ancient past is discovered from the air.
A natural history programme on Ice Age Britain.
Britain's coastline as you've never seen it before.
Six intrepid teams race their microlights across the roof of England.
Janet Ellis takes to the skies as she trains for a freefall parachute jump.
Reflections of a mountaineer while climbing in the Lake District.
A 'Radio Times' draft and article about the BBC's first live broadcast from an aeroplane.
The Head of Television Programmes criticises 'Operation Pegasus'.
Cecil McGivern finds further fault with 'Operation Pegasus'.
Helicopter filming causes problems for John Betjeman and chaos ensues at Longleat.
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