“WHY AM I DOING THIS?” I HAD ASKED MYSELF ON THE LONG RIDE TO THE START. NOW AS THE TRUSTY HONDA CLIMBED SERPENTINE B-ROADS AND PURRED PAST GLASSY LOCHS, I WAS THINKING “WHY HAVEN’T I DONE THIS BEFORE?”

- Simon de Burton

This is, hands down, one of the best jobs/trips I’ve ever done. So much so, that the following year I did this same trip as my own annual holiday. The Great Malle Rally runs each year, where roughly 100 riders start from the most southern point of the UK and ride their bikes along the west coast northwards for 7 days before ending at the most northern tip of Scotland. This particular year we did it the opposite way around, from north to south instead. Each night, camp is already set up for you, luggage is carried for you and chefs cook for you. Fun and games include midnight tug of wars, whiskey tasting and Race Around the Triumph on a Monkey Bike…

I was shooting primarily for BMW who kindly lent us a shoot car – a classic Mini Cabriolet with its own team of mechanics! I wish I had a team of mechanics to follow me around all the time… I bounced between driving the Mini, shooting from the Mini, riding one of their R-Nine Ts or shooting as a pillion on the back of someone.

I can’t even begin to write how brilliant this rally is. Just please, click on the link above about it and check it out. Journalist Simon de Burton wrote the beautiful quote to the left, which I think sums it up perfectly.

So… Why haven’t you done this before?

My daily riding jacket is one of their Expedition Jackets. I’m a massive fan of Malle London and will sing their praises to anyone who listens. Not just because they make incredible motorcycle apparel, but because they have a genuine lust for adventure and they want to bring you along for the ride.