In search of Nessy …
Posted by in Churches, Sacred Sites Trip on April 25th, 2009
Its been a day or so since my last update and once again the days in between have involved quite a bit of driving. Since picking up the car on Monday Ive driven over 1000 miles (around 1600 kms) - seems a little excessive when I think about it in those terms.
The drive through the Lake district was by far my favourite. The peaks and lakes in that area are really magical - classic old villages and really friendly people.
I stayed the night in a place called Keswick and spent most of the night sitting quietly in the pub tapping into their wifi.
The next day I headed for Edinburgh - on reflection I wished Id stayed another night in the Lake District but I couldnt resist the urge to keep driving. I think it was a bit of a mistake because I under estimated the size of Edinburgh and spent close to 3 hours trying to find the YHA - by the time I did I was pretty exhausted.
It seems again that I underestimated the effect that the retreat had on me and I wasnt quite prepared for entering a busy city again. I found Edinburgh to be a mostly noisy, busy city with dark ancient architecture. Ive heard that on a sunny day Edinburgh can be brilliant but on a grey day it can be very bleak - I caught it on a grey day.
I did however walk up the royal mile to the front gate of the castle. The castle sits very impressively on a tall piece of land that juts out in the middle of the city. Its really amazing to see the juxtaposition of relatively modern buildings being overshadowed by a medieavel castle. I was unfrotunately to late to go inside so I had to be content with looking at the view across the city.
The next day (this morning) I headed off towards Roslyn chapel which is a few miles south of the city. You may remember (if you saw the atrocious Tom Hanks film or read the book) that the chapel featured in the plot of the Da Vinci code. There is certainly a link between the chapel and the Knights templar but most of the story in the book was a hollywood fabrication - surprise surprise.
Id have to say that walking into this church was like a great experience. I instantly had shivers down my spine and felt my heart opening as I walked further into the space. Its a very beautiful little chapel with incredibly ornate sculptures and decorations that are very organic and rich. I spent almost an hour there just sitting in the chapel and climbing the scaffold that sits around it, protecting it during its restoration.
The rest of the day was spent driving from Roslyn up into the highlands to the hostel just on the south end of Loch Ness. This was a really incredible drive. The mountains up here are once again very bleak and some of them (including Ben Nevis) are still snow capped. Its like driving through valleys of sleeping giants - incredible round and occasionally sheer ridges rising up out of mostly flat plains.
The plan is to stay here for two nights and then drive south to Iona. Hopefully Ill be able to upload some photos soon so you can see what this country looks like.
Hope you are all well - Ant.
The Lake District
Posted by in Sacred Sites Trip on April 23rd, 2009
Once I left Haworth I felt a load lift from my shoulders and I started to feel good about driving again. It didnt take long for the scenery to change and in fact I was pretty blown away for most of the day. Im still kicking myself that I cant get the photos from the camera onto the computer … but here are some snapshots from the day - some of them are nthe right way around as you can see.
Tim has been telling me about this country for a long time and so its was great to experience the wonder and beauty of it. I spent most of the day on side roads again - very tight almost single line traffic in some places with high stone walls to keep the cars on the road. Down south they used hedges - here they use stone … nice and friendly 
Take a look at the picture of the car. I decided to drive up a hill that said at the bottom that said not suitable for motors after half a mile. It took me a few seconds to realise that the sign meant not suitable for cars and so I soon realised that it was really steep and way too steep for the peugeot. I decided to turn around and reversed into a driveway that was too steep. I scraped the front of the car and when I tried to get out I realised I couldnt get any traction because the car wheel was a foot off the ground.
It took a whole bunch of wood and two awesome local men to help me get out of that jam - car unscathed. They were very friendly folk and I was very relieved after that. Ill save the rest of the day for later - its getting late here now.
Gone up north …
Posted by in Sacred Sites Trip on April 23rd, 2009
Yesterday I drove a heroes journey from Bath to a place called Haworth - in between the Peak district and the lake district and slightly East of Manchester. It was around 10 hours in the car - I think mainly because I was trying to drive on the backroads and avoid the main cities and the motorway.
The landscape kept changing as I drove through lovely rolling green fields around Oxford and south of Coventry then through the urban areas of leicester and a few other places Ive wiped from my memory.
