Author: evach1988

I am ordinary woman who decided turn over her life and from starting law career decided to be an artist, terapeut, traveler and ordinary human being instead.
Woodland after the rain on East Highland Way walking from Fort William

East Highland Way Day 1: Fort William to Spean Bridge | A Broken Pole, Getting Lost & a Snapped Tent

East Highland Way Journal • Day 1

5–8 minutes

The East Highland Way is an 85-mile (137 km) long-distance walking route through the Scottish Highlands. This post follows my first day, walking from Fort William to Spean Bridge—a day that turned out to be far more eventful than I expected.

This post is part of my East Highland Way journal.

Leaving Fort William on the first day of my East Highland Way hike was full of mixed feelings.

The backpack was so heavy and the start of the journey is walking along a very busy road for about two miles. I certainly had no sense of a wild hike. Somewhere along that pavement I realised my pole was slightly broken and it kept shortening as I walked so my mind immediately went into negative thinking what a nightmare this is going to be. At that point I had no idea what else is going to break today.

Oh, I wish I knew.

Maybe I would be a little bit more positive.

Finally I started rising to the hills.

Showers accompanied me all day, hills were covered in white and I couldn’t sit down anywhere for long 6 miles, not even with a sandwich at the lunch time as everything around is wet. As I walked tired and my legs heavy a little stream appeared and there was a nice elevated rock just next to it. I was not deciding long and finally got a bit of a break.

Breathe and just be.

Birds singing in the tree above me, water splashing next to me and me just breathing, enjoying the moment, drinking some water.

As I sat there it finally hit me! I’m here.

Rock I sit on by the stream on East Highland Way

I felt a surge energy rushing through me and the backpack felt a little lighter. I am doing a big adventure and I am very grateful to be here. Tears of joy filled my eyes and I smiled.

I was finally on the East Highland way surrounded by nature. The whole narrative in my head has changed.

It lasted only little while until I got lost.

The trail is very badly marked and I have to follow an app at every crossing. I learnt the hard way that I truly need to pay attention on every crossing as I just assumed it’s straight ahead and few miles in I found myself on a wrong path.

About a half an hour ago I was meant to turn left and start descending. Instead I am much higher than I was supposed to be. I was making my journey even more difficult than it needs to be.

Luckily it seemed there were few forest tracks leading back to the original one.

In between here and me rejoining the correct route were again waiting few adventures I’d rather maybe not undertake if I’d known.

Forest trail on the East Highland Way

The forest was magical – old trees, narrow paths and beautiful smells. It turned out to be mountain bikes trails and the one I was walking on was called ‘witches brew’. 

I was wondering if the witches wanted to have a meeting with me or if they are going to cast some forest old magic on me.

The path was beautiful and quiet.

I met only one confused of my presence mountain biker and so I was thinking it is not all that bad that I ended up here.

Later I will learn the whole East Highland Way is a very solitary hike, but on my first day I just thought I dodged a bullet away from the crowds.

Suddenly I appeared on connecting route and looking into the app I was supposed to go back a bit to rejoin bigger route leading me onto the road.

I didn’t like the idea of going back and as I stared on the screen I could see a tiny trail on the map so I could just make a shortcut and reach the correct path instead of turning back.

You know what they say about shortcuts? They rarely turn out well. I don’t seem to be learning nothing from them.

Once I finally found the shortcut and started climbing up a narrow forest track it suddenly disappeared as soon I reached a fallen tree. I walked around expecting the path to continue but there was nothing. Only more fallen trees. I ended up in the field of fallen and cut trees with very tall grass and lots of uneven ground hidden beneath the grass..

Why I didn’t turned around is a mystery, but when you are carrying heavy back pack every additional step feels like hundred. I thought I just climb couple of trees to find myself back on the trail.

I had to balance on the tops of fallen trees carrying an eighteen-kilo backpack. Every step onto a trunk or uneven ground meant risking a fall, breaking something and not being able to stand up.

After lot of effort few near falls and lots of ticks getting ready for a feast I finally made it to the route which led onto Main Road with cars. I had to walk few more miles without anywhere safe to walk, cars racing around.

Finally I rejoined the path.

