CASTLES & CATHEDRALS is a compilation of 100 vertical aerial photographs of Britain's most noteworthy religious and military edifices, taken from the Millennium Map.

Tintagel Castle, legendary seat of King Arthur; Castle Drogo, a 20th century castle built by Lutyens; Alnwick Castle, the Duke of Northumberland's fortress against the Scots; Harlech Castle, whose resistance under siege inspired the song 'Men of Harlech'; Glamis Castle, birthplace of the Queen Mother; Durham Castle and Cathedral, sited on a spectacular bend in the River Wear; Ely Cathedral, soaring from the Fens; and St Paul's Cathedral, with its unmistakable dome... CASTLES & CATHEDRALS brings a surprising new angle to places such as these, and many more.

ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM MAP
Still being created, the Millennium Map is a fascinating venture. Inspired by the Domesday Book, Tristram Cary and Joe Studholme of Getmapping.com commissioned four specially equipped aircraft to fly the length and breadth of the country in strips - rather like a lawnmower - each one carrying state-of-the-art camera equipment valued at GBP250,000. These planes are systematically taking vertical photographs of the whole of the United Kingdom from an average height of 5,500 feet, recording every object right down to a minimum size of 25cm.

So far over 30km of nine-inch-wide film has been taken. After processing, each photograph is scanned at high resolution, subsequently undergoing a process known as geo-correction, which removes distortions caused by the tilt of the aircraft and the contours of the ground; the individual files are then colour-balanced and spliced together to form a single map-accurate 'mosaic' of the entire country.

In what must be the ultimate endorsement of its national significance, Her Majesty the Queen is a private investor in The Millennium Map; and when completed, the map will provide a snapshot of life in the year 2000 as historically important as William the Conqueror's survey of 1086.