The Peaks District was really pretty kind of like Rivendell for you Lord of the Rings fans. Very soft, English trees on hills on the verge of becoming mountains. In hindsight it would have been good to stay somewhere like that rather than Haworth.
The day itself was pretty hard yacca and I certainly questioned why I was doing it in such a long stretch …. but I think its worth it considering the landscape Ive seen today (Thursday).
I ended up staying the night at possibly the most haunted hostel in England. It was in a town called Haworth which is the home village for the Bronte sisters. I think I have only read Wuthering Height buts the bleakness of the novel certainly suits the bleakness of the landscape. This is probably going to sound harsh but there is a dead spot - well a really dull spot - just east of manchester that is very grey, gloomy and the people that I came into contact with didnt like strangers too much. There are no trees on the hills, the scrub is a wind blown brown and the buildings are all made out of grey brick or bluestone.
But back to the hostel. You can see the image just to the left …. look smore cheerful than it was. I think there were only four people staying in the place and I was on the top floor - alone ….
It was the kind of place where the wallpaper breathed, you could feel people greeting you in doorways and getting up out of the chairs to say hi - but of course there was no one there. I was in a small single room and the night was pretty uneventful except for a few noises that I put down to an old house plus …
… you know that feeling where you have just fallen asleep and you suddenly get a jolt? I had that but only around a minute after closing my eyes and it was kind of very different to every other time Ive experienced that. Its funny the times that you start to pray for intervention - that was one of them ….
The Roman Baths
Posted by in Sacred Sites Trip on April 21st, 2009
After my trip to Wells I drove back to Bath and spent around three hours exploring the city and visiting the Roman Baths. This was perhaps the best day Ive spent on the road and Im think that (Ali willing) we’ll resettle here and Ill set up the ye Olde Anthony Acupuncture/Web Design studio in Bath. Pretty much every person I ran into today was happy and friendly and it makes a big difference to come into contact with people like that when you are travelling solo.
In fact I think Ive just had the quintessential English experience. Im in a pub - Ive just had a pint of cider, fish and chips and am watching the Liverpool vs Arsenal game. I was wondering who the rest of the folk were barrracking for and I just found out when Arsenal scored - the cheers were so infectious that my heart lifted and I smiled, almost leapt to my feet with them.
So anyway the baths are a pretty special place. Roman occupation of Bath ended in around the end of the first century and so that makes the baths really really old. You can see from the pics below the bath itself and I think …. arsenal goalie just saved a goal - phew! … you should be able to see how special they are. Visiting the baths was another case of wanting to break down the ropes and dive into the baths which come out of the earth at a consistent 45 degrees celsius … but of course I resisted and just took happy snaps instead. I guess there must be a healing spa somewhere near here that takes advantage of the baths but it would be great if you could experience them directly.
Actually Liverpool just scored two goals in quick succession and the crowds response was pretty much equal … wow what a match Arsenal just went 3 - 2. The atmosphere here is getting pretty intense …
The rest of the afternoon was spent buying little pressies for Indy and Nush and also for Ali … I think she deserves a little something after letting me go on this trip.
Ive just updated the flickr (Arsenal just went 3 - 2) stream on the right so you can see my iphone pics now.
Tomorrow Im off to Haworth via Oxford, Bakewell and Eyem. Haworth was the home of the Bronte sisters and is in the Peaks district (Liverpool just scored 3 - 3 - now people are booing) and from the photos Ive seen the landscape is going to change quite dramatically.
A few days ago I was feeling really overwhelmed by being away and felt the landscape was kind of claustrophobic and consuming - Bath has changed that and Im ready to move into the Lake district and into Scotland and beyond.
Wells Cathedral
Posted by in Churches on April 21st, 2009
I did a little bit of backtracking today and went to a really sweet town called Wells. Its around 40 minutes drive south west of Bath (where Im staying the night again) and is home to a really amazing cathedral and Bishops palace. I decided to spend the 5 pounds on the cathedral rather than the palace and I think it was certainly worth it.
The site itself has been home to a cathedral for at least 1500 years although the current cathedral is only a mere 800 years old. Its great to be able to walk into a space that commands a presence like this - I felt instantly at home and in awe of the place. In contrast to St Pauls I think think this cathedral does the “Oh god you are so big …” in a much more down to earth manner. Its history is evident everywhere - with ex Bishops in their sarcophagus and other benefactors entomed underneath the cloistered hallways. I think the best way to get a sense of place into a church is to bury their members under the floor - do you think it might catch on in Australia?
