The UK'S finest trails / The best job of 2021 ?
The UK'S finest trails / The best job of 2021 ?
The United Kingdom has some of the finest (and most photographed) landscapes in the world. We've got weather coming out of our @&$# which can occasionally/often be frustrating. But when it works it is absolutely world class..
Joe at Brandnation asked if I was interested in shooting a fresh campaign for Merrell, which would involve heading up and down the country shooting trail runners on epic trails. It wasn't a hard decision if I'm honest.
I chose to shoot this fairly raw and ran all of the trails, with a single mirrorless body and 2 lenses. Not to show off, but because I felt if we were going to do each trail justice then we needed to experience it in full. Which came in handy afterward when I was asked to provide web copy for the campaign on the trails. And then to head up to Kendal Film Festival and talk on stage about them.
You see - authenticity is KEY.
I started how I always do; making a map of things and plotting out just how far from home I can get. I had the privilege of shooting 6 of these 7 trails (a Scottish photographer got the benefit of doing the Isle of Skye - it's ok, I've shot there before) and the next 4 weeks saw me hit the road hard, re-acquainting myself with the UK motorway network. I think I put in 2500 miles, smashed the M6 toll way at least 4 times and slept in the back of my 4x4 a few times; sometimes it's easier than dragging B&B owners out of bed at midnight to let you in when you're leaving again at 6am..
The trail locations were picked by the Merrell partnership with the Royal Geographic Society, but I had the pleasure of trawling my network of running friends, contacts and instagram profiles hunting for the right runner to take on each trail. I always/repeatedly say the best thing about this 'job' is working with new people every time, most often in the great outdoors.
Here's some take-aways from a month on the road;
- Always take the M6 toll during daylight hours. During vampire hours however, it IS safe to pass through Birmingham and save the £5.
- Driving like a tw@t, lane surfing and busting your balls actually doesn't get you there any quicker than setting cruise control to 70 and easing into a Radio 4 extra comedy. Our fathers were right.
- There is a correlation between thickness of regional accent and generosity/kindness in this country. At least up until the Scottish boarder that is.
- Room 34 at Belfast YHA sits directly above the main entrance, which from the hours of midnight - 4:45am, Fri-Sun, turns into an outdoors karaoke stand for drunken eejits.
- It's arrogant to assume everyone is comfortable in the great British outdoors; whilst I don't think the countryside itself is racist, we have a long way to go to help those from Asian and Black communities feel like it belongs to them also. Only then might they appreciate the benefits of driving for hours to a sodden, exposed car park for a good, long circular hike in sideways rain with zero chance of seeing any summits or landmarks.
The full Natural Wonders UK content sit on the Merrell website with the option to download and run the Strava routes for yourself.
