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Feral cats in the UK
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I'd guess that many stray cats are either "adopted" by neighbours, or picked up by the RSPCA and/or other animal charities before they have the opportunity to turn completely feral. I'd also suggest - in the absence of any reported colonies - that the nearest you might come to feral, or wild, "domestic" cats, might be farm cats who are kept to keep vermin down and aren't therefore allowed inside.
From what I've seen and read, the feral colonies you see in some countries abroad aren't usually found in forests, or the countryside for that matter - but in urban areas where there are more opportunities for food. Think harbourside with fishing boats, restuarant & household rubbish etc., plus, of course, rats, which are attracted to rubbish themselves. Whilst you might argue that in theory there's plenty in the countryside to whet a cat's appetite, what you'd also need to bear in mind is that they themselves would be a meal in the eyes of a fox - and, come wintertime, much of their prey would be hibernating leading to a potential food shortgage (squirrels, dor-mice, etc.)
Well, that's my 2p worth anyway !
Domesticated cats don't decide the wild life is better and leave home (unless they're being mistreated, but even then, not always) because they enjoy the life of luxury. Having said that, if they have to, they can and will survive on their own.
Some feral cats will select a human they feel they can trust (cats instinctively know who is a cat-lover and who isn't), who feeds them regularly, and will actually make friends with them, behaving almost the same as a domesticated cat - even starting to bring extended family members to the human's home; but they will still shun other humans. In that situation, the next generation would be tamer (if it was the she cat and not the tom who befriended the human) and so on down the line.