Route & Resources

More walking, more rain, more standing breaks trying to lift my backpack a little. Until I have realised it is my last chance to get water from a questionable pipe. I stood there wondering whether this really was my best option.

I guess I am really going to put my filter into the test. For the first time ever I actually used purifying tablets.

Another shortcut.

This time reasonably wide forest track leading into the hills. The view opened up for a first time today in late afternoon. I was shown the hills I am surrounded by only for a short moment before they got covered in a white blanket again.

It filled my heart with joy.

This is what I’m here for.

I feel very tired at this point and my whole body is really hurting. I’m hoping to find camping spot soon but I will be walking few more miles before forest finally appears after empty fields of cut trees.

I finally found my home for tonight.

Little beautiful clearing in between trees.

Perfect.

Until tent’s pole snaps.

Wild camping in a forest on the East Highland Way after the tent pole snapped.

Am I meant to go home?

Or what’s this about?

I taped it, but the tent was leaning. I just hope I am going to make it dry through the night.

I was just standing there paralysed in disbelief looking at the leaning tent. The evening was quiet but clouds above were threatening it could start raining any minute.

I decide my next steps tomorrow with fresher mind.

Looking back now, I think the East Highland Way was testing me before it had even properly introduced itself.

Continue to Day 2: Spean Bridge to Inverlain

Read Introduction to the Journey

  • Pipes on the hill in Fort William
  • Forest tracks leading to mountains on East Highland Way
  • Side of the road with heavy clouds above when I got lost on East Highland Way
  • Query in the middle of the forest on the East Highland Way
  • Detail of the strawberry on East Highland Way
  • View across the Scottish Highlands from the East Highland Way.
  • Dinner cooked on the first night on East Highland way
  • Heavy machinery on the East Highland Way
  • Forest track from Fort William on East Highland Way
Walking Highlands website

Day at a Glance

  • Route: Fort William to Spean Bridge
  • Trail: East Highland Way
  • Distance walked: 19 km (12.7 miles on my watch)
  • Weather: Showers throughout the day
  • Water: Limited towards the end; one pipe used with a filter and purification tablets
  • Camp: Wild camp in a small forest clearing
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East Highland Way – Part 1: Before the First Step

East Highland Way Journal • Day 1

3–4 minutes

The East Highland Way is a 137 km (82 mile) long-distance trail stretching from Fort William to Aviemore through the Scottish Highlands. Over the next few posts, I’m sharing my journey one day at a time. Not as a guide to ticking off miles, but as an honest journal of the landscapes, challenges and quiet moments that stayed with me along the way.

This first chapter follows my walk from Fort William to Spean Bridge, where the adventure began with heavy rain, broken gear and a reminder that the trail had its own plans for me.

I’m sitting on a train right now, pressed against the train window not only to see rainy views of never ending greenery of Scottish highlands but as well because my backpack leaning on me is probably the biggest and heaviest I’ve ever carried.

Leaving

It weights eighteen kilograms…eighteen!

Researching and planning for East Highland Way led me to believe I won’t find suitable shop and suitable food in the first village I’ll pass – Spean Bridge and so instead of carrying heavy cans I’ve decided to carry food for the longest stretch ever.

I have to have food for at least 5 days. As I find out later I carried quite a bit more than that, but we will get there.

It is raining quite heavily outside mimicking my own emotions when I was saying goodbyes.  Part of me wishes my partner to be here with me but I know there is a part of me who needs to fulfil her hunger for space and freedom away from everyone and everything.

Just me and hills for a week..

Challenging weather and experiences I yet am about to discover.

As I watch country quickly pass by I feel a knot in my stomach, anxiety has been accompanying me for few days now as the date has been approaching and I have started packing.

About the East Highland Way

East Highland Way is one of less known long distance hikes in Scottish Highlands. It is not even an official path, but rather connecting one through woodland tracks between Fort William and Aviemore – well known highland village in Cairngorms National Park. The winding path follows fairly sparsely marked woodland tracks 134km until they reach their destination in the east.

This journey has been on my radar for few years now and as it connects to well known West Highland Way, I’ve always wished to walk it. Finally I got my wish fulfilled and this journey turned to be everything else than I expected it to be.

