The light was failing and the weather was a bit driech so we quickly stopped by the side of the A82 with the Munro in the background.

I travelled with the group for three days and in the early evening on the Saturday we passed through Glencoe. The shot I had in mind right from the beginning of the project was the shot I would eventually capture of Ewan and Charley with their bikes on front of Buachaille Etive Mor at the head of Glen Etive. Understandably, they were very secretive about the route but asked me to tell them what iconic scenes would make strong imagery. One of my strong memories of the commission was travelling to London to meet the producers to pitch my ideas for the Scottish images. This was the first high profile job as a professional freelance photographer and resulting publicity helped to raise my profile.

The commission came at just the right time in my career as a few months earlier I had left my position as a staff photographer with The Scotsman Publications Ltd. I was very fortunate to have photographed the Scottish leg of Long Way Down from John O’Groats to the south of Scotland capturing images for a project with VisitScotland. The documentary follows on from Long Way Round in 2004 and Long Way Down in 2007. 'If you travel with an open mind and a good heart, and remain respectful of the country you're in, then you should be fine.The Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman travelogue Long Way Up hits our screens this month and charts the pairs motorcycle journey from Argentina to California. 'Then, one day, when you least expect it, the great adventure finds you.' Charley said ‘The opportunity to work with a talented British company was really exciting, ever since then it’s been a wonderful journey working with Bremont.’

Bremont watches were not yet available for retail but having shown passion for the brand’s story, Charley and Ewan were keen to be amongst the first to test the strength and reliability of the watches during their incredible endurance adventure. Charley and Ewan met co-founders Nick and Giles English just before they set off for their gruelling trip together from Scotland to South Africa which later became the documentary ‘Long Way Down’. As the new series ‘Long Way Up’ is soon to hit our screens, featuring Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor travelling 13,000 miles around Central and South America, we look back to 2006 when the duo became the first people to test Bremont watches ‘out in the field’.

Ewan mcgregor documentary long way down