Projects > Bittern Country

A new film has been made over the last twelve months telling of the beauty and heritage of an area covering Arnside, Silverdale, Carnforth, Warton, Beetham, Milnthorpe and most places in between.

It had its first showing in the WI & Village Hall, Orchard Road, Arnside at 7:30 pm on Friday 13th June 2008. The post-launch press release can be viewed here.

The two hour forty-eight minute long double dvd has been produced by award winning local Director Chris Abram. He has researched, scripted, filmed, edited and narrated the programme. Not only did he travel over all over the countryside but also he filmed some stunning aerial sequences to show the seventy square mile area in a totally new light.

Meticulously researched in cooperation with local historians it tells the regions history from the earliest times. We go inside an Iron Age Chieftains hut, see the actual sword that was found on Warton Crag, meet the Vikings and Romans who colonised the area and are given a personal conducted tour of Leighton Hall by Mr & Mrs Reynolds. What did the famous Ironmaster who built the world's first Iron Bridge have to do with Leighton? We ride with the last horse and cart shrimper on Morecambe bay and see how boat shrimping was done in the 1960's using unique historical film. We hear of Gangmasters and of the Great Cockling Tragedy. We are also treated to a guided tour of the nine hundred year old working Heron Corn Mill. We hear of the Scottish Reivers, of local fortified towers and manor houses, the Jacobites and Bonnie Prince Charlie visit Carnforth and how sailing ships made Milnthorpe into Westmoreland's only port.

We learn of the unique three hundred and fifty million year old landscape with its very special limestone pavements and ecology. What are grykes, clints, runnels and dolines? The video reveals all. We are treated to a tour around the world renown RSPB Leighton Moss National Nature Reserve and meet the elusive bittern bird which breeds here, and after which the video is named. We see for ourselves the stunning natural coastline, find out where Tarmac was invented locally and walk through some of the most beautiful and ancient woodlands in the country.

We see where Elizabeth Gaskell, made famous recently for the award winning television adaptations of her novels, wrote these books in the peace and serenity of this area as she escaped from Manchester. Mr Boddington, of brewery fame, lived here and the same house once played host to the Bronte sisters. Experience Carnforth as a powerhouse during the age of steam and where a Brief Encounter once occurred between Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard.

Bittern Country - Our Heritage has been produced to the same broadcast high quality as the award winning and highly acclaimed The Lune Valley-Our Heritage.

Contact: Chris Abram 01524 736573
Email: chris@eventspecialists.co.uk

It was whilst making this film that he came up with the idea for the competition piece "Bittern Country-My Home". Chris now lives in the area covered by the film and he found himself going back to places that he had not been since he was a teenager. So he set out with his camera and tripod during the summer of 2007 and filmed several pieces to camera to link the heritage, old castles and beautiful countryside together.

This short film is a record of that time.

Chris' film took first place in the 2007 Dave Sephton Memorial Trophy competition.