A Scottish Brand, an England Shoot, and a Series II We Probably Shouldn't Have Driven

I was down in Somerset when this whole thing started. Not for work. I'd been at my sister's, rebuilding a motorhome. We'd stripped it right back to the fibreglass and turned it into a log cabin on wheels in 4 weeks. There's a full timelapse of the build coming to our family channel soon, so keep an eye out for that. Wink wink.

Anyway. That's not what this is about.

We're on the verge of releasing a proper pair of British-made boots with GORAL, and the Stac, our year-in-the-making heavyweight jacket (god, I'm excited about that one!) And we needed lifestyle imagery for both. For us that means one person and one person only: Jack Gray. He's become part of the team at this point and we flat-out refuse to launch without him now.

So there I was in Somerset, about to drive back up to Scotland, when I had what we've started calling a 'brain baby'. (Bill has come to fear these!)

Why don't we do an England shoot?

And then it got worse. I'll give myself a few days to plan it, and I'll invite the Wolf Pack along too. Why not.

I put the idea out there and Bill and Jack were game. Win. Then Ryan (@robert.photographyuk), who'd been talking to us about a documentary, said he could make it work. Double win. Jack brought Ellis (@ellisreed) in. Triple win. And the Wolf Pack said they'd actually come and meet us in a field. Bloody hell, we're good at this.

So we were shooting in the Cotswolds. The only question left was: doing what, and how do we make it interesting?

That bit's my job. And if you know us, you know we're not into the whole stand-around-and-pose thing. You'll never catch us putting out studio shots or having a makeup artist on set. We do doing photos.

Which is where the other Jake comes in. Not me. Another Jake. Confusing, I know. Jack put us in touch with him, and this other Jake runs a seriously cool outfit called Project88. He turned up with a Series II Land Rover. Honestly the most stunning vehicle I've ever laid eyes on.

And I got to drive it.

Insert stupid excited Jake face here.

Right. I'm going to stop, because if I keep going I'll give the whole video away, and this write-up is meant to sit alongside it, not steal its thunder. The video's called 48hrs in the Cotswolds. It's the follow-up to 72hrs in Shetland from earlier in the year. Bill's worked hard on it. Even if he didn't capture quite enough. ;)

A few proper thank-yous before I go.

To the camera lads, you made me feel famous for a few hours. To the other Jake, doubt it's the last time you'll see his vehicles in a Bear&Wolf shoot. And to Fossewold Cotswold Camping, who gave us a cracking spot to grab a couple of hours' sleep on the Saturday night.

And to you. The Wolf Pack. For reading, for watching, for buying, for backing us, and for turning up in a field on the Sunday to say hello. You reignited my excitement for this whole thing all over again.

Go and watch the video. Enjoy it.

Jake