Photographer Quintin Lake spent five years walking the coast of mainland Britain. He explains why the coast tells Britain's story better than anywhere else.

Camping out on the wild cliffs in Caithness in north-west Scotland, British photographer Quintin Lake wasn't short on company. This remote, blustery corner of the UK is home to thousands of nesting puffins, and Lake spent a "magical" evening and morning with the colourful creatures as they waddled, paraded, fed and groomed before leaving for the winter. This was just one of many memorable moments on his five-year solo mission to walk the entire coastline of the British mainland. He had to take precautions though: "I camped a little distance away from the puffins on a very steep cliff," Lake says. "I tied the tent closed with my shoelaces in case I decided to sleepwalk for the first time that night."

Setting off from the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in London in April 2015, Lake travelled clockwise around the island, breaking the epic journey up into legs ranging from two days to two months. In total, he walked for 454 days, covering more than 6,835 miles, camping along the way.

Having spent much of his career as a photographer in far-flung locations, his British coastal expedition was a deliberate decision to seek out artistic inspiration closer to home. By the time he'd completed the journey, closing the loop in September 2020, he not only had thousands of photographs and a remarkable visual archive, but a deeper understanding of the island's history, geography, industry, architecture, nature and identity. As he shares in his new book, The Perimeter, the experience reshaped how he sees Britain – and also led to revelations about himself.

Here, Lake speaks to the BBC about the wildest and most beautiful places he experienced, the emotional discoveries he made along the way, and why the coast tells Britain's story better than anywhere else.

Why did you want to walk the entire British coastline?

To get under the skin of our island and to understand this place that I call "home". I'd previously walked the River Severn from the source to the sea and I found it the most interesting thing I'd ever photographed – I wanted more of that.

How physically challenging was the journey?

Scotland was very physically challenging. I got a torn tendon and I had shin splints, and I was managing being cold and wet in the winter. There were many days where I just had to keep walking – that was the only way to keep my body temperature up. I walked in snowstorms and woke up many times with the tent covered in ice, whereas on the south coast of England, I'd be looking on Tripadvisor and deciding where to get the best ice cream. That said, the light was sometimes the most spectacular in winter in Scotland, so, photographically, I got the most rewards there.

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What was the most difficult section of the coast?

The Knoydart Peninsular on Scotland's west coast. The region around Knoydart's called the Rough Bounds. It's mountainous, with no paths; a lot of broken ground and cliffs all over the place. It's very tough to walk.

Did the........

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