The moors are covered in wildflowers and about 1,000 different types of grasses. The mist hangs low this morning and it makes me think of werewolves and hobbits and talking trees. It makes my group of women think about Jamie from Outlander riding his fiery steed to sweep them off of their feet and rescue them from peril (complete the scene with a long and passionate kiss, of course). Whatever the thoughts might be, however, this land absolutely does conjure up visions and connections to things long gone. My Scottish friend, Lizzie, who is along for the journey this time, says that this area of the country is known to have a “thin veil”, where the boundaries between the worlds are not quite as solid. After being here for a couple of days, I believe that to be true.
It feels cliche to say, but flocks of sheep and small lochs really do dot the landscape and just by looking at this bucolic scene, you know that you’re in Scotland. As do all of my trips, we start in a big city to settle in from our jet lag and to amble around like tourists. This time it’s Edinburgh, a city so steeped in history, culture and ancient buildings that you can’t walk for 5 minutes without stopping to take out your camera. And even though I love this city, it feels saturated with other tourists, also stopping every few minutes to take out their cameras. and it’s hard to find the peace that I crave.
The peace here though, at this small horse haven and adventure riding stable, is unparalleled. It’s a mile to the nearest road, which in itself is quiet and meandering. It’s miles to the nearest town by the sea, which consists of a row of small houses, a golf course, something equivalent to a farmer’s grange and deserted beaches as far as your eye can see. There are no jets going by in the sky, no neighbors playing with power tools, no loud music from the college rental down the hill…To say that it’s quiet here is a bit of an understatement.
I haven’t talked about the horses yet because it’s hard to sum up the spirit of our partners in 100 words or less. We do so much with them and they accomplish it all with willingness, kindness and curiosity. It is so evident that the women here (for it is all women – from the owners to the stable hands to the cooks) love them and treat them with the utmost respect. With these beautiful horses, mixes of Cob, Gypsy, Connemara, Arab and even Appaloosa, we do everything. We gallop along the beaches, we climb up and down the grassy moors, we pass through little groups of houses along the coast and through the farmlands, we eat lunch with them grazing nearby and when we pause for a little nap, they do too. We learn to shoot arrows on the ground first and then excitedly I get to cross “hitting a target while my horse canters along”, off of my bucket list. We do some jumping in the arena and this is something I hardly have any experience doing (and in my mind, it’s a bit scary) but my faithful pony shows me the way and tells me that it’s fun and not scary at all.
