‘Reluctant hermit’ tells Ben Fogle how he hopes to rent caravans propped in trees

A science teacher who leads a hermetic lifestyle in the Scottish Highlands reveals his plans to open a forest caravan park 20ft off the ground in the trees in tonight’s New Lives In the Wild. 

Jake Williams, 70, lives in an isolated plot of land in a forest in the Eastern Highlands of Scotland which he bought in the 1980s in the hope of creating a hippie commune. 

Forty years on, his commune dream having never come to fruition, Jake lives alone in the rundown cottage, which is powered by solar panels, a windmill and some diesel. 

On the programme, airing at 9pm on Channel 5, he reveals that he works as a science teacher at the nearby school, and takes part in music festivals during the summer, joking he is a ‘fake’ hermit. 

In hopes of attracting adventurous travellers to his land and making some money, Jake rents a caravan he’s mysteriously fitted in one of the forest trees, 20 feet above ground, but refuses to tell Ben how he got it there.  

Ben Fogle visits Jake Williams, a 70-year-old hermit who lives in an isolated plot of land in a forest in the Eastern Highlands of Scotland on tonight’s New Lives in the Wild, on at 9pm on Channel 5

When Ben arrives, he is struck by the numerous items that line Jakes’ driveway – old cars that don’t work anymore and rusty containers and bicycles all pepper the lawn leading to the main house, as Jake jokes he runs a ‘zero waste economy.’

One item that sticks out is a green caravan propped on a tree, that can be accessed by a wooden ladder Jake has installed. 

Ben climbs up the stairs and agrees to spending the night on the caravan, though he seems a bit uncertain about sleeping 20ft off the ground.  

When Ben asks him how he managed to get the camper van in the tree, Jake remains coy and lists outlandish ways, including driving the caravan into the tree by accident, and using a drone to lift it.

Ben is struck to find a caravan in a tree on Jake's land, but the hermit refuses to tell him how he managed to get it there

Ben is struck to find a caravan in a tree on Jake’s land, but the hermit refuses to tell him how he managed to get it there 

Jake tells Ben he bought the land in the 1980s in hopes to form a new hippie commune, but has been living there alone ever since

Jake tells Ben he bought the land in the 1980s in hopes to form a new hippie commune, but has been living there alone ever since 

Throughout his time on Jake’s land, Ben helps the landlord with odd jobs, including cutting the top of a tree so that there’s a better view of the caravan. 

Jake adds he wants to put other caravan on trees and rent them to travellers. However, he also says he wants to create a zip line to Inverness, and there is no telling whether he is seirous or joking.   

Jake, who grew up in Inverness, went off grid in the 1970s after studying general science at Aberdeen university and mixing with ‘hippies.’

He joined a commune and developed an interest for permaculture and alternative living. In the 1980s, he got a job on a US survey ship and spent two years at sea to make some money. 

Ben is struck by the fact that Jake doesn't throw anything away, meaning his plot of land is littered with things he doesn't use

Ben is struck by the fact that Jake doesn’t throw anything away, meaning his plot of land is littered with things he doesn’t use

Upon his return to the UK, he bought the cottage he still lives on to this day, however, he refuses to tell Ben how long he’s been on the farm for, saying he prefers to make it look like he’s always been part of the scenery. 

The inside of the house is also crowded with random objects, and Jake admits he doesn’t know how to sort his belongings in the mess. 

His small kitchen also houses his shower, a wood burning stone and two radiators which are working and laid out on the floor, as a test drive for under floor heating.   

Jake has compost toilets, and gets running water to the house from the nearby stream.  

When his host leaves him alone, Ben says: ‘Jake’s got a little twinkle in his eye, I love the fact he wouldn’t admit how long he’s been here for.

‘It feels like a mystery that shrouds who Jake is,’ he adds.

To survive, Jake reveals he grows his own salads and onions and has been experimenting with sustainable gardening in order to be self-sufficient.

He also reveals he doesn’t mind eating roadkill that’s been left on the side of the road, ‘as long as it’s not too scorched.’ 

Jake was introduced to the hippie lifestyle and alternative living during his third year of university, where he met with communists and anarchists and realised there was something different to his previously ‘normal’ life.  

‘I never intended to live on my own for so long, but so far I’ve survived,’ Jake tells Ben. 

While he lives alone, Ben remarks Jake is not a real hermit, because he loves other people's company

While he lives alone, Ben remarks Jake is not a real hermit, because he loves other people’s company

He also tells the adventurer that he only receives half his pension due to the fact he’s lived off grid for half his life, and sometimes has to work as a teacher in the nearby school in order to make some money.  

‘You keep surprising me, when I see all the old stuff you have in your garden, you make me think of Caractacus Potts from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,’ Ben says referencing the Ian Fleming novel and its 1968 movie adaptation. 

‘He lives a hermit-like lifestyle but I think his character is a bit bigger than that,’ Ben tells the camera.  

‘he really seems to enjoy showing off and being around other people. I don’t know where this hermit status came from,’ he adds. 

Jake revealed he used to live in a flat in Aberdeen, but that he stopped renting it because of a fall out with the landlord, which coincided with the end of his marriage, and led him to finding the cottage he now lives in.  

‘I was hoping it would [turn into a commune],’ he tells Ben, showing the house’s annex, which he says could have held several beds. 

‘I never intended to live on my own, still, here I am, I’m still happy and alive,’ he adds. 

‘He’s not a hermit by choice, it seems to be something that just happened to him,’ Ben says. 

Jake lived in hippie communes in the 1970s and lived off the grid for most his life, meaning he only receives half a pension

Jake lived in hippie communes in the 1970s and lived off the grid for most his life, meaning he only receives half a pension 

‘There is a bit of a sadness, that he hoped this would be settled by a whole group of hippies. And I often think of hippies living collectively,’ he adds. 

‘And this place feels like it needs more than one person. 

As he reflects on his stay with Jake, Ben says he’s learned more about his host, and is convinced he’s not a real hermit in nature.   

‘He’s the accidental hermit, the reluctant hermit, by his own admission, there is loneliness,’ he says. 

‘But you see him smile and you see the satisfaction when he lops off the top of a tree or he chops some more wood, and I’m sort of reminded that he does love his life,’ he adds. 

Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 5.