May 2025
-
Stoking Ancient Embers
May 8th-12th
We gather together on the land as our ancestors once did, close to the Earth, in simplicity and reverence.
At Stoking Ancient Embers we will be tending a variety of ancestral lifeways, from friction fire, to fibre craft, story-telling, to foraging and fireside Ceilidh culture.
-
Dry stone walling course
May 24th-25th
Join us for an engaging drystone walling educational workshop led by master craftsman Dave Goulder.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn traditional drystone walling techniques, gain hands-on experience, and discover the history and craftsmanship behind this uniquen and ancient skill.
-
Monthly Local Day Event
We will be running a selection of monthly events in collaboration with Affric Highlands.
Details and dates to be confirmed and added soon.
June 2025
-
Salmon of Wisdom Retreat
June 4th-8th
Spend a weekend experiencing a keystone myth of the Celtic Isles, 'Fionn and the Salmon of knowledge'., and celebrate the spirit of the Fianna (the hunter-gatherer, warrior poets who once roamed Scotland and Ireland).
A deep dive into mythopoetics, Celtic culture, camaraderie, ancestral craft, freshwater fishing, nature tracking, ecology, fire time, story and song, cold water immersion (optional) in a beautiful glen in the Scottish Highlands.
-
Deep Roots Summer Solstice
June 19th-23rd
- Decolonial cultural repair and bridging healing across waters
- Celebration of Gaelic culture
- Support for activists, land defenders and pathways to indigenous solidarity.
- Workshops on sustainable activism & land defense - listening to the land - bioregional herbalism - ancestral healing & repair - Gaelic song & music.
-
Local Monthly Event
We will be running a selection of monthly events in collaboration with Affric Highlands.
Details and dates to be confirmed and added soon.
July 2025
-
Family Camp
Dates and details to be added - register interest via our mailing list.
-
Hide Camp
July 21st-27tH
Come and learn ancient tanning methods practiced by our ancestors in Scotland, and produce your own beautifully tanned buckskin leather, bark tan sheepskins and bark tan salmon leather you can use to make traditional sporrans, bags, bed rolls, clothing and more…
-
Local Monthly Event
We will be running a selection of monthly events in collaboration with Affric Highlands.
Details and dates to be confirmed and added soon.
August 2025
-
Ancestral Skills Gathering (SOLD OUT)
August 1st-7th
A primitive skills gathering encompassing crafting, fire, nature and community.
The opportunity to come together and build connections with each other and the landscape through working with natural materials.Activities that might take place include primitive pottery, wool weaving, fibre spinning, basket weaving, felting, butter making, goat walks, fire craft, natural dyeing, Gaelic language & song, story telling and much more…
-
Hearthside Herbal - Basketry, Foraging & Story.
August 29th-31st
Save the dates - details to be added
September 2025
-
Gaelic Song Immersion
September 11th-15th
Save the dates - Details to be added
October 2025
-
Smooring Ancient Embers
Closing ceremony
Save the dates - details to be added
F.A.Q
-
The Shieling site is a beautiful Highland retreat nestled in breathtaking mountain landscape surrounded by birch woodland and heather moorland. The site borders the River Farrar which includes waterfalls and secluded wild swimming spots. The surrounding area offers much to explore, including woodland hikes and many ancient sites of interest.
The address for the location is: The Shieling, Dunmaglass, Struy, Beauly, IV4 7JX.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5X1xkZsECYqx1c1A7 -
Parking is limited on site, so please let us know how you will be traveling here upon booking a place on an event. That way we can assist in organising lift shares, or can help you with any travel queries you may have.
The site can be accessed via:
- 50 minutes drive from Inverness airport
- 15 minutes by train from Inverness to Beauly
- 30 minutes by bus from Inverness to Beauly
*Beauly is approximately a 20 minute drive from the Shieling site. There is a bus that runs very infrequently, but it is highly likely that you will need to arrange a lift share or a taxi to get all the way to the site. Feel free to get in touch in this instance, and we will do our best to help.
-
Facilities
Our Highland retreat includes the following facilities:
- Community kitchen (for preparing communal dinners)
- Compost toilets
- A central fire to cook, eat and sing and craft around
- Covered craft spaces (barn, timber framed structures & bell tents)
- On-site drinking water
- Surrounding meadow, woodland & rivers
*we do not have showers on site.
Accommodation
You are invited to camp on site in your tent. We do not have room for camper vans, only under special request in the case of a family, in which case please inquire further with us.
We also have on site Bothy rentals available, in our beautifully built cabins.
Options for bothy rentals:
Simple set up hostel style: 6 person occupancy shared dorm like bunks - £50 p/p for the 4 nights.
Shared double occupancy £125 p/p for 4 nights
Single occupant in bothy £250 per bothy for 4 nights
You will be asked to select which is relevant for you on the booking form when you sign up to an event. The bothy rentals are an additional cost to the ticket cost.
-
If a cancellation occurs:
8 weeks or more before of the start date of the event, a full refund will be issued minus the deposit
21 days or more before of the event, a refund of 50% of the ticket price can be issued by the provider, minus the deposit
less than 21 days before the start date of the event, no refund can be issued due to material costs, site preparation and administration costs
We recommend to get travel insurance to cover your costs if you are unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances.
If cancellation occurs, you are welcome to pass your ticket on to someone else at no additional cost.
