FELLSMAN
Billy Barraclough
Following sheep trods is the best way, according to Sonny Ashton-Fitch. Small paths that hardy Swaledale sheep have carved out across the landscape of the North Yorkshire Dales. Paths sculpted by nature that take you away from the crowds and noise of the valley bottoms, these sheep trods are Sonny’s gateway to roaming the fells that define his landscape.
From a small village at the base of the North Yorkshire Dales, Sonny has grown up with the fells in his back garden. Ingleborough, Pen-y-Ghent and Whernside stand tall above the rest, and since the age of 12 Sonny has spent any spare time running their steep untamed contours. An unusual fell runner at 6 foot 6, Sonny is a talented athlete who pushes his rangy frame to its limit up the fells and let his legs go loose on technical descents – picking up a speed propelled by gravity that relies on confidence of stable footing.
Defined by the steepness of the mountains that are ascended, fell running is a quintessentially amateur British sport that exists in the humblest scale across Northern England.
‘Fellsman’ is a portrait of young fell runner Sonny Ashton-Fitch. The project follows Sonny during the spring season as he trains for the annual Three Peaks Fell Race. The work is an exploration of Sonny’s relationship with the fells that surround him, the landscape that unfurls under foot and the animals he passes. The photographs and film reflect on what it means to be a Yorkshireman, how it feels to push your body to its limit and the freedom that comes with an ability to run all over the Dales.
Billy Barraclough
Billy Barraclough is a director and photographer based in London. He is continuously fascinated by the natural world and our place within it. Through image making, Billy both explores and learns about the world. Approaching personal projects and commissioned works with a sensitivity and tenderness that spans portraiture, landscape, and still life. With family hailing from the Yokshire Dales and Lancashire hills, Billy can often be found up exploring the natural parks in the North of England. Climbing a peak at sunrise or swimming in the rivers that traverse the landscape. A graduate of the MA Photography programme at Bristol UWE, he was also selected by the British Journal of Photography as one of their ‘Ones to Watch’ and is a FUTURES Photography talent of 2021.