As always the stand out was the lady or Mary chapel. Its simply amazing how the Mary chapel in each church or cathedral Ive ever visited outshines the rest of the building with its humility and intensity. THe St Francis Mary chapel in Melbourne is my favourite thus far - I think no body does it like the Catholics do it.
I finally downloaded some images from the iPhone to the laptop so take a look at the few I shot of the chapel. Ive been balancing using the iPhone with the camera and I think ill try to take more shots with it in the following days. Check out the other posts as well to see some of the images Ive uploaded. Actually none of the images of Wells are very good on the iPhone and I was expressly asked not to take photos without a permit … so this is kind of the best I could do under the circumstances and the existential guilt that I faced by taking it.
The Cathedral and Palace are on the edge of the town square. I know its pretty obvious but a good town square really anchors a place. There was such a good feeling in the place that I wanted to just to sit and chill but alas my parking time had run out.
Stonehenge and beyond …
Posted by in Sacred Sites Trip on April 20th, 2009
I picked up the hire car today which was a relief but a strange experience as I had to negotiate English roads, speed limits and just driving in general.
I drove to Exeter with the hope of seeing the cathedral but it was impossible to find a park and when I did the ticket machine wouldnt accept the coins I had - it seems that you pay for pretty much everything in the UK. That also coincided with not being able to make a phone call on my phone card and so as a result of a few other technical details and misdirections I decided to cut my losses and run.
Yesterday I metioned how I enjoyed the freedom of following my nose but today it felt like I was being a little too haphazard in my planning - well in my lack of planning. I realised how much Ive been relying on the internet to do all the work for me but my iphone is not yet functional here so Ive been flying blind.
The trip from Exeter to Stonehenge was much longer than I thought it would be - well Ive ended up in Bath and am at the pub writing this now after perhaps 6 or 7 hours in the car. Driving in England is fun but intense.
Arriving at Stonehenge was the culmination of maybe ten to fifteen years of dreaming. It really is an amazing place and when you think about the mechanics involved in creating the configuration of standing stones with the technology that existed 5000 years ago it really is a true mystery. The whole area is roped off however and the closest you get is really around 20 metres. A place like this needs to be felt - touched and leant on. I wanted to lie on the grass but resisted …. I was at the stones at around 1pm but kind of wished I was there at sunrise or set - alone and silent.
Some stonehenge images on flickr.
The rest of the day was spent driving with a small intermission at Avebury which is a town built in the middle of a giant stone circle. Its hard to discern the effects of driving, the breathwork workshop and these sites but I there is a really quite an amazing power at Avebury, despite at some point in the last few thousand years a road was built right through the middle of the circle. It was nice to see the sheep in the paddock rubbing themselves on the stones in the circle … kind of demonstrated how much a part of the landscape these things are … they have been there for 5ooo or so years and everybody is just used to them.
Its easy to postulate about the purpose of the stone circles and there are plenty of feasible ideas - observatory, ritual places etc. The stone circles are both mundane and transcendant. They are in the landscape - mysterious and everyday at the same time. Tim said that the power of the English landscape is really in the land itself and nothing made by humans (Im paraphrasing) and I think above all the circles point to the power of the Earth underneath rather than containing specific power within themselves.
Im writing thisafter a few pints in a pub at Bath (so apologies for the typos, mispelling etc) - Bath is amazing but Ill write more after exploring it tomorrow. Not sure whether Ill be here tomorrow night but I like it so much I may well be.
Glastonbury
Posted by in Sacred Sites Trip on April 19th, 2009
Hey folks,
Apologies for the radio silence but I was in the depths of the breathwork conference. Im out on the road now and am staying the night in a very quaint hotel in Glastonbury (My sense is that most english hotels are going to be quaint).
The breathwork conference was pretty awesome and intense as usual with an amazing array of international participants. It was being held in the rural landscape of Somerset close to a place called Minehead - the colours, flowers, trees, sheep and bumble bees were superb. Internet connections are pretty fickle here in the country so Im hoping to upload some photos soon but not sure when.
