Way of the Hermit
The International Bestseller
'A love story to the mountains in the mist, the pulsating northern lights and the red deer at dawn. And to independence' – The Washington Post
'A Thoreauvian account of solitary life in the Scottish Highlands . . . delightful' – Kirkus Reviews
'Ken Smith’s advice for staying alive in inclement conditions could equally be applied to achieving hard-won dreams' – Geographical
'Ken Smith comes across as a thoughtful, resourceful and above all humane man . . . inspiring' – BBC Countryfile Magazine
*****
Could you leave behind the bustle of modern society and spend your days immersed in nature? In The Way of the Hermit, seventy-four-year-old Ken Smith recounts a life he has chosen to spend alone with the wilderness.
Ken Smith has spent the past four decades in the Scottish Highlands. He lives alone, with no electricity or running water. His home is a log cabin nestled near Loch Treig, known as 'the lonely loch', where he lives off the land: he fishes for his supper, chops his own wood, and even brews his own tipple. He is, in the truest sense of the word, a hermit.
For the first time, Ken shares the story of his life. From his working-class origins in Derbyshire, to the formative years he spent travelling in the Yukon and finally how he came to be the Hermit of Loch Treig. Looking back through decades of diary entries, Ken reflects upon the reasons he turned his back on society, the vulnerability of old age and the awe and wonder of a life lived in nature. The Way of the Hermit is a humorous, transcendent and life-affirming memoir.
Ken Smith has had a lifelong love of wilderness and exploration. As a young man, he worked as a farmhand and labourer until 1975, when he moved to Yukon, Canada. On his return, Ken took to wandering across the British Isles, settling at Treig to resolve his grief and build a new life.
Will Millard is a writer, BBC presenter, public speaker and expedition leader. Born and brought up in the Fens, he presents remote anthropology and adventure series for BBC Two and a series on rivers, urban exploration and history for BBC Wales. In 2019, his series My Year with the Tribe won the Realscreen Award for Travel & Exploration. His first book, The Old Man and the Sand Eel, follows his wild journey across Britain in pursuit of a fishing record. He has also ghostwritten many projects and written for numerous national and international magazines and newspapers, including BBC News, The Daily Telegraph, Vice, The Guardian, Geographical and Outer Edge.