For almost 40 years,?Ken Smith had been living on the fringes, metaphorically and literally!?
Having shunned the conventional life, the 'Hermit of Treig', as he is globally known, lives his days in a hand-built log cabin in?the?Scottish Highlands?without electricity or running water, BBC reported.?
Smith, who is now 74 years old, departed a traditional life when he was 26 years old after being brutally attacked by a gang of thugs on a night out. The attack left Ken with a brain haemorrhage and unconscious for 23 days - with doctors fearing he'd never walk or talk again.
¡°They said I would never recover. They said I would never speak again. They said I would never walk again but I did. That¡¯s when I decided I would never live on anyone¡¯s terms but my own,¡± he says?in the BBC documentary,?The Hermit of Treig.?
Post the attack, he started looking into the wilderness and travelled to Canada where he walked 22,000 miles on his own before deciding to return home.
Unfortunately, upon his return, Smith was met with devastating news about his parents' death.??
¡°It took a long while to hit me. I felt nothing,¡± he said.
Smith then began trekking the length of Britain to cope with his sadness, eventually arriving in the Scottish Highlands in 1984.?
He broke down over the loss once he reached Rannoch in the Scottish Highlands.?
¡°I cried all the way while walking. I thought, where is the most isolated place in Britain?... Hundreds and hundreds of miles of nothingness. I looked across the loch and saw this woodland.¡±??
There, a two-hour walk from the nearest market, nestled in the Highlands, Smith built the humble log cabin that he has called home ever since. No electricity, no running water, no gas.
As a capable fisher and gardener, Smith has thrived off the land and nearby streams. The Hermit even brews beer and vints wine. He¡¯s reportedly stored 80 gallons of homemade wine in anticipation of his funeral.? ????
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