It was a stunning image, meticulously planned. A large canvas print of the Red Arrows over Newcastle, Co Down, taken in 2016 by amateur photographer Peter Lennon, was bought by the Slieve Donard Hotel where it has hung for several years.
But after renovations at the hotel by new owners, it has now disappeared.
The image itself has gained plenty of new admiring comments after appearing on the Beautiful NI Facebook page, the photograph taken from the Mournes giving the impression that Peter was in the air above the Red Arrows on their flypast of the coastal town.
Peter, from Ballyclare, said he just couldn’t resist the opportunity to capture the image and it’s one he’s unlikely to ever beat for impact.
“Anyone who knows me, knows I like a photo of the Red Arrows,” said Peter, who has been carrying his camera everywhere for half a century.
“I’m over 60 now and I’ve held a camera since I was no age.
“I’d taken shots of the Red Arrows before, one over Carrickfergus Castle, one over City Hall — that was a click and hope — but when they were scheduled to flypast Newcastle as part of the Festival of Flight that year and I wanted to try to get something a little bit special.
“I can remember the day well,” he said. “It was an early start, climbing up the Mournes. The thought in my head was to get a shot looking down with the golf course, the hotel and the whole coastal area in it if I could, and of course with the planes streaming past.
“I had planned it for a while. I knew that the Red Arrows had come over from their base in GB on the morning of the airshow and therefore would be arriving from RAF Aldergrove direction, flying south over Castlewellan and arriving at the coast between Donard and Comedagh.
“I knew where I wanted to be. I’d actually had an offer to go to Aldergrove to visit them on-site there, but had been told there were to be no cameras. I was torn for a bit, but decided heading up the Mournes to get the view from high was what I wanted to do.
Amateur photographer Peter Lennon.
“I made a day of it,” he said. “I headed up over the Glen River, past the Ice House and towards the quarry.
“It was a good, clear day, which really helped,” he said. “By noon I was in splendid isolation, sitting on a rock looking down across the whole coastline. And I spent a bit of time watching a fox that came out to play while I ate my packed lunch. There was no one else around.”
Timing in getting the perfect shot is everything. And timing is, as Peter knows, something the Red Arrows have down to perfection.
“I’d actually managed to get a few shots of 10 Red Arrows heading across to Aldergrove that morning. There are nine in the display but they always have a spare and they have everything planned down to the last second.
“About 30 seconds before 2pm I could hear them in the distance and I knew there was going to be a 30 second window to try to get a shot with the hotel, the golf course and the whole of Newcastle below them. I grabbed the camera and started clicking.
“There were probably a few clearer shots of the Red Arrows themselves as they headed out to sea, but what I wanted was that coastline with these magnificent aircraft flying past at 500mph.
“Some people did ask me how I got permission to be in the air above the planes as they flew past,” said Peter. “But I was standing firmly on the ground.
“I like to get shots that show the beauty of NI, and getting the Red Arrows over famous landmarks is something I’ve always been keen to do. Sometimes it can be a last-minute grab shot as you’re never quite sure what angle they’ll be coming at. There’s another photo as they veer away past Carrickfergus Castle that I’m also quite proud of.
Peter’s spectacular shot of the Red Arrows over Newcastle caught the attention of the Slieve Donard Hotel, who purchased a canvas print and for several years it hung in a conference room at the resort.
It’s understood that the canvas of Peter’s finest photography work has now been removed from display at the hotel.
“I did contact the hotel to see if it was still there,” he said. “But new owners have come in and refurbished the place.
“No one now knows where it’s ended up. I’d love to think someone has it and is looking after it,” he added.