A hermit who has been isolated in the Scottish Highlands for 40 years makes a surprise appearance on the red carpet of a film festival.
Ken Smith left his cottage in Lochaber to attend the premiere of a documentary about his life in Glasgow.
The 74-year-old normally lives without electricity and running water at Loch Treig – the “lonely hole”.
Describing Glasgow as a very changed city, he added: “I’ve never seen so many people.”
- The man who has been living as a hermit for 40 years
Ken, originally from Derbyshire, began a wandering life after he was beaten up during a night out, leaving him unconscious for almost two weeks.
Traveling through Canada, he became interested in the wild – and on his return he went to what he described as “the most remote place in Britain” and built a log cabin.
His extraordinary story was told by Lizzie MacKenzie, who spent two years making a documentary for BBC Scotland.
Ken had to get up at 4am to make the two-hour trek to the nearest street for his trip to the Glasgow premiere.
He said he wasn’t nervous – but his first trip away from the Highlands in decades made a big impression on him.
“The last time I was in Glasgow was 30 or 40 years ago – it’s changed so much from before,” he said.
“I don’t know any of the places or anything like that, before.
“It’s certainly a different life form – I’ve never seen so many people. From where I am, where I live, I can go for weeks and not see anyone and I just get on with my work.”
Lizzie first met Ken a decade ago when she was working in a coffee shop in the Highlands after hearing deer hunters’ stories about an old man who lived in the woods.
“I got curious and eventually met Ken and we wrote letters for years — and I slowly learned how to make films so I could tell his story,” she said.
She visited him regularly with her camera and captured how he made a living from farming, how he struggled as he got older, but also enjoyed his close relationship with nature.
“The biggest challenge was when Ken was doing his 50 mile or whatever round trip into town and we were getting up at 3am and walking around in the dark.
“I was trying to keep up with him on camera and I was struggling to keep up – I thought I was fit until I tried to follow Ken with a camera.”
They have become friends over the years and Lizzie was able to help Ken when he needed treatment in the hospital after a fall.
“She was the one who kept coming in and doing my shopping while I was in the hospital. I was very grateful for that,” he recalled.
The Hermit of Treig will be available online at Glasgow film at home in cinemas across the UK from March 8th to 11th and then from March 25th.
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