Permanent Tourist

The full-length documentary of Andrew Kötting‘s trip around Britain with his grandmother and daughter is probably one of my all-time favourite pieces of film. Visually delightful, an interesting insight into the variety of people who live along the British coastline, and charming on a personal level, it’s the kind of film which makes me want to get out there and hit the road to make and document my own journeys. This film, which I first saw on British Channel 4 in the 1990s, probably played a part towards making me more interested in travel and in the country around me, which has led me in recent years to make long road trips of my own. Most notably, it was the first inspiration for the 5,000km road trip Jo and I chose as a honeymoon; driving from our home in Switzerland to Scotland for our wedding and then returning via the Lake District, Wales, England and France.