Glenfinnan Viaduct

Designer James Castro-Griffiths talks about his dizzying drone shot taken above the impressive Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland

- James Castro-Griffiths

This drone image was taken late last November during a trip to Scotland with an old school friend of mine. The pair of us realised we had a lot of holiday days left at work and we were keen not to waste them.

Scotland is an area that feels very different from anywhere else. It’s an incredibly rugged place, and probably one of the last few places in the UK where you can get away from everything and everyone. Scotland is definitely one of my favourite places. Even though it can be up to a 7- to 12-hour drive, it still feels like you can pop there whenever you want.

My friend and I quickly developed a plan, and I contacted a camper van company called Quirky Campers. I proposed that we could go to Scotland, create a three-minute promotional video of our trip for the company and in return they could give us a 50% discount on the van hire. Thankfully, they were really keen. It was a very spur of the moment idea, but one that paid off in many ways. The whole time we were there, there wasn’t a single drop of rain. We were treated to beautiful low winter sun for the entire trip. On top of that, Quirky Campers loved the video we produced and this has led on to a forth coming trip with my girlfriend to the Lake District.

Getting the shot