Living in the middle of a 14,000-acre forest, Jake Williams is one Scot who has relished almost a year in lockdown.
And the 71-year-old hermit is in no hurry to put himself at risk of catching Covid-19 as restrictions ease – despite being inundated with more than 200 people wanting to be his friend and 100 more keen to visit.
The pensioner, who is proud to call himself Britain’s “most sociable hermit”, has been inundated with friend requests and inquiries on social media after he featured in Ben Fogle’s New Life in the Wild documentary series earlier this year.
Viewers were given a glimpse of Mr Williams’ hermetic lifestyle, which has involved him surviving off-grid in the Clashindarroch Forest, near Rhynie, for more than 30 years.
Treetop caravan proving a draw for viewers
Now, with lockdown restrictions easing, many viewers intrigued by his unusual way of life are keen to escape the city and stay in the unusual tree-top caravan he rents on Airbnb.
Located on his sprawling property deep in the forest, the green 1960s touring caravan sits nearly 15ft above ground and is accessed by a 16-rung wooden ladder.
By his own admission the accommodation “isn’t the five-star Ritz” and after a full life on the road, the interior, he said “could be truthfully described as shabby.”
There is no mains electricity, with the only light source a paraffin lamp or head torch.
But Mr Williams said that is not putting would-be visitors off, adding: “I’ve had about 100 enquiries for the caravan for this summer. I got so many, I got a warning from Airbnb that I wasn’t answering the queries fast enough.”
Pensioner says he has been ‘totally spoiled’ by lockdown
While many in the hospitality trade are eager to welcome customers back, Mr Williams, however, said: “I’m in no hurry. I’m going to ease back into it gradually.
“I’ve been totally spoiled by this lockdown, just staying in my garden which is literally thousands and thousands of acres. I’ve got plenty of jobs to do; plenty of things to fix, which could take a life-time or two. It’s just great.
“I’ve got a couple coming to stay (in the caravan) at the end of May and that’s it. They said they had been before and pleaded, and me being such a soft touch I agreed. But I’m turning them all down at the moment. There’s no point importing people in bulk from all over just now.”
Mr Williams has been renting the caravan, which rests in the branches of a conifer tree, for the past five years.
He refused to say how it got there, but at just £20 a night it is definitely not for the faint-hearted or those looking for a luxurious break, with the recommended wash “two kettle fulls of water and two face cloths, one for washing and one for dying”, and only a dry composting toilet.
Retired teacher says forest home is ‘safest place’ just now
The retired science teacher has also turned down requests to teach at a local secondary school this month.
He said: “It’s good that they remember me, but a school is the last place I want to be just now.
“This has to be one of the safest places to stay right now.”
Since appearing on screen, Mr Williams has also received countless offers of help from volunteers willing to share the burden of his daily tasks, including chopping logs for the fire.
With limited internet connection, however, he said he is slowly working through his “200 friend requests” to add to the 500-plus Facebook fans he already has.
“I was just going to tick them all,” he said. “But I may as well have fun and read them first. I’ll just work my way through them all.”
Mr Williams, who once hoped to create a hippy commune on the forest grounds, often builds his own pulley systems and tools to complete everyday tasks.
But the former maths and science teacher admitted he has “only ever once used pythagoras” to install a windmill that powers a 1950s diesel generator.
He has no mains electricity and lives off the land, growing his own vegetables and hauling home the odd item of roadkill.
“I’ve lived here so long, he said. “I’m part of the geology.”