What the Project Is About?
'We Are Hinckley' is a portrait & landscape project celebrating the people and places that make Hinckley what it is. The aim is to create a relaxed, community‑focused visual snapshot of the town — people photographed in the real environments that matter to them.
Over a few months, this will build into a small virtual exhibition showing the character, variety, and personality of Hinckley through the people who live and work here. Alongside celebrating the community, this project also gives me a chance to develop my environmental lighting skills in a fun, low‑pressure way.
Each portrait is honest, simple, and shot in the person’s own space — workplaces, hobbies, community spots, or personal corners — keeping everything natural and authentic. I also plan to capture events and landscapes in the town to build into the project
In short: this project is about Hinckley - Real people, real places, and a growing collection of portraits and landscape that show what makes this town special.
Please take a look at the posts below that make up the project exhibition so far, this will build over the coming months. If you want to learn more about what the project is and to get involved please use the button below or the 'Contact' section of the website to email me
The Feast has become one of the town’s most loved summer traditions — a free, two‑day food and drink festival held in Argents Mead, drawing thousands of locals every year. It’s a celebration of everything Hinckley does best: community, creativity, and proper good food.
But Hinckley Feast isn’t just about food — it’s about atmosphere. Live performances run throughout the weekend, from local musicians to charity acts, with Fosse 107 providing the soundtrack.
Families pack the grass, kids race down the 120ft inflatable assault course, toddlers dig in the free sandpit, and well‑behaved dogs wander between the gazebos and seating areas.
It’s loud, warm, messy, and full of character — exactly the kind of community moment that shows what Hinckley is made of
Hollycroft Park is one of Hinckley’s most loved green spaces — a park that’s been part of the town’s identity since the 1930s. It’s the kind of place where generations overlap: kids racing across the grass, older couples strolling the paths, families gathering for picnics, and locals drifting in for a quiet hour under the trees.
The park has a calmness to it, but it’s also a hub of community life. At the centre is a sunken garden, a beautifully kept space with formal borders, hedges, and seasonal colour, a place that feels almost hidden until you step into it.
The bandstand is another landmark, hosting summer concerts, brass bands, and community performances that echo across the lawns. On warm days, you’ll find people sitting on the benches listening, kids dancing, and dogs sprawled out in the shade.
Hollycroft Park is also home to tennis courts, a bowling green, and wide open lawns that become everything from football pitches to picnic spots depending on the day. The park’s layout — long paths, mature trees, and open space — makes it a natural gathering point for events like Hinckley’s Proms in the Park, outdoor theatre, and charity days. It’s one of those places that quietly anchors the town.
Hinckley’s first Oktoberfest brought a burst of Bavarian energy right into the heart of town. For one day and evening, Regent Street transformed into a lively open‑air festival — a mix of music, food, and community spirit that felt unmistakably “Hinckley”, even with the German twist.
families, friends, and curious passers‑by drifting between pop‑up bars, street food stalls, and two stages of live music. Local hospitality businesses teamed up with Hinckley BID, The Clarence, Baton Rouge, Moko, Don Fenticas, and others to create something vibrant and new for the town.
Music carried the atmosphere from afternoon into evening, with bands and performers keeping the energy high. Food vendors served everything from festival classics to local favourites, and the beer selection — seasonal pours, local taps, and Bavarian‑inspired choices — kept the crowd moving between stalls. It wasn’t just a beer festival; it was a showcase of Hinckley’s businesses and the people who make the town’s hospitality scene tick.
For We Are Hinckley, Oktoberfest was one of those moments where the town felt connected — neighbours chatting over drinks, music echoing down the street, and the kind of relaxed, joyful atmosphere that makes community events worth documenting. Real people, real stories, and a street full of character. Exactly the kind of scene this project is built to celebrate.
https://www.hinckleybid.co.uk/whats-on/event/octobidfest-2026-2
Hinckley’s mid‑week car meets have become one of those small but unmistakably Hinckley traditions — a gathering that turns an ordinary evening into something a bit louder, brighter, and full of character. Hosted by Hinckley BID, these meets pull together enthusiasts from across the town and beyond: classic owners polishing chrome, modern performance drivers showing off fresh mods, and families wandering through the rows just to take it all in.
