Adventurer trying to live like Bear Grylls in Scottish wilderness found dead

David Austin, 29, from Derby, was found dead in a hut by a railway worker a mile south of one of Scotland’s most remote stations, Rannoch in Highland Perthshire, on Hogmanay.

His body is believed to have been lying there for several weeks when it was discovered, and a post-mortem examination found there were no suspicious circumstances behind his death.

Mr Austin is thought to have told family in November that he was heading to the Highlands to live out his dream of surviving in the wilderness.

He planned to live rough on a year-long adventure, using techniques like those used by adventurer and TV presenter Bear Grylls, despite being urged to reconsider by family and friends.

He is understood to have attended several courses in outdoor survival and bushcraft skills over the past couple of years with a view to realising a long-held dream of living alone in the wild.

Mr Austin is thought to not even have taken a mobile phone with him.

A number of personal possessions including a knife and a daily journal were found next to his body. It is believed he may have died of hypothermia.

After leaving Derby, Mr Austin is thought to have travelled to Glasgow and then on to Corrour – which is the UK’s highest mainline station – on the West Highland line.

He is then believed to have spent his 29th birthday on 3 December alone outdoors, in the first heavy snowfall of the season.

A hostel employee at the Loch Ossian SYHA hostel on Rannoch Moor, said: “He didn’t stay here. He told me he’d been camping in the woods on the north side of the loch that weekend, then he just mosied over to have a look at the hostel.”