{{img:home-page-lakes-winding-road|100vw|A road winding down toward a lake in the Lake District|eager}}

The Lake District, England

Some roads are worth driving slowly.

A man, a van, and the great outdoors

{{img:home-page-van-overlooking-valley|(min-width: 900px) 55vw, 92vw|The van parked on a hillside above a valley}}

Vanlife

A 1970s VW T2, and wherever it will go

The van is the reason for most of it. It is slow, it is loud on a motorway, and it has cost me more than I ever meant to spend. It also puts me on the Applecross Pass at seven in the morning with nobody else on the road. Every journey is unhurried by design, and that turns out to be the whole point.

Frames from the road

{{img:print-img-7157|(min-width: 900px) 55vw, 92vw|A nuthatch on a branch at Pennington Flash}}

Wildlife and van photography

Waiting for the bird to turn its head

A nuthatch at Pennington Flash. A macaque on the steps at the Batu Caves. A sheep in the Peak District that stared me down for a full minute. Wildlife does not arrange itself, so the craft is mostly patience — sitting still, watching the light move, and being ready when the moment finally arrives.

Frames of wildlife

{{img:australia-manly-beach|(min-width: 900px) 55vw, 92vw|Manly Beach photographed from the air}}

Drone film

The view the road never gives you

Glencoe from above. Mam Tor before the walkers. Manly Beach in the early heat. A drone shows you the shape of a place — the way a pass folds into a glen, the way a beach curves. I fly with a DJI Mini 3 Pro and I fly it slowly, because a rushed shot always looks rushed.

Watch the films

Selected frames

Recent work

The full gallery

Latest films

From the channel

{{films_home}} All films

Journal

Notes from the workshop and the road

Fuel, paperwork, paintwork. The unglamorous half of running a van that is older than I am, written down in case it saves someone else an afternoon.

{{img:england-van-tucked-away|(min-width: 800px) 40vw, 92vw|The van tucked away under trees}}

2 February 2025 · Fuel

Rising fuel costs: is there a cheaper way to run your van?

Prices at the pumps are reaching record highs. There is a cheaper alternative, at least for water-cooled Brazibay owners. We just can't easily get to it.

Read

The journal

See you out on the road