Could you live off the land?

Soldato
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Assuming you own a few survival items (knife, hand axe, flint, pot/pan, needle, thread, rope, shovel, a tent, a sleeping bag), boots, warm coat and one set of clothes, do you think it would be possible to survive in the wild living off the land (Ray Mears style), relying only on what you can hunt/make/scavenge, in modern day Britain?

If it is possible do you think you could do it?



I think I might've made this post a few months ago. I've always like the idea of dropping out of modern society (for all intents and purposes) and just living off the land, relying only on yourself. I don't know whether I could do it, or if it's even possible, but I live in hope.
 
It's certainly possible, we did it in the past don't forget. However all those skills are gone I think. Unless you're military or have a lot of wilderness training I don't even think most people could pitch a tent (myself included) without faffing around for a bit.
 
I think so, but you need to choose your area wisely. The winters would be a bitch as well.

All you really need is access to fresh water. A clean stream would do. Some fishing stuff and be near some orchards to nick fruit and woodland to get shrooms.

I fact, apart from the lack of water, I reckon I could give it a good go in the field behind where I am living. Got rabbits and wood pigeon galore. Kennet at the bottom of the field which is full of freshwater crayfish and things. Apple trees and loads of blackcurrants in season. Woodland up the road full of mushrooms.

Would be a bit boring though.
 
It's certainly possible, we did it in the past don't forget. However all those skills are gone I think. Unless you're military or have a lot of wilderness training I don't even think most people could pitch a tent (myself included) without faffing around for a bit.

Agree with this, I don't think I could do it. Plus, what would you kill for food etc? You can't just go around killing pigs/cows if they belong to farms, also actually preparing and eating the food takes time/skill too.
 
People can't pitch a tent? Crikey.

I think winter would be the hardest by far, wild foods would be scarce and many animals would be hibernating/not very active so would make hunting hard.

The hardest bit, minus catching food, would be preparing the food for eating and also storing it. It's all well and fine that you can go and kill a deer and eat that but it won't last very long not preserved. Good luck getting enough salt to do so effectively. Not to mention, I doubt many people have the skills to butcher an animal.

Mushrooms would be a big risk, whilst there aren't many lethal ones about there are many which will make you very ill. You don't want to be throwing up and have diarrhoea and then have to go and find some food just because you had some dodgy mushrooms.

I can make a fire, set up shelter, butcher an animal (catching it is another matter though) (though I've never done a deer, I have done other smaller animals) and know how to preserve food. I don't think I could do it for more than a few months though and nor would I want to do it in winter time.
 
It wouldn't be a fun existence in this country and you would struggle not to get in trouble with farmers i think. There's just too high a population density.
 
This was on the BBC news not so long ago. A guy who has no job, no bank account, no phone etc etc and lives off the land essentially, he looks healthy and not struggling supposedly.
 

The psychological pressure would be the limiting factor. Yes, it would be all well and good to get away for a bit but knowing what you had left would play on my (as well as most, I'd imagine) mind too much.
You would want to return to 'normal society' to be able to indulge in the things that it provides. You'd quickly miss showers/baths, hot water from the tap, ovens, human contact, OcUK etc etc.

It's also not legal to just set up camp in many places which would severely limit you. The only reasonable place you could begin to live this 'dream' would be in The Highlands and even then you'd be bothered constantly by ghillies and the like.
 
I did wonder about the legality of all this. Hunting licenses, fishing licenses, finding suitable land that you could legally set up camp on, etc..
 
Assuming you own a few survival items (knife, hand axe, flint, pot/pan, needle, thread, rope, shovel, a tent, a sleeping bag), boots, warm coat and one set of clothes, do you think it would be possible to survive in the wild living off the land (Ray Mears style), relying only on what you can hunt/make/scavenge, in modern day Britain?

If it is possible do you think you could do it?



I think I might've made this post a few months ago. I've always like the idea of dropping out of modern society (for all intents and purposes) and just living off the land, relying only on yourself. I don't know whether I could do it, or if it's even possible, but I live in hope.

Yes it is possible, and yes I could do it.

You would need some good knowledge of the flora and fauna of the area, a source of fresh water and some basic wood-craft skills to survive more than a week.

It would have to be out in the Beacons or Highlands however, as pretty much everywhere else is too civilized.
 
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It'd be possible, but not sure it'd be a pleasant experience due to what we have become accustomed to.

Could i do it? Certainly not :p Not without a lot of learning beforehand anyway.
 
The main limiting factor for this would be the Legality of it and I really can't see any Landowners in the UK allowing this to happen on their land and if their neighbours allowed it they would put a stop to it (NiMBY Mentality), if you put up a shelter somewhere the local Council would soon want it's Planning Permissions/Council Taxes and they would hound you relentlessly and see you jailed before allowing you to live freely in this Country. It's all about £££££ they can squeeze out of you sadly.
 
Being in modern day britain makes things much easier if you're prepared to let your morals slide.

First of all going off and living in the middle of nowhere would be the wrong approach when modern society is so wasteful. Why waste your time catching, killing and preparing wild animals when there's an abundance of food going to waste in every town and city if you know where to find it? On top of that you can always resort to shoplifting if you get really hungry.
 
With the right training I'm sure anyone could. But doing it the UK would probably be a problem due to most of the land being owned privately or by the crown. Whatever you do don't have a party or they'll shut you down under the CJB. You could probably disappear into the wilderness in America, Canada or Russia without too much trouble.
 
There are some basic tests that you can use in terms of food and whats edible or not.

Firstly is to pick it up and see if it stings your skin.
Next crush it and apply it to a sensitive part of your skin (inside of elbow)
Next apply some to your lip
Next chew a piece and spit it out
Finally consume a small part

Between all of the above you need to wait at least a couple of hours.

There are some obvious plants that people should know can be boiled and used as tea (nettles for example). Plenty of fruit available in the wild (blackberrys, raspberrys etc). Meat is a difficult one as most people would struggle to catch it in the first place, secondly would people know how to butcher an animal and spot signs of disease?

Building a fire and shelter should be something everyone is capable of - a simple lean-to can often be found 50% made in your average wood.

Fresh clean water is possible but you either need a fire to boil it, plastic to capture it (very very time consuming and generally doesnt provide enough to live on) or the knowledge of what sands / soils / moss can be used to clean water.

Planning is critical in all of these things, surviving a winter is perfectly possible if you do the things you need to in summer / autumn to make sure you can survive (mainly wind / water proofing your shelter and ensuring you have enough dry wood).

As others have said everyone once lived like this - I am often shocked at how little knowledge people have.
 
It is possible but I wonder whether that kind of existence here is possible in the long term. As to whether I could manage it, well let’s say I would probably fail miserably without any guidance or training.
 
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