Meet the southwest wanderer who has turned his weekly hikes into an art form
“It’s hugely important – it’s what keeps me vaguely sane,” says Man in the Woods, evangelising as though his entire existence depends on it. “You could miss so much of the beauty and magic of life if you didn’t take the time to stop and look.”
Stopping and looking are just a couple of things Man in the Woods (Scott to his friends) has proven to be inordinately good at. For six years, the now Bristol-based artist has been leading his online followers down country lanes and alongside hedgerows, documenting the minute – a resting bumblebee, a wild garlic bud – and the minutiae – the last of the hawthorn blossom, the chink of a kissing gate – of southwest England.
Satisfying vignettes of his weekly Friday Walks—shared on his TikTok and Instagram—and the art inspired by them have featured on Charlie Cooper’s BBC Myth Country series. But his content is gorgeously unassuming.
Low-Fi, High Connection
“I’m never seeking to bag beauty spots or go on a particularly well-curated walk,” he says. “There’s so much beauty in the small, everyday mundane things—whether cultural, natural or visual—I just want to walk everywhere and see everything. And encourage others to do the same.”
His posts don’t offer detailed routes or kit lists, and there’s certainly no gear sponsorships:
“You don’t need specialist equipment for a walk,” he laughs. “Just a bit of cash for some garden eggs or homemade cider. As long as you’re warm and half-dry, you’ll be alright.”
His lo-fi perspective is part of the charm. With 25,000+ followers, his shared sensory snippets evoke crunching footsteps, the swish of long grasses, and the cool hush behind thick parish church walls. These aren’t “nature walks,” he insists, but an attempt to connect to place.
The Journey Begins
“I wanted to look to the horizon and know what the hills were called, what valleys they looked over, and the names of the towns their rivers flowed through… So one day, I just set out from my front door and walked into the hills.”
That first walk from Salisbury took him 18km before he caught a bus home. The next week, he returned to the same spot and continued. Since September 2018, he’s covered over 2,000km of road, track and field—each route beginning where the last one ended, always reachable by public transport, and usually including a pint or two along the way.
“I do love pubs,” he admits. “And churches. They both occupy a similar place in my mind—buildings where people have gathered for hundreds of years. I’m not religious, but there is a sort of spirituality to be found in both.
Sacred Land, Strange Encounters
His connection to place includes folklore and mystery.
“It’s the mystery that’s important. Distant history is so unknowable—it’s exciting.”
From Beltane and wassails to solstice festivals and myths like the devil dropping earth to form Cley Hill, the region continues to fuel his imagination and art. Even village noticeboards, pub signs, and livestock—especially cows, a.k.a. “The Beast”—make their way into his prints and woven patches sold via his online shop. He’s mesmerised—and slightly terrified—by cows.
One memorable encounter: while weighed down with cider near a Somerset farm, he found himself face-to-face with a wall of bovine curiosity. A nearby woman advised him to grab a big stick and “just say no.” He did. It worked—for about 20 seconds.
“The cows came at me. I ended up climbing a willow tree to escape. It was scary. And I had to do the detour anyway. But at least it gave me another story to tell.”
----
Boozy Idylls: Some Favourite Stops
- The Druid’s Arms, Stanton Drew - “Home to England’s second-largest stone circle. The pub has three standing stones in its garden and a parish church over the wall—a holy trinity of magical English rural things.”
- The Rose and Thistle, Rockbourne - “Flagstone floors, thatched roof, great soups and sandwiches. Also: a lot of wet dogs, which is nice.”
- The Rising Sun, Pensford - “A brilliant garden right by the river, with views of the towering old viaduct.”
