Spending a quiet night reading by candlelight and swapping stories around a roaring campfire sounds almost romantic.
But what if that was all you could do because there was no gas, electricity, heating or – shock horror – access to any kind of technology.
Would you be able to deal with all of that for six months?
Even those who yearn to live a simpler life and escape the stress of the modern world might find it a bit of a stretch.
Add in the fact you would have no car and would be running a working farm with ancient equipment and it’s enough to put anyone off.
But, tempted by the idea of the experiment for new Channel 4 show The Simpler Life, people volunteered in their droves.
One of them, 23-year-old mobile phone addict Kevin, said: “I liked the fact we would be living a more simple life and we would put our technology down.”
The unemployed waiter, who suffers from colitis, saw the programme as a chance to change.
Kevin, who was diagnosed with the condition when he was 21, explained: “I wanted to adopt a healthier lifestyle and this was a chance to do that.
“I did rely on my phone. I played video games and I watched too much Netflix… I liked the idea of being closer to nature.”
Kevin, from Wigan, Gtr Manchester, was one of 24 strangers who signed up to live with an Amish family on a 40-acre farmstead in Devon – and abide by their rules.
The traditionalist Christian family, from the American state of Ohio, eschew the trappings of modern life and place importance on self-sufficiency and community instead.
And as part of the TV show looking at whether modern life is bad for us, the participants had to be fully self-sustainable and work with others on the farm, as well as help build a barn.
They were also given traditional Amish clothes to wear – plain long frocks for the women and simple straight-cut suits for the men, without collars, lapels or pockets.
The tasks on the farm were also divvied up. Kevin, for example, was put on watering duty, weeding and building the barn.
On a typical day, the group would be woken by a loud bell at 6.30am then have porridge with water for breakfast.
After, they would head out to the farm with some of the women staying behind to prepare lunch – usually eggs, homemade bread
or potatoes with some vegetables – and dinner, which consisted of fish
caught on the farm lake, with more veg. Kevin thrived on the self-sufficient lifestyle. He said: “By the end, I was leading the farm operation and we were selling our vegetables. We learned how to be enterprising, and it was so exciting going to town on a horse and cart.”
He told how the evenings were “special” too, without TV or radio.
“Once you take away the distractions, there is nothing to do but talk,” Kevin said. “Also, the farm work was so tiring that by 7pm, you were ready for shut-eye. I read a lot by candle and would normally go to bed around 10pm.” Kevin made it to the end of the experiment and found it to be a positive experience. But not everyone felt the same.
Londoner Penny, who loved the designer lifestyle, only lasted a month.
The 44-year-old decided to go on the programme after she was taken to hospital with a terrible bout of Covid alongside her daughter, Dilara, 16. The former PA to Premier League footballers said: “The idea of escaping from reality seemed liked a good idea.”
But Penny admitted that as soon as she arrived with Dilara and her youngest daughter, Azara, nine, she knew she had made a mistake.
“To have no phone, TV, electricity, heating or lighting was awful. I struggled so much and it felt so alien.
“I was the only one in the main house with children and I would often go to my bedroom and cry.”
Four weeks into the experiment, Penny decided to quit. “I missed my fashion, clothes, my family and friends and I was lonely,” she said.
But it wasn’t all bad. Penny admitted: “I’ve gone from a size 16 to a size 12-14 and I feel much better.”
The Simpler Life starts on Channel 4 on Tuesday at 9.15pm.
