The heather still shows patches of purple although the massed luxuriance of colour has now faded; the bracken begins to turn to bronze and the autumn mists swirl in. Even
Category: landscape
Seeking the Hermit…Seeking the Hermit…
* “Should be over by the crags.” * * “Look more like Hags to me.” * * “But Hags are usually at barrows.” * * “Maybe that’s what the cave
Pasta and petroglyphsPasta and petroglyphs
“Ow, ooh, ouch… ow..” “What’s up?” he asked, locking the door of the flat as I descended the steep stairs. I grinned through the pain… he’d know soon enough… the
Here be ‘Hobbits’…Here be ‘Hobbits’…
* ‘Grey Hobbits’ are still often to be seen in these parts for those with an eye and copious amounts of patience. * * They have developed a penchant for
Bah’t ‘atBah’t ‘at
Well, two of us were up there on Ilkley Moor bah’t ‘at… the third stubbornly clung to the trademark headgear that makes him look like something feral. To be fair,
Town and countryTown and country
Well, I’m typing away here with that old saying running through my mind… all dolled up and nowhere to go. I was supposed to get into town today, and thought
The Paradox of CromartyThe Paradox of Cromarty
We’re in the town of Cromarty, in the north-east Highlands of Scotland. We’re on the old quayside, looking across the Cromarty Firth at the land known as Ross – as
An Elemental Walk for the May Day weekendAn Elemental Walk for the May Day weekend
Fitting, perhaps, for the Beltane weekend, that the final mile of my Collie walk was graced with this turning of the river path’s earth to reveal the most beautiful ochre-gold
Synchronicities…Synchronicities…
* It has been our policy for some time now to ask Companions to bring readings for inclusion in our Landscape Weekends… We first tried this on the Glastonbury Walk-and-Talk
Birds of a FeatherBirds of a Feather
That the birds were there first means little to Ani. It is, as far as she is concerned, her garden and she decides who gets to play in it. Apart
A Preponderance of Stone: Pentre Ifan…A Preponderance of Stone: Pentre Ifan…
Images and Text from the Silent Eye Workshop: Whispers in the West… * Angles of Approach… * Concord of Stones… * Step forward Spirit… * Claws of what?… * Pinnacle
A Preponderance of Stone: Carreg Coetan Arthur…A Preponderance of Stone: Carreg Coetan Arthur…
Images and Text from the Silent Eye Workshop: Whispers in the West… God’s own Garden… * Two Tone Support… * Mottled Mother Lode… * Earth’s Tail End… * Immovable Object
A Preponderance of Stone…A Preponderance of Stone…
Image and Text from the Silent Eye Workshop: Whispers in the West… Sky and Sea… * Crudeness of Precision… *Maw of Earth… *Inner and Outer… * Before and Beyond… *
Portraits…Portraits…
* Photographing stones… * * Is not like photographing people. * * Stones do not, normally, insist upon presenting their best side. * * Or veto the unhappy results. *
Wish you were here…Wish you were here…
* In Olden Times, Holidays were originally just that… Holy Days. The whole community would lay aside their workday duties and together engage in deeply or intrinsically symbolic activities that
A Harmony of Eight…A Harmony of Eight…
* The point sits at the centre of the square, where its two diagonals intersect. * * From the same intersection, another square can be drawn at right angles to
Two journeys, one destination (9) – Dunrobin CastleTwo journeys, one destination (9) – Dunrobin Castle
The beautiful vision of the ‘fairytale’ Dunrobin Castle, seen here from across the bay during our visit to Portmahomack, had tantalised us with the reported splendour of its architecture and
Two journeys, one destination (8) – the thousand year fingersTwo journeys, one destination (8) – the thousand year fingers
Despite the world of the Picts being so far away in time, there was one man who reached back and ‘touched’ their minds with a language they shared… Art. (1300
Two journeys, one destination (7) – Rosemarkie, The Black IsleTwo journeys, one destination (7) – Rosemarkie, The Black Isle
Our final visit of the Saturday was to Rosemarkie, a beautiful village on the Black Isle, whose seafront looks south across the vastness of the Moray Firth. Rosemarkie was also
Two journeys, one destination (6) – a Pictish horizonTwo journeys, one destination (6) – a Pictish horizon
With the wonderful Portmahomack behind us, it was time to meet the three Pictish stones that marked the horizon line of the Tarbat Peninsula. These would originally have been visible
Two journeys, one destination (5) – blood and stoneTwo journeys, one destination (5) – blood and stone
Writing without the other hand to steady him was hard, but the other was clamped on his thigh, holding back the flow of blood. The words on the vellum were
Two journeys, one destination (4) – two sides of the hillTwo journeys, one destination (4) – two sides of the hill
On the second day of the Silent Eye’s ‘Pictish Trail’ weekend, we are beginning in what is, for me, one of the most beautiful places in the world. Portmahomack is
Two journeys, one destination (3) – the mysterious PictsTwo journeys, one destination (3) – the mysterious Picts
‘The Romans were frightened of them…” I remember reading that the week before our Scottish workshop and being astonished. I knew the Picts had created some of the most mysterious
Two journeys, one destination (2) – InvernessTwo journeys, one destination (2) – Inverness
It begins in Inverness, that beautiful confluence of water, road and mountain. Like any journey through northern Scotland, it will be dominated by water… The year 2020 will be etched