What is considered "wild" in the UK
And the adventure I didn't know I'd be going on this year... 🦔🦔🦔
Hi friend,
I have lived in the UK for nearly two years now, and am still constantly discovering the differences in how we (my being Canadian) use the English language. It’s typically in the idioms and colloquialisms. Always in the slang (some of my new favourite words are “faff” and “jolly,” but I think I’ll get a proper A+ when I understand and use the shorthand names for people from certain cities/regions). And I wanted to fight it, but I’m intentionally trying to start saying words like “petrol” instead of gas, “rubbish” for garbage, and “bin” instead of garbage can. Sometimes, I’ll even say “chips” for fries and “crisps” for potato chips. (Though I refuse to call underwear “pants.”)
The list of words and phrases I’ve learned and picked up over here is slowly growing. But there’s one word I’ve been fascinated by, or rather fascinated by the way it is used, that feels as though the Brits have truly made all their own: wild. You wouldn’t say you’re going swimming at any random river or lake, as an example. Here, you’d say you’re going wild swimming. And the back-country camping we’d do in North America is known as wild camping. In both cases, it feels as though wild is being used to describe anything that is not contained by rules or conventions… or by four walls. There’s the regular way of doing things, and then there’s the wild way of doing things, which simply means you’re doing it outside. It’s quintessentially British.
I have also learned that when your neighbours point out that you’ve let your garden go wild, it means you’re not trimming your hedges into perfect rectangles and they wish you would. (Passive aggressive comments could be a language of their own here.)
Well, I let my garden go WILD this summer, friend. (Oh wait, “garden” is the word they use for backyards over here… I guess I’ve picked that up too!) Partially, because it would never dawn on me to trim my hedges into shapes. Because we don’t do that where I’m from. And because I think letting plants take their natural shape feels… natural? And is, dare I say it, more beautiful to look at!? (Don’t come at me.) But I also let it go wild because there are just too many things happening in my garden. Too many plants, too many vines, too many weeds. So I decided to let them do their thing over the summer, and let the bees get pollen from as much as possible. I would tidy it up in the fall/winter.
What I didn’t realize is that hedgehogs (which are also wild here in the UK, not pets like what you might find in North America) love wild gardens. The more plants and more “mess” there is, the more bugs. And the more bugs, the more food there is for a hedgehog. In letting my garden go wild, one showed up…
Tall Man saw it first. He was over for dinner one night, and while we were standing in the kitchen facing each other, he looked out the window and spotted a hedgehog walking across my patio. By the time I turned around, it was gone and I was devastated. Ok, that is perhaps too strong of a word, but I remember feeling a little sad that TM had seen it and I hadn’t. In the 18 months I’d lived over here, at that point, TM had sent me a handful of pictures and videos from his various hedgehog sightings. I had still only seen one—and that was outside his front door. Now, even at my own house, TM saw a hedgehog and I hadn’t! That was on Monday, July 3rd.
On Wednesday afternoon, I was out in the garden and noticed something unusual in the grass. A hedgehog curled up in a ball in the afternoon sun. It wasn’t moving and wasn’t bothered by my presence. I didn’t know much about hedgehogs then, but knew they were nocturnal and this seemed off. I messaged Tall Man and asked what he thought, and he shared this infographic with me. The first sign that a hedgehog is in need of help: lethargy. “Hedgehogs don’t sunbathe!” it read. This was the beginning of my hedgehog education.
Following the steps outlined on the infographic, I gathered a box and some towels, picked up the hedgehog, and brought it inside. Then I called the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (because of course that’s a thing) and was connected with a man (Terrance) who runs the local hedgehog rescue. He asked me a few questions and sounded hopeful that this little hedgehog would be fine. “It probably just needs some water, and maybe a little (cat or dog) food. If it eats or drinks, you can let it go back outside.”
I got everything setup, then closed the box and left the hedgehog alone. Within an hour, I heard the scurrying of little nails and quills on cardboard. When it popped its face up, I knew it was ready to go back outside—and I set it free. But our story didn’t end there.
The next day (Thursday), my gardener (I use this term quite loosely, I get her to cut my lawns maybe 8-10 times/year, because I don’t want to buy a lawnmower) came by and I told her the story. She said it was good I had warned her to keep an eye out for hedgehogs, then said it wasn’t surprising one had shown up since I’d let my garden go wild (which she actually loves and is encouraging me to let the grass go wild next summer too). And then she asked a question that would change my life:
“Did you know you can buy hedgehog houses?”
No, no I did not know that.
“You can even make one out of cardboard. Just make sure it’s small enough that badgers and foxes can’t squeeze in. Add a little straw or hay. And put some plastic overtop, so it doesn’t get soaked in the rain. Your space is perfect for them. If you’re open to having them around, they’ll live anywhere that feels safe.”