The atmosphere is relaxed and open. People drift between cars, chatting with owners, swapping stories, and sharing memories tied to old motors. You’ll see everything from vintage British classics to Japanese imports, American muscle, and the occasional supercar that steals the crowd for a moment. It’s not a formal show — it’s a community hangout built around shared passion.
What makes the mid‑week meets special is how they sit within the rhythm of the town. They’re not huge, not overwhelming — just a friendly, easy gathering that brings life to the streets on a weekday evening. A place where generations overlap: older enthusiasts talking about restorations, younger drivers showing off their pride and joy, kids pointing out their favourite colours and shapes.
For We Are Hinckley, these meets are perfect for capturing real people in real moments — hands on bonnets, friends laughing over memories, engines rumbling as the sun drops, and the simple joy of a community coming together around something they love.
The Hinckley Soapbox Derby is one of those events that captures the town’s personality perfectly — creative, a bit chaotic, full of humour, and powered entirely by local imagination.
Castle Street transforms into a downhill track lined with crowds, barriers, cheering families, and a parade of home‑built carts that range from brilliantly engineered to wonderfully ridiculous.
Teams spend weeks designing and building their soapboxes — some sleek and aerodynamic, others themed, colourful, or completely over‑the‑top. On race day, they roll up to the start line in costumes, helmets, and big smiles, ready to launch themselves down the hill with nothing but gravity, steering, and hope.
The atmosphere is loud and warm: kids shouting for their favourites, parents filming every moment, and the whole street buzzing with that shared excitement you only get at community events.
The Derby isn’t just about speed. It’s about creativity, teamwork, and the joy of seeing something handmade come to life. You get local businesses entering carts, families building together in garages, groups of friends turning a silly idea into a full‑blown race machine. And when each soapbox sets off, wobbling, flying, or occasionally crashing, the crowd reacts as one — laughing, cheering, and celebrating every run.
For We Are Hinckley, the Soapbox Derby is a gift: real expressions, real energy, and real stories unfolding in seconds. It’s the kind of event where you can capture pride at the start line, adrenaline halfway down, and pure joy at the finish. A day where Hinckley shows off its creativity, its humour, and its community spirit — all powered by wheels, wood, and imagination.
The annual Hinckley BID Motor Show has become woven into the fabric of the town. What began as a showcase of classic, performance and specialist vehicles has grown into one of Hinckley's flagship community events.
This year's 15th anniversary show attracted record crowds, filling the town centre with live music, local food, conversation and thousands of visitors. While the cars remain at the heart of the day, the event has become something much bigger, bringing people together, supporting local businesses and creating a real sense of pride in the town.
These photographs capture not just the vehicles on display, but the atmosphere, energy and community spirit that make the Hinckley Motor Show one of the town's most anticipated annual celebrations.
TThomas Flavell & Sons has been part of the Hinckley landscape for years, and the firm itself was founded back in 1809 as a high street solicitor. Over that time, it has grown into a modern firm with offices across Leicestershire and Warwickshire, looking after businesses and individuals alike. It is proud of its history, its people and the care it gives its clients, and it keeps giving back to the communities it works in, making it a great contribution to the ‘We Are Hinckley’ project. The firm is now growing its agricultural side, which is what brought this shoot out of the office and into the countryside.
The location was Trent View Farm in Nuneaton, owned by Andy, a client of the firm. Andy and his wife were so welcoming and genuinely lovely people, and they made us feel at home from the moment we arrived. They even gave me a hand with the lighting, which was a big help for a project that is also partly about developing my environmental lighting skills.
The team from Thomas Flavell & Sons were great fun to work with, relaxed and friendly, and the whole shoot flowed easily. Seeing them out on the farm rather than behind a desk showed the relaxed and friendly side of the firm, and I think the images show how much they enjoy working together.
Real people, real places, and a firm with deep roots in the community.
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