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Wild man Kyle Pidduck

Kyle Pidduck documents his life living wild around the uk with his two dogs. There's quite a lot of 'outdoor living' Youtubers out there. Some more interesting than others.

I first found his channel while he was walking and sleeping along the coastal path up to Scotland. 

After many months he decided to cross back over the border and settle down for the winter in a small cabin he built illegally in some woods. He lived there hidden away for months at the secret location. He recently gave up the cabin and is currently sleeping in a car he bought, still with his dogs.

His videos capture some beautiful scenes of the countrysides wild corners, as he strays off the path looking for places to sleep and gather wood.

In this video he takes us on a tour of some of his old skippers and haunts, growing up around the edge lands of the north east.

Some screenshots I took of his videos

 

Common Crown

Made this little intervention the other day up on Whitefield’s mount, which is the name given to the island of scrub growing wild on Blackheath. It is named after the 18th century Anglican preacher who would deliver sermons from it to audiences of thousands. 

Before this though, for centuries the patch was known as ‘Wat Tyler’s Mound’. Apparently speeches were made up here to the rebel encampments before they proceeded their march into the city, at the Peasants Revolt of 1381. 

From reading more about the mound on the excellent runner500 blog, it looks like it has been used as a gathering point by other rebellious political movements as well, such as the Cornish rebels before the battle of Deptford bridge, the Chartists and the Lewisham Suffragette’s.

Today it is now a quieter corner of the heath.

The bench there is known to some as ‘Ed’s bench’ in memory of a former class mate at my secondary school. It faces out on to a crater that becomes a pond in winter. 

In the summer the remains of rough sleeping can usually be found in the bushes of the mound, the thickets of gorse providing shelter from the wind and a veil from the main road. 

The detritus in the grass there reflects the mounds relatively isolated location and unregulated ‘wild’ character;

Beer cans, condoms, vapes, weed baggies and fag ends…

and the feathers of crows, who watch over the wild island from the solitary birch tree.

 

Wild corners connected

                        

This guy sets himself the challenge to cross Greater London without using any roads. Some of these Youtuber geo adventures can seem a little gimmicky at times but what is created here is fascinating. 

He maps a route using larger green spaces and in between these he navigates, trespasses an internal network of edges, alleys and water ways through the city and suburbs. 

See him passing through Lewisham in a section of the Ravensbourne. 

   

The Swamp [Vol 1]

Here is the full length version of my film The Swamp. A poetic documentary about my favourite wild corner, hidden on a secluded train embankment close to my childhood home. It is the place I was first told about the legend of the Lewisham Natureman and shown his scratched crown tag.

The film is made from a collage of footage I filmed there over the last 20 + years. It is the first of a series exploring different aspects of the Swamp. This first episode examines the mysterious pond and the unnamed stream.

Malcom Appleby's studio

One of many gems from BBC Archive's Youtube account. Lovely footage of Malcom Appleby's home and studio built in a derelict train station on a long discontinued line.  

Devils Steps Portal

Proper original Lewisham Wildcornerz stuff ... 

A post on Facebook that caught my eye recently.

 Devil's steps was an access point for local children to climb onto the railway which led to a huge disused gravel pit a little way along the tracks. This is obviously where the road name Granville Park came from.

 'A paradise for adventurers'. 

An old Lewisham Natureman white stag can sill be seen behind the creeping plants, calling into a portal at the bottom of Devils Steps.

 [My mum remembers accessing the same pit through the rail bridge further along known as Lover Lane, where the stag beetles would fly in the summer.]

Oil painting of Devils steps which used to hang on my grandmother's wall.