I don’t know what I was thinking or feeling, when she shared all of this, friend. I’d done some reading the night before, and learned hedgehogs were on the decline and classified as a vulnerable species here. I had also learned that female hedgehogs are often the ones seen out during summer months, because they are looking for extra food or nesting materials for their babies. I was worried about this hedgehog who had been lethargic only the day before. And I knew I was about to go away with Tall Man for the weekend, for my birthday, so I was already going to put some water down for it. Was I happy to have it hang around my garden long-term, if it wanted to!? …sure, why not!
By the end of the day, I had ordered a hedgehog house online. It wouldn’t arrive for a week, so I also turned a cardboard box into a temporary house (lovingly called The Hedgie Hotel) and even picked up some straw from the local petshop to make it feel cozier. I didn’t know if it would actually move into the hotel or the future house, but apparently I was willing to spend £35 to give it the option. Just 3 days after Tall Man had first seen it, I had invested in this hedgehog’s future—and, given it a name.
To avoid writing a 5,000-word post on our story, and everything I’ve learned about hedgehogs, I will give you a Cole’s Notes version of what has happened since then: Hedgie moved into the temporary hotel while we were away; the house arrived on July 12th; I put down some stone blocks from my patio for a foundation (my dad the engineer would’ve been proud) and got it setup that day; Hedgie moved out of the hotel and into the house; I spotted it walking along the patio at sunset on July 13th; and I have seen Hedgie almost every evening since. (I’ve even heard funny noises coming from a bush, and thought it was Hedgie sniffing for food, but later discovered it’s the noise they make when they are mating! HEDGIE SEX!? 🙈)
Everything has been business as usual here, for the past few months. I put out clean water for Hedgie every day, and most nights a little bit of hedgehog food as well. Growing up in BC, you’re taught to not f*ck with nature. Leave everything alone, it can sort itself out. And I do that, in the sense that I don’t go anywhere near Hedgie. I don’t want or need to touch it. It’s not my pet. But because they are vulnerable (and not pests or predators), they really encourage you to take care of them here—if you’re open to it. And I am. (It’s kind of like buying a bird house and bird food and a bird bath, but for something on four funny little feet.)
I’ve enjoyed my little evening viewings of Hedgie scurrying around, from the kitchen window. Honestly, it’s given me more joy than I could’ve imagined—especially in the summer, when my mental health was meh at best. But then, last week, I spotted something extra. Not one Hedgie. Not two Hedgies. THREE Hedgies. Two of them smaller than the original! Hedgie is a mom!
This gave me even more to research, and I learned babies (called hoglets) only stay with their moms for up to 8 weeks before heading out into the world on their own. And if they are out searching for food together, they are getting close. Also, hedgehogs hibernate for winter, and need to have enough warmth/weigh a certain amount beforehand to survive. With temps dipping down to near-freezing overnight now, they could go into hibernation anytime. This made me wonder how many hedgehog houses you could have in your garden, and I discovered the answer is: have as many as you want/have space for! I’m guessing you know what I did with this information…
Yep, I ordered two more houses.
They literally arrived, as I was typing these words.
There are probably a few jokes in all of this. My friend Sasha says I’m starting a Hedgie Development. Tall Man says it’ll soon be a complex, complete with a grocery store and a coffee shop. I do think they are supportive of my ways, but I get why it might seem silly to some people. Still, a noticing I’ve had and been paying attention to since the beginning of this whole little journey is that I never once questioned these decisions. My gardener told me you could have a hedgehog house in your garden, and I immediately researched and bought one the same day. Then I spotted two baby hedgehogs and got houses for them too. I’m not going to continue buying houses at this rate. I think 3-4 is the max we will squeeze into our garden. But I didn’t question it… I just did the research and handed over my money.
This experience has made me wonder what else I naturally lean toward—and away from—especially when it comes to money. Like why have I had “casual shoes” on my shopping list for 9-10 months and still not even started browsing for them, when I really do want them and know what the benefits of owning them could be? But I will see two baby hedgehogs and immediately buy them new homes? It’s clearly not about the money. (It hardly ever is.) I could’ve bought new shoes for the same price as those two houses. But I don’t lean toward shoes or shopping… at least not right now.
Right now, I’m putting down roots and setting up a life and a home for myself in the UK—complete with a wild garden and three wild hedgehogs in their fancy hedgehog houses. It’s a little unconventional, and that’s exactly how we like it.
Maybe I am the wild one here… 🙃
xx Cait
What could be more English than a story about hedgehogs? Lovely.
Ahhh, the story I didn’t know I needed! 🥰 Love this so much Cait and I am now totally invested in your hedgehogs and your garden! 🤗💗