Harry Metcalfe, Harry's Garage
Farmer, founder of Evo magazine and YouTuber Harry Metcalfe has road tripping in his blood. His Favourite Detour is the return leg of one of his biggest adventures. But this time he didn’t have the camera rolling.
“I just love the escapism, the freedom and that you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
“My parents were great travellers by car. My dad had the same holidays as university so he had from June until September off and we used to get in the family Saab 96 and disappear. My family holidays were always in the back of a car going somewhere in Europe. I just love the escapism, the freedom and that you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.
In 2015 I took my Ferrari Testarossa to the Sahara. I did it because of Richard Bremner doing his story in Car magazine. I re-read the article and realised it was within four or five weeks of the 20th anniversary date of when he went so I thought I'll go at the same time as he did. I'd never been to Morocco at that time of year and I was a bit shocked at what the Atlas Mountains could throw up.
We were so elated to get to that hotel at the end of the trip and we stayed a couple of days before heading back. It was the early days of my YouTube channel and I never gave much thought to filming the journey home.
For the trip back we went a different route because I didn't really want to go back over the Tizi pass and it was the scenery that I couldn't believe. I didn't really know what northern Morocco was like and it was wild. There were these fields of stones and as a farmer I just couldn't see how on earth you could do anything with this land.
Then we passed a military base and whether we were even on a public or private road I wasn't sure but we didn't get arrested and no guns came out! Then we started seeing wild dogs and thought I don't want to get out the car with these guys around and suddenly we were in these woods and there were all these baboon-like monkeys which I had no idea were in Morocco.
We had a lovely run back, Spain was empty and we had quite a quick traverse. I had been so conscious of speeding in Morocco, because the police were just everywhere.
Looking back I’m staggered that we had no real issues and no punctures, because quite a lot of the trip was off road. So it was it was a real adventure and so scenic. Wonderful, but not recorded unfortunately.”