By: Francesca Mundrick, Founder & CEO
The Knepp Estate is a 3,500-acre rewilding project in West Sussex, England. Over the past few decades, Knepp has become an internationally recognized example of success for rewilding in practice. Knepp was a clear choice for my first ever rewilding vacation.
My fiancé dropped me off at Newark Airport on July 5th in the late afternoon. I flight was set from Newark to Dublin to Heathrow. My pilgrimage to Knepp was about to begin. Truly, I am a trader because I was going to England over the Fourth of July. That would later become quite the joke on the grounds of Knepp.
My flight to Heathrow was a redeye. With a five-hour time difference from the US East Coast to the UK, I like to fly overnight when traveling to Europe to adjust better in the morning.
I had my 50L backpack packed- it weighed honestly probably 35 pounds. Over the span of a trip, this is definitely your first challenge to bare. Most experienced hikers know that packing light is packing smart. I learned that early on in my travels.
Before getting on the plane, getting to the airport, and choosing what to bring, I had to learn what Knepp had to offer.
The Knepp Estate has become a beacon of life within the English landscape. The Estate features an amazing array of habitats including grasslands, groves, scrub, and forested areas. Wildlife is in abundance at Knepp as the rewilding process included the reintroduction of large herbivores- wildlife and domesticated livestock.
Over thirty years, the rewilding practices at Knepp took hold and with that, sustainable business followed. Knepp offers the public access to walking trails, educational workshops and classes, a wild shop, a wild restaurant and market supplied by on site regenerative farming practices, and, a state-of-the-art primitive camping area with a camp field for tents, outdoor showers, fully equip outdoor kitchens, outhouse facilities, a yoga hut, a sauna, and a natural swimming pond. Knowing that I would have these resources, I planned accordingly.
While I can be Type A with work, I am Type B in personality. None the less, I had to think strategically about camping 3000 miles away. I packed a one-person tent, a single blow-up mattress and pillow with an air pump, toiletries, notebooks and books, and a few articles of clothing- including a swimsuit because you know that I am swimming in that pond.
Back at the airport, my hiking backpack and now carry on was getting lugged around towards the gate. I would land in Dublin, do customs, and then hop over to Heathrow. It is funny- even if you have traveled many times before, you still get a bit nervous going into the unknown.
Landing in England, I grabbed an Uber and went to Airbnb I booked in Horsham- near to Knepp. My host, Elle, would be an important piece in my Knepp adventure. The home was quiet, quaint, and fitted with views of a farm and lots of tea. I planned to stay at the Airbnb for two days to prep for camping and adjust to the time. The house was in the countryside of Horsham – I took a couple of Ubers here and there to town but largely I walked a few miles to and from a pub and gas station grocer nearby.
On the day I was ready to head to Knepp, I hailed an Uber, went to the grocery store in Horsham, got a light amount of food- eggs, bread, butter, snacks, jerky, water-packed it, and went to the Estate.
My first impression of Knepp is that it was very peaceful and looked much like a park-I think it is meant to. The life was teeming. The biodiversity increase was highly noticeable compared to greater area of Horsham.
I went into the shop at the front of the camping area to check in, grab some extra food items, and wood for fire. I walked the third of a mile to my campsite and set up shop. Within, one hour, my tent was set up and I began making friends with the neighbors.
One of the things that fascinated me most about Knepp was meeting the people there. Whether it was the working people of the Estate or the visitors, I found discussing the significance of Knepp and the English relationship with nature intriguing.
At present, England has no real wilderness space. The islands of the UK have been modified over many, many generations. The relationship to land and wilderness is different than what we experience in the US. In connecting with other visitors, I uncovered the English need to be wild.
Rewilding in the UK is starting from a nearly net zero level of biodiversity- the ecological restoration is starting from a much lower level than in the US. Most people I interacted with, from children to the elderly, said that they almost never saw wildlife in their lives. Knepp offers a Sahari where visitors take Toyota Landcruiser on tours around the estate to view habitats and wildlife. This Sahari is called the “African Safari of Europe” because people have so little interaction with nature that it feels like a Sahari in Africa. Within the rewilding community of Europe, people often say to me- Why are you rewilding New Jersey? It is already wild to us.
The visitors of Knepp were there to experience peace in wild spaces but they were also looking for something deeper- a lost part of their human spirit. The rewilding at Knepp isn’t just for the nature; it is for the people too. Many visitors shared with me that they feel their daily lives are sterile, dominated by globalization and government control, where sovereignty and “wildness” has been diminished.
Visiting Knepp wasn’t just about witnessing rewilded space for me. It was a challenge to camp 3000 miles away. It was a want to learn about rewilding in practice and how that might be adaptable to my own home- New Jersey. It was a need to make connections to be a part of the rewilding community. It was an exploration to understand the societal dynamics that shape our connection to nature in the modern world- in different countries and cultures.
I have much more to share about my experiences at the Knepp Estate! Stay tuned for Part III!
For more on the Knepp Estate and rewilding, please visit their website at https://knepp.co.uk/.
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