Making the series
“Our first challenge was rediscovering the routes. Place-names, accessibility, the courses of rivers and roads: all can change over the centuries. All we had were the original measurements, Ordnance Survey maps and, not least, sheer map-and-compass logic. Luckily, our Assistant Producers, working with Nick Crane, did an invaluable job – and became explorers as much as producers!
“The locations were often dramatic and demanding, and Nick worked very hard on these shoots. Generally, he was on
foot or bicycle (shot precariously from the moving tailgate of a 4X4), but he also canoed, sailed and, somewhat hesitantly,
rode a horse. Cycling up ‘The Struggle’, a
tortuous hill in the Lake District, is tough once – never mind being asked to do it over and over again for the wide
shot, the long lens shot, the “sorry I wasn’t running” shot…
“Then there were the mountains. We carried minimal kit; nonetheless, the 2,000 foot climbs up Beinn-an-Oir on Jura, Lairig Ghru in the Cairngorms and Y Das in the Black Mountains took full days. I reckon filming Nick took three times what it would usually take a climber.
“Some of the terrain was risky, and we needed to capture that. Our cameraman chased shots many wouldn’t attempt. To see him suspended from an overhanging cliff, slithering down a steep wooded hillside or embedded in the middle of fast-flowing rapids, whilst Nick bounced past in a canoe, really took your breath away.
“I’d learnt from a previous series
(Map Man)
that viewers quite enjoy seeing Nick struggling through
atrocious weather. So we didn’t stop. Our budget didn’t allow us to anyway! Constant rain, cold and wind make
for slow, tiring work. Sodden socks apart, there’s a lens to be wiped every few seconds, kit to be taken in and out of
protective bags, blowing on cables and contacts to dry them out…
“But the star of this series is, undoubtedly, the landscape. We tend to think much of Britain’s beauty has been cemented over, so it was a revelation to find remarkable and utterly exhilarating parts of these islands, with stunning views and extraordinary geology. It was an unforgettable series to make.”
Michael Waterhouse
Series Producer and Director, Great British Journeys