For starters let’s just say it is not similar to West Highland Way in any way even though they share similar name. This path is the most quiet one I have experienced so far, the most remote one and the most challenging one due to long stretches of remoteness and endless solitude. Yet maybe exactly because of such, it is the most surprising long distance hike I have walked so far.

Route & Resources

JOIN ME!

Come with me on unexpected spiritual journey, journey which tested my limits not only physically but as well mentally and emotionally, journey on which I became someone else, someone who was there maybe for a very long time, but I got to meet her only now.

You can join me through written word (I will update blogs here as I manage to write them), but as well through video (on later date) in which for a first time I finally am able to include drone footage. And you can even join me through upcoming paintings as this journey has inspired my yet to be discovered artistic expression about this journey.

Can’t wait to share this with you :)

Read about the walk on Day 1

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101 things in 1001 days.

I had a deadline this year, which I have forgotten about. I was meant to look back on  101 things in 1001 days. Interestingly I haven’t really followed the list yet some of the things somehow happened naturally.

Specially surprising is that we own a cat, we’re closer to mountains and I am actively thinking to start horseback riding sessions again. I am training for a marathon at the moment and I have accomplished the half one. I am restructuring the whole website so it reflects my art practice and finally come all together with hikes and walks and reflections.

So let’s have look what I still want to continue (crossed text) and what I do not want anymore (bold text).

Start: 7.7.2023

Finnish: 3.4.2026

  1. Live in mountains in a cottage/small house – not yet but mountains are close :)
  2. Have a dog or cat – we have a cat
  3. Have a pet bird – I don’t have a pet bird but few weeks ago I rescued a little black bird brought it home for few hours to de-stress and then watched out every day as it learned to fly with parents so I am going to call this one done as with a cat I am not sure we ever get to have one
  4. Get back to horseback riding – not yet but very close I made a decision to allow myself riding very very soon again
  5. Build therapy/wellbeing centre with horses
  6. Run a marathon – I am training for one :)
  7. Run a half marathon
  8. Run an (ultra) trail marathon
  9. Build successful private practice – not successful as I want it to be but getting there and still having one
  10. Make long distance hikes in Scotland/UK – in past 3 years I have walked Great Glen Way, Abbeys Way, St. Cuthbert’s Way (partially) and Cataran Trail
  11. Make long distance hike elsewhere
  12. Live on my own – I live with my partner away from shared flat so this one is done
  13. Keep the blog running (1 blog every week) – I am redefining this one
  14. Keep video creating regularly (2x a month new video or more often)
  15. Make another art exhibition
  16. Finnish ‘events of the world’ exhibition
  17. Keep stable close group of friends – I meet very few friends regularly and is prob the most I can handle
  18. Visit different continent
  19. Camp on my own – yay I/m a pro in this now :D
  20. Live in a lighthouse
  21. Have a garden
  22. Live minimalistic life constantly – meaning make constant steps to live one
  23. Go to a guided expedition through mountains somewhere in the world
  24. Visit Tibet
  25. Visit Canada
  26. Create a herb first aid kit
  27. Have a herbs garden
  28. Have motorbike driving licence
  29. Buy canon camera and make a lot of photographs
  30. Finnish started book
  31. Learn new habits (20) – I am gonna say I have achieved this. I am not sure what the habits were before (maybe I look through some old journals) but I am regularly running, practicing art, waking up early, exercising, recharging from work, eating differently  but prob I still have ways to go
  32. Read 5 spanish books
  33. Experience sunrise and sunset in one day
  34. Go do snowboarding in High Tatras and Alps
  35. Start penpals again and regularly exchange letters
  36. Go to a dance school/class
  37. No more bread in my diet (or only little part)
  38. Go to have a massage
  39. Have an earing on the top of my ear
  40. Loose weight to 55kg
  41. Start learning playing piano
  42. Start learning playing violin again
  43. Read all the books in my library what I have not read yet
  44. Write a letter to myself what I think will happen in 5 years
  45. Answer all the 50 questions that will free your mind http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/07/13/50-questions-that-will-free-your-mind/
  46. See aurora
  47. Find out 100 things what make me happy
  48. Do fruit day once a week for a year
  49. Do fasting
  50. Learn Scottish accent
  51. Visit Prater in Vienna
  52. Try surfing
  53. Do hiking in Czech Krkonose hills
  54. See the top of the hill ‘Krivan’ in High Tatras without being pushed going back because of weather
  55. Don’t eat sweets for half a year
  56. Learn official First Aid
  57. Organise all email addresses
  58. Make for someone breakfast in bed
  59. Finnish drawing book from Oihane – I’ve started now :)
  60. Put together book with art activities for children
  61. Climb Ben Nevis in Scotland
  62. Create a counselling workshop
  63. Own a horse
  64. Try housesitting
  65. Finnish reading ‘The Artists Way’ book
  66. Do yoga regularly
  67. Do regularly outdoor military training for 3 months
  68. Have enough money every month without turning every coin
  69. Get a new tattoo related to Scotland
  70. Get another tattoo related to ouroboros
  71. Learn pois that I can actually do them with a song
  72. Visit a new state
  73. Stay in a Bothy
  74. Do a birthday Trip
  75. Do a road trip
  76. Safe money for a car
  77. Read a classic novel I have never read
  78. Finnish singing classes
  79. Become fluent in Spanish again – find someone you can speak regularly Spanish with
  80. Do 7 days unplug
  81. Learn legs split – I think I am okey not knowing this one
  82. Walk Santiago de Compostela for a month
  83. Have passive income
  84. Paint/draw every day – almost every day sketching
  85. Find lost creativity and touch with art
  86. Visit African Safari
  87. Sing and play guitar on the street
  88. Sing and play guitar on an open mic
  89. Go on holidays with my parents
  90. Travel across Slovakia (on my own or with my parents)
  91. Go to Barcelona see my friend (possibly meet all 4 of us?)
  92. Meet Oihane either in Scotland or Spain
  93. Go to a wellness retreat
  94. Find a way how to live in mountains maybe sustainable small house/cottage
  95. Write regularly articles/blogs/fiction/poems
  96. Make my will
  97. Get an apple pc where I can create videos
  98. Go to a concert of a world famous interpret (or someone I like)
  99. Finnish one of the sketchbooks
  100. Find my own ultimate clothes style
  101. Feel proud finishing all or some of the 101 things and create new 101 things in 1001 days  list

