Many of you have likely heard of Millican Dalton, the so-called hermit and adventurer of Castle Crag in Borrowdale. In the 1920s and 30s, he managed to carve out a reputation by living in a cave and offering guided walks and canoe trips for tourists seeking a bit of excitement. A hermit in name only, he was more of a seasonal escapee from the drudgery of ordinary life than a true recluse.
One wonders if Dalton might have borrowed his flair for rustic escapism from a rather more authentic recluse, George Smith, “The Skiddaw Hermit.” Smith managed nearly four years in the 19th century living in a tent on the slopes of Skiddaw, presumably to avoid the harsh winters of Turriff in Aberdeenshire, where he was born. Unlike Dalton’s summer frolics, Smith fully embraced the hermit aesthetic: minimal clothing, outdoor sleeping arrangements, and painting in the nude1THE SKIDDAW HERMIT. Liverpool Mercury – Saturday 18 December 1869 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000081/18691218/013/0005?noTouch=true2THE SKIDDAW HERMIT Newcastle Chronicle – Saturday 21 December 1889 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000865/18891221/153/0010.
So instead of a view of England’s third highest mountain, here is a photo from Latrigg, offering a sweeping view over the hamlets of Under-Skiddaw. Observe the patchwork of woods and fields, giving way to the muted browns of the craggy gullies that fold and twist their way toward the summit—hidden, of course, in the ever-present mist.
George Smith was born sometime in the mid-19th century. An eccentric fellow, he became a tourist spectacle in his own right. For all his reclusive airs, he often wandered off to sketch and paint, clad in as little clothing as possible, no matter the weather. He shunned society, preferring to sleep on the ground, and his disdain for convention was matched only by occasional outbursts of drunken madness.
Today, Smith might be celebrated as a free spirit, thumbing his nose at societal expectations and embracing a life of untethered communion with nature. Back then, he was just an oddity in the hills.
- 1THE SKIDDAW HERMIT. Liverpool Mercury – Saturday 18 December 1869 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000081/18691218/013/0005?noTouch=true
- 2THE SKIDDAW HERMIT Newcastle Chronicle – Saturday 21 December 1889 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000865/18891221/153/0010
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