Flying Over the Norfolk Coast

Amateur colour Super 8 footage - aerial views from a two seater aeroplane, of Norfolk's coastline.

In 1982, Ken Branfield captured aerial views of the Norfolk coastline, flying in a two seater aircraft from Sheringham to Great Yarmouth and back via Norwich. Intended as a birthday gift from Mr Branfield to his wife, the intended flight did not go as planned. Mrs Branfield got cold feet, and instead, daughter Susan, here looking nervous, accompanied her father. Seaside settlements are distinctive by landmark – Happisburgh lighthouse, Cromer Pier, Cley windmill.

This amateur film offers superb aerial views of Norfolk’s coastline, giving a unique perspective of the landscape. The filmmaker's neighbour had a pilot’s license and access to a plane, so the flight was inevitable, and Mr Branfield was keen to film the occasion with his Super 8 camera. When watching back the footage as a family, Mr Branfield “hoped to amuse the kiddies” and had spliced to the end of the film an action sequence from a James Bond movie featuring Sean Connery flying a plane. Mr Branfield claims he was inspired to make his own films after watching the 1950 movie Ha’Penny Breeze featuring sailing at Pin Mill in Suffolk.