DiscoverAbsolute UnitsWe Were All Rural Once (with Man in the Woods)
We Were All Rural Once (with Man in the Woods)

We Were All Rural Once (with Man in the Woods)

Update: 2025-07-24
Share

Description

Seven years ago on a Friday, artist Scott (best-known on social media as Man in the Woods) set off for a walk to no particular destination. The next Friday, he started a new walk where the previous week's ended. He's been doing that every Friday ever since, documenting his travels on social media while producing beautiful artworks that reflect his finds and the connections he builds to where he explores.

In this episode, Joe and Ollie speak with Man in the Woods about what inspired the Friday walks, where it's taken him, and how exploring England's rural landscapes has helped him reimagine his relationship with English cultural identity. Topics range from psychogeography and rural flaneurs, to pubs, Peckham, and the pooing pigeon that now represents London Museum.

View images that accompany this episode on our website: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2025/07/the-friday-walks-with-man-in-the-woods/

---

Shop new Absolute Units merch on our online shop: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/Absolute-Units-Podcast-merch.html

---

Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson.

Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan
Producer: Joe Vaughan

Comments 
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

We Were All Rural Once (with Man in the Woods)

We Were All Rural Once (with Man in the Woods)

The Museum of English Rural Life