permanently moving to the woods and back to nature.

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New to the forum so not sure what response this will get, but I thought I would just see what people thought... I'm currently a welder in the black country but I love the woods, I'm giving my self 5 years of preparation before making the leap of returning back to the ways of our hunter gatherer ancestors.
 

Home Guard

Forager
Dec 13, 2010
229
0
North Walsham, Nelson's County.
Welcome,

Please tell us more about your background.
How you're going to procure land/permission.
The technology you'll use.
Your source of income whilst doing so, etc.

This sounds very interesting. Do a quick search on this forum as there seems to be quite a few people posting about planning to do this although we never hear of many who actually have, which is quite a shame. :(

I wish you luck. :)

Jake,
 

Ivan...

Ex member
Jul 28, 2011
1,771
0
Dartmoor
I bought that very book, and it's in my mum's garage, hopefully not too damp! If you want it for the price of postage (subject to it being ok!) You can have it,or any one else that fancies it .

It's crap, just an opinion of course.

Ivan...
 

mountainm

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 12, 2011
9,990
12
Selby
www.mikemountain.co.uk
New to the forum so not sure what response this will get, but I thought I would just see what people thought... I'm currently a welder in the black country but I love the woods, I'm giving my self 5 years of preparation before making the leap of returning back to the ways of our hunter gatherer ancestors.

You need a fair bit of land to hunt and gather and sustain yourself. You getting permission? Then how do you preserve all your food for the winter? You may make a better go of it on the coast.
 
Feb 15, 2011
3,860
2
Elsewhere
I'm giving my self 5 years of preparation before making the leap of returning back to the ways of our hunter gatherer ancestors.

Assuming of course that you're planning a return to the wild in the UK, our hunter gatherer ancestors had 4 major advantages over us ..........firstly the human population was a fraction of what it is today, secondly, they had a far greater variety of native plants to gather & animals to hunt , thirdly, private property didn't exist & fourthly, they weren't hampered by a mountain of laws & regulations which more or less forbid such an existance.
They were also nomads as an area would rapidly become depleted, yet another problem in the UK today, where both the law & the populace frown apon 'travellers'

Can't stop you dreaming though .:D
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,976
13
In the woods if possible.
It isn't really feasible in the UK. There are a few threads here on this forum in which people have floated the idea. Spend the first few days of those five years with your favourite search engine appending "site:bushcraftuk.com" to your search terms. There's a useful analysis of the energy and land area requirements here

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90058&p=1086606#post1086606

You might want to read the whole thread.

There's also a brief table here

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81978&p=995225#post995225

which might quickly give you a feel for what you're up against.
 

Llwyd

Forager
Jan 6, 2013
243
2
Eastern Canada
Hunting and gathering; even here in Canada is very difficult. For hunting purposes you need to eat everything that is not nailed down and you need a range of several hundred square kilometers. Basically you need to have 3-4 cabins and move between them with the seasons. This means you need 3-4 sets of gear as you cannot carry it all.

Staying at one place means (a thousand acres or so) you can last a few months at best before your hunting and fishing is depleted. Your gathering will be depleted in a week or so.

Land available to do this is only located in areas where no one else wants to live. Typically that means the north. Because of this the growing season is minimal and your garden variety of crops typically do not do that great and you need to supplement everything you eat from the store.

Basically to do this type of thing in the modern era is not practical. Wipe 6 billion humans off the planet and give nature a century to recover and it becomes feasible though.

The best alternative would be to buy or lease surplus land in Canada or Scandinavia and live a modern off the grid lifestyle. Farm a few animals, hunt a few species, do some fishing and have a good sized garden full of whatever you can grow. Then supplement this with trips to town for supplies as often as needed.

For the investment of about $100,000Cdn. you could live reasonably comfortably and for double that you could live care free. You would still need a part time job unless you had a disposable income but it is the only realistic option with a chance at success beyond 8 weeks.
 
Jul 30, 2012
3,570
224
westmidlands
I wouldn't try going the whole hog, otherwise you'll end up coming full circle, via bartering, invention of money, and then inventing the job, the office, the computer and the tax system.
I have seen lots of programmes about woodsmen, coppicers etc that do have a lifestyle more akin to that of a hunter gatherer. My opinion anyway. Try to find a job like that.

For further info please see Southpark episode "die hippie, die"
 

mrcharly

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 25, 2011
3,257
44
North Yorkshire, UK
I have seen lots of programmes about woodsmen, coppicers etc that do have a lifestyle more akin to that of a hunter gatherer. My opinion anyway. Try to find a job like that.

Well I half agree with this. As a welder, in a rural area the OP would be able to find bit work repairing stuff. I think it is possible to grow veg/hunt/fish and 'live in the woods'. I'm basing this on the experience of some friends who have done something similar. They don't own much, but boy they look happy and relaxed compared to me.
 

Manacles

Settler
Jan 27, 2011
596
0
No longer active on BCUK
I wouldn't try going the whole hog, otherwise you'll end up coming full circle, via bartering, invention of money, and then inventing the job, the office, the computer and the tax system.
I have seen lots of programmes about woodsmen, coppicers etc that do have a lifestyle more akin to that of a hunter gatherer. My opinion anyway. Try to find a job like that.

For further info please see Southpark episode "die hippie, die"

That's a good point. It's worth checking out Mark Boyle's book "The Moneyless Manifesto" where he proposes what you describe as an alternative future, by his own admission in the book, he has had to resort to living in a borrowed flat. Having said that, his book is very thought provoking, especially if one is of the ilk that maybe we have gone wrong societally.
 

luckylee

On a new Journey
Aug 24, 2010
2,412
0
birmingham
There is a great book about the same thing and in the west midlands called the second meadow, a fantastic book I could not put it down.He got on great by the end.
 

Hugo

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 29, 2009
2,588
1
Lost in the woods
Now that is an unusual First post, will it be the last I wonder.
Me, I like my creature comforts, then I can return back home for a while. ;)
 

Llwyd

Forager
Jan 6, 2013
243
2
Eastern Canada
People that attempt this sort of thing never realize what they are up against. Chris McCandless springs to mind. In spite of the fact that hollywood tried to make a hero out of him and the internet doubly so... the outcome was predictable.

Internet videos and BBC heroes never show what is going on off camera and their shows are scripted as entertainment. I know, I have made videos too. In one of my videos I clean up the ruffed grouse in a matter of seconds but there is no way to show that it took 3 days to get the damn thing.

Most people want to live in Walt Disney land in one way or another and want to believe in magic, others want to live in Henry David Thoreau land. You cannot do either permanently, only until the money runs out.

There is nothing wrong with a few weeks here and a few weeks there out in the bush or a well thought out retirement strategy that allows you to live there but we can no more give up the modern world than we can go back in time.
 

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