Does anyone else have a special place out in nature that they go to which makes them feel nice and calm and centred?
I am sure they do and I did too until recently. Actually it was my "summer" special place which I used to stop at whilst I was out running for a rest and to soak up the atmosphere. It is a bronze aged burial mound in some woods near to where I live (if anyone lives near Billericay you may know where I mean), sourrounded by trees in its own little grove and near to the path, which is quite a popular running track in the summer. In winter it gets a bit muddy which is why I only use it half the year. It even has its own little bench so that you can sit and admire it.
Or -could......
I started running in the woods again recently as the weathr is better and I can now avoid the all the boggy bits and found to my dismay that the trees surrounding the mound have all been cut down and the area fenced off. So you can't even get close to it any more. I know this is all part of a coppicing project that overall sustains the life of the woods, but the mound looks so bare and exposed now and lonely. People can't go up close to it and love it any more. I know it might sound a bit shmaltzy, but it's quite upset me. My special place is gone and I will have to find another.
Anyway..... Would love to hear about other people's "special places", not necessarily big, well known sites, but ones which just have a special atmosphere. Maybe get some inspiration about where to look for a new one!
A lovely thread.
I grew up by the sea side in Essex and I had a rock sat on some grass just up from the beach and 2 miles from my house and away from the road. I used to sit there and ponder alot when i was young and felt that no one else appreciated how beautiful the world was. I sometimes still go back there as an adult when I visit my parents. Its still there - a reassuring constant.
Thanks for encourgaing some warming recollections!! XXX
Nice thought. The place that came to mind for me is a place I haven't visited for some years now, but that I used to love going to. It's at the head of Nidderdale in North Yorkshire. The village of Middlesmoor, at the top of a hill, where you can sit on a bench and look down on the dale.
Then again, thinking about it, there are so many lovely places in the Dales...
We went up into the Preseli hills to find the outcrop where the blue stones for Stonehenge came from. It was a bit of a climb over wet gorse and heather, past a healing spring but it was well worth it. A red kite circled overhead and the place was deserted as far as the eye could see. (I wanted to get a bit of the blue stone as a present for some freinds who were getting married in stonehenge - they loved it).
We moved on to a circle further up, only sheep around and decided to take five and meditate.
Blow me but the sheep came closer to investigte, and closer still, silent as a mouse, until one was about two feet from me - and then it let loose with the most alarming Baaaaa I have ever heard, at least one of my skins is still there and I managed a new record for a high jump from a sitting start.
Even so this was a magical place.
For those less intrepid I suggest the Chalice Well at Galstonbury. No phones allowed, very peaceful and the place makes space for you for as long as you need it. I stood chanting "I am a circle" (can be found on the web) for over 25 minutes while standing in the cold water without a single hint of interruption. As soon as I got out people passed by and found their own space - the day temps were about the same as the water 11c.
love
chris
Some lovely sounding places! You see they are all around us if we look....
For those less intrepid I suggest the Chalice Well at Galstonbury. No phones allowed, very peaceful and the place makes space for you for as long as you need it. I stood chanting "I am a circle" (can be found on the web) for over 25 minutes while standing in the cold water without a single hint of interruption. As soon as I got out people passed by and found their own space - the day temps were about the same as the water 11c.
A wonderful place. Now that's an idea - a holy well in Essex! I wonder if there are any. I'll have to find out.
When we lived in Scotland, our special place was Loch Ern - a place of the most pristine beauty. Hills on one side reflected in the water, pebbly beaches on the other ... and surprisingly close to the road to find such peace. In the summer, quite a few would visit, although we could find some days when no one was there much, but in the autumn and winter the place was often deserted. I often went there just to sit on a rock and breathe for a while.
Fx
I spent so much time today going on the nostalgic memory trip this thread inspired - with a little help from Google maps with zoom in and street view - I now don't have time to post much, LOL, but in answer to:
Some lovely sounding places! You see they are all around us if we look....
A wonderful place. Now that's an idea - a holy well in Essex! I wonder if there are any. I'll have to find out.
Googled that and got some results, including:
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=10058
which has a line in red type about half way down about not using the information on other websites, so I've just posted the link.
Hope to get back to this thread later in reply to others.
Holistic
I have a couple of places:-
The first is on the foot bridge over our local river (which is 3 fields away from our house) where I catch my first breath on my morning run. No traffic noise, lots of sheep and cows and sometimes a barn owl following the hedge along.
The other is in my memory now. It is a tranquil place on the beach in Menorca, just over the headland from Santa Tomas, there is a nature reserve so no buildings at all, beautiful sand, sea and generally quiet as most people can't be bothered to walk that far! I will return one day!
We went up into the Preseli hills to find the outcrop where the blue stones for Stonehenge came from. It was a bit of a climb over wet gorse and heather, past a healing spring but it was well worth it. A red kite circled overhead and the place was deserted as far as the eye could see. (I wanted to get a bit of the blue stone as a present for some freinds who were getting married in stonehenge - they loved it).
We moved on to a circle further up, only sheep around and decided to take five and meditate.
Blow me but the sheep came closer to investigte, and closer still, silent as a mouse, until one was about two feet from me - and then it let loose with the most alarming Baaaaa I have ever heard, at least one of my skins is still there and I managed a new record for a high jump from a sitting start.
Even so this was a magical place.
love
chris
I was imagining you enjoying the peace and drinking it all in - when Baaaaa - that did make me laugh :rollaugh:- a similar thing happened to me too!
My special place is Avebury stone circles - unfortunately I don't get there often enough. It is unbelieveable to me that there is a main road right through the middle of them - and some of the buildings are made up of some broken up menhirs (standing stones). It is however a very special place and given a choice would live as near as I could so I could visit easily.
Mind you, where we live now is pretty amazing - so I'm very lucky :).
Locally my favourite place is a bench carved out of a tree trunk in our local park away from the main parts of the park where I can sit & listen to a babbling brook, watch buzzards flying overhead and just enjoy. I also love the Chalice Well Gardens and yesterday I visited Dewstow Gardens and Grottoes and that was a lovely place with a special quality too (not so sure if it will be during the height of the tourist season though!)
Blessings
Helen
hi meurighj
Do you live near Glastonbury? Do you go to the Goddess Conference? Now, *that's* a special place 🙂
Fx
The idea of a holy well in essex made me laugh - i'm not sure that Colchester Park boating lake quite fills the brief!
Please let us know if you find one though xxxxx
My speical place in Freshfields pinewoods near Formby in Merseyside. My blood pressure drops as soon as I get there. My then partner (now best friend) and I meditated on a bench there late one afternoon a few years ago only to open our eyes to a vixen stood in front of us watching us. She stuck around for about 30 minutes and we even managed to feed her. 🙂
Hi Coerdelion, no I don't live near Glastonbury, but I do try to visit at least once a year, usually around the time of my birthday or hubby & I go there for our wedding anniversary. I've heard of the Goddess Conference, but not managed to make it to one yet (it's on the list of things to do)
Blessings
Helen