I spent today making my way from the conference to Glastonbury via taxi and bus. I climbed the Tor at Glastonbury which is a ruin of 1500 year old ruin placed on the top of a very tall treeless hill. You can see it from miles around and at the top you can see for miles as well. It was quite an effort to make it to the top and I sat on the grass a few times just to take it all in - the first stop I made I sat unknowingly in a patch of nettles - my arm is still stinging
Check out these flickr photos of the Tor.
The after effect of the breathwork sessions is usually pretty strong and the first few days are pretty odd trying to acclimatise to the “real world” so my experience at the Tor was not particularly striking and as it was Sunday there were quite a few people around which may have distracted from any great epiphany I may have had there.
After the Tor I walked to the Chalice Well which is a complete contrast to the power and starkness to the Tor. As soon as you step inside the gates of the peace garden it becomes quite apparent that you are in a sacred place. There is a softeness there that is instantly welcoming and invigorating. The well is a natural spring that was discovered centuries ago and the myth goes that its the place where Jesus’s blood rises from the Earth - the water is a rusty stained colour.
Sitting by the well itself felt like I was sitting in the breath of gaia - clear, calm and energising … and of course powerful beyond words.
Check out the picture of the Glastonbury Chalice Well.
Tomorrow Im off to hire the car and then go to Stonehenge, Avebury and perhaps Wells Cathedral. Im not quite sure where Ill stay the night but Im sure it will be quaint. Im really quite enjoying the freedom of this type of travel and feel that I might not spend as much time in England as I had thought. At the moment Im finding the towns a little claustrophobic - although the farm land is incredibly beautiful there is a sort of unease between the medieval castles, nineteenth century manners and twentieth century terraces. It may well be the effect of the breathwork and it might ease off in a little while but Im not attached to anything in particular so if this feeling continues I might head sooner for the wilds of the Scottish Highlands.
Missing you all and my girls especially ….
Day 1 or was it day 2?
Posted by in Churches on April 13th, 2009
I guess keeping track of the day when you fly through time zones is always going to be a little messy but the first day was kind of long. The flight to Abu Dhabi was around 12 hours of dark as we were following the night across the globe, but it was pretty good. The second leg was a little harder even though it was around half the time - mainly due to three crying babies and the fact that Id had my pick of the inflight movies by that time.
Its been around 18hours that Ive been in London now and its really quite an amazing place to be for the first time. Everything is very familiar (the iconic taxis, buses and phone boxes) and the backpackers Im staying at is as can be expected very international. Im really looking forward to getting into deepest darkest England and into places that tourism isnt that obvious (if that is possible).
Last night I walked for an hour or two around the Bank area and St Pauls Cathedral trying to extend the day to fit in with the local time - for the most part it worked quite well and I managed to take in some astonishing architecture and walk through what I assume were pretty quiet streets given that it was Easter Sunday.
I spent some time in a small chapel called St Agnes where there was a string quartet and a singer producing some amazing medieval music - haunting. I then went and had Eucharist at St Pauls Cathedral. Its been a long time since Ive been to a church that has been so focussed on father, heavenly father, lord and jesus that it was quite a shock. I found myself actually not joining in with much of the prayer - because it was so absolute, so male, so external.
The building itself is really phenomenal. The mosaics are all so complex and rich and yet the power of the place is incredibly simple. An immense amount of space to feel small, humble but heard and held. The incense was particularly helpful in transporting my senses beyond the still moving sensation of still being on the plane.
Today Ive got around 5 hours of London before I jump on the train to Taunton to attend the conference …. hmmm what am i going to see?
UK Sacred Sites Tour and Breathwork Conference
Posted by in Sacred Sites Trip on April 7th, 2009
Hi Folks welcome to my blog for the whirlwind three week tour of England and Scotland. Ill also be attending a week long retreat conference with Stan Grof for my next installment of the breathwork training. This will be number four out of a total of seven plus a few more intensives that occur at certification.
The title of the training is called the Evolution of Consiousness andI think its going to be a pretty amazing experience. Im really looking forward to meeting Stan Grof the creator of Holotropic Breathwork, and Im also looking forward to reconnecting with Tav Sparks the facilitator (and Stan’s successor).
One of the destinations on the trip is a place called Castlerigg which is located in the Lake District.
