Filed under: General, Personal | Tags: Applecross, beach, Bealach na Ba, beautiful, callakille, coast, cottage, Countryside, Deer, hidden, Highlands, Hills, Hind, Holiday, Kishorn, Lochcarron, Mountains, otters, scenery, scotland, seals, Stag, walking, West Coast
For the last week we have been on holiday in a little cottage called Callakille on the breathtaking west coast of Scotland.
Callakille
The cottage was about as remote a place as you could find, which was ideal for a week away from the day-to-day routine. The location was simply stunning; the Applecross peninsula is an amazing place. It has the best that Scotland has to offer, the coast line is right on your door step with Otters skirting in and out of the water on their fishing trips along the rocky stretches and Seals appearing in the calm waters of the many hidden away white sandy bays to take a look at who has come to visit their home. Inland, the hills rise up to accomodate the deer herds which were in abundance, climbing all the way up to high peaks which form a natural barrier to keep this peaceful area secluded from all but the determined.
Applecross Bay
The weather at this time of year gave you an idea of how hard life on the west coast can be, with strong winds and icy cold rains keeping you pinned inside snuggled up in front of a peat fire. On occasions though, the wind would drop and the clouds drift apart to allow the sun to shine down on this amazing place and give you enough of a view to enchant you forever.
We spent a few days exploring the hills, with Hector loving the freedom to charge around with nobody else around for miles.
Hector discovers the hills
On one walk, we came across two stags that were feeding just above the beach in one of the bays, as we walked up the hill, they both crossed in front of us, yards away from where we were walking, giving us a magnificent view of these gracious animals. The first picture below shows how well suited the animal is to blending into their surroundings.
A Stag allows us to walk on his hillside
Stags above Sand Bay
The highlight of the week though was talking a walk to the top of Sgurr a Chaorachain, the hill over which the highest road in Britain passes; the Bealach na Ba. The road itself is breathtaking, both from a driving perspective with the hairpin bends and also for the views. But taking the walk up the track from where the road crosses the hill and past the radio mast to the summit is well worth the effort to be rewarded with views down Coire a’Chaorachain which raise the hairs on the back of your neck.
View from Sgurr a Chaorachain
Of course, fearless as ever, Hector lead our way to the top:
Hector conquers Sgurr a Chaorachain
Breathtaking views back towards Applecross
Another sunny afternoon saw us discovering a sheltered cove near Cuaig with a pure white sandy beach. The calmness of the place reached deep inside as soon as your came along the path. The wildlife around you carrying on in their activities, seemingly oblivious to the intruders. After a few minutes though, a Seal popped its head up just off shore to take a good look at us playing with Hector on the beach. Happy we were doing no harm, it casually floated on the surface for 15 minutes taking in the sight before heading back underwater to leave us to enjoy the peaceful location.
Cuaig Beach
We discovered some hidden gems in Kishorn and Lochcarron which we’ll talk about in another post. Yesterday though, under clear blue skies, we said goodbye to Callakille and the surrounding beauty and made the drive back through some of the most beautiful countryside in the world to Edinburgh. We love Scotland and this holiday gave us another taste of why that is.
Callakille - beautiful and remote
Today is the last day of my old working life, I have finally done it. I have been toying with the idea for almost as long as my working career, and now that day has come where I am actually leaving the corporate world behind for good. It is exciting and terrifying, I fluctutate between these two emotions, I am free! That is where the fear comes in, there is no safety net to catch me, but equally there is nothing keeping me bound up. Today it is exciting and I am busy planning more yoga classes, and purchasing products for Hectorsfarm. I am looking forward to recouping my energy levels, living a more balanced life, walks on the beach, a regular yoga practise, teaching yoga, giving treatments and continuing to learn and grow, sharing the things that I benefit from along the way.
I recently started a course at the fantastic Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. The course is brilliant, all of the tutors are incredibly knowledgable but what strikes you the most is that this isn’t just a job for them, it is an incredible part of their life. The passion they have for horticulture is breath taking and it is contagious! As each lesson begins, you can see everyone on the course being captivated by these green fingered gods. As each subject unfolds, and the depth of feeling behind it begins to become evident in the voice and animation of the instructor, everyone in the room adopts a broad, comfortable smile across their whole body.
I began to think what their life must be like, day-to-day having the opportunity to work with plants and the wonders of nature and in such a magical location too. They are incredibly fortunate, few people in the world find such a vocation that allows them to feel it is part of their life in such a way. I feel lucky to have seen it for my own eyes too and I’m thankful for the great experience I’m having on the course which was a brilliant present from Nichola. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Filed under: Food, General, Health, spirituality | Tags: change, living in the now, nutrition, nutritional healing
I am studying nutritional healing with the Nutritional Healing Foundation, which is helping us to stay focused on our new healthy lifestyle. It feels like it is part of the preparation work for Hector’s Farm, which part it will play is yet to be revealed. For the time being it is reminding us of the bodies innate ability to heal itself and how some foods help and others hinder that process.
Some days we continue to eat foods that are toxic to the body, introducing the emotional element of food and showing the triggers. Tiredness can make coffee harder to resist, despite knowing that it will increase the feeling of tiredness in the end. When we try to do too much or have too many obligations snipping at our heels, the best of our intentions can implode into stress and irritation, because we cannot catch our breath.
This is where acceptance comes in and the reminder for balance. Eventually our tastes are changing to the healthier food options the more we consume them. Indulgences in a moment of weakness are to be met with kindness and acknowledgement that we are tired, stressed or whatever, simply recognising the triggers rather than meeting it with self flagellation.
We are learning, and remembering to practice what is already known; Acceptance of where we are in the here and now.
Filed under: Books, General | Tags: Books, exchange, Manifestation, Reading, swaping books
There is something satisfying in clearing out the clutter, I regularly recycle my books, by giving some away as I buy new sources of interest. Similarly with clothes, I like to think of it as making way for the new. It feels like part of the process of manifesting.
I often take clothes to charity shops, books I sometimes sell on amazon, but have also been using the readitswapit site, which is a great way of exchanging books with someone else out there with similar interests. Find a book, request to swap it, they then review your book list and if they find something of interest the swap takes place. Enjoy.
