The Slip

Hound Trailing is one of Lakeland’s oldest pastimes. The racing takes place over the fields and fells. The hounds follow a trail of aniseed and paraffin, for approximately ten miles for senior hounds and five miles for pups. The races take about thirty minutes. The trail is laid by two men who are affectionately known as ‘trailers’. They meet at the halfway point and one walks to the start and one to the finish. A good friend of mine, David ‘Spike’ Loan, is a ‘trailer’ and a useful fell runner, my image is dedicated to him. The start of the race is known as ‘the slip’.

Seeing the names of the hounds written up on the bookmaker’s board, at the venue, has always interested me, and was the inspiration for the typographic image. The hounds depicted are all past champions, in no specific order. Trails have a unique atmosphere, which should be experienced.