deer man

Fancy being a hermit? Many of us, despairing of the constant noise and crowds of modern life. If you dream of being a hermit but can’t really be one due to life circumstances, at least be inspired by the stories of those who have gone before you. And you could be a part-time hermit!

Read Deer Man, the story of a Frenchman who lived alone in a forest for seven years! But he wasn’t really alone, as he makes friends with a herd of deer, who over time, come to trust him. They even bring him into their clan, play ‘tag’ with him, and tell him where the best food is!

This lovely book by a gifted writer gets to the essence of life in the forest. He talks of mischievous squirrels (who think nothing of ‘throwing pine cones at him’ if he’s blocking their way to food, when sleeping under a tree!)

The author eventually left the forest to ‘speak the truth’ to a world that desperately needs to hear that we should not take nature for granted, but instead work to protect it, and of course also help majestic deer.

Roe deer rest day and night, for one or two hour cycles. I realise that sleeping at night isn’t compulsory, as long as you rest from time to time. To do that, I crouch down, with my right hand on my left knee and my left hand on my right knee. And my head between my arms.

Geoffroy Delorme is a naturalist and photographer. Deer Man, a bestseller in France, has been translated into eleven languages. He lives in Normandy.

Discover the Delights of a ‘Mountain Bothy’

bothy

A bothy is the Scottish term for a small mountain hideaway, likely where real hermits used to live. We had our own in England (many like St Cuthbert would spend years on end holed up on Lindisfarne in Northumberland.

Bothy is a stirring beautiful book, to discover your inner hermit. An ideal read for anyone who longs to ‘run to the hills’, a bothy door is always unlocked. There is no electricity or running water, so you’ll have to take a tea kettle, to make a cuppa!

The author reveals the history of these wild mountain shelters, and the people who visit them. Then takes us a local tour of bothy shelters, with an historian’s insight and rambler’s imagination. Kate used to work as an academic in London, and now runs community rewilding courses in Scotland.

An intelligent & thoughtful book that will have you reaching for your boots. Cal Flyn

The ‘Hermit’ Responsible for Climate Science

the snow man a true story

The Snow Man: A True Story tells the tale of the man who lived along in the mountains for years, his only companions being a pine marten and a skunk. But his hobby of measuring snowfall led to the global understanding of climate change.

After seeing that the snow was arriving later and melting soon, he shared his records with a local scientist, who shared them on. And today his measurements are used by climate scientists worldwide.

Other ‘Happy Hermits’

The Way of the Hermit is the story of Ken, who has spent 40 years living alone in the Scottish Highlands, with no electricity or running water. He lives in a log cabin, chops his own wood and brews his own tipple.

Raised in Derbyshire, he was inspired to become the Hermit of Loch Treig, after travelling in the Yukon. Reading old diary entries, he reflects on why he turned his back on society, and lived a life in nature instead.

Deep Country is a mesmerising account of Neil, who spent 5 years living alone in a hillside cottage in Wales. Summer and winter, with no transport or phone. Often he did not see another soul for weeks, so found hidden places to call his own. He immerses himself in the rugged British landscape, and explores the unspoilt wilderness around him.

The Story of the ‘North Pond Hermit’

In the US, Christopher Wright is known as the ‘North Pond Hermit’. He went missing in 1986 and lived as a hermit in the wilderness (stealing food from nearby cabins, and  drinking melting ice to survive). He only saw 2 people in 27 years, but returned to society, when arrested during a burglary.

Now repenting for his ways, he lives quietly in rural Maine. When asked if he had spoken to anyone during his almost-30 years of solitude, he said that he had exchanged the word ‘hi’ with a hiker once!

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