In next article I will publish the new 101 in 1001 days and will see where we get :)

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Some Journeys Are Meant to Be Lived All at Once

Some journeys aren’t meant to be paused — they’re meant to be rather fully experienced, breathed in, and lived through in one flowing story. Finishing Abbey’s Way brought a strange mix of sadness and exhilaration. Over the course of nearly a year, I walked its winding path across shifting seasons, moods, and mindsets. Unlike other hikes I’ve done, this one felt different. It taught me differently. It offered insights I hadn’t expected, and gently asked for a kind of presence I wasn’t always able to give.

Breaking the walk into stages taught me something important: I don’t want to hike like that again. The momentum got lost, the magic faded between the pauses. There’s something powerful about pouring yourself fully into each step through blisters, storms, and all. But even with the stops and starts, there was a quiet gift in it. Time. Time to adjust to wild camping. Time away from everyday responsibilities. Time to grow confident in the untamed. That, too, was part of the lesson.

The ancient legends whispered from the ruins of the four abbeys and echoed along the trail, wrapping the path in a timeless story I now carry within me. It’s only now, with the final steps behind me, that the full story has come into view. Not just the story of Abbey’s Way, but the unfolding of my own journey too.

There’s a particular kind of magic in this landscape. It is the kind that inspired the first Scottish muse, that once pulled humans into the land of fairies. It’s a land of poets, storytellers, and dreamers. And I felt that magic more deeply with every step. Now, I know that was the true purpose of this walk: to reawaken the artist within me. The part that longs to write, paint, and create again.

Each stage was a chance to tell a story. A story rooted in experience, because only what is truly lived can be fully expressed. It’s just the beginning, but it’s the beginning I’ve been waiting for. Each part of the trail felt different, and each video I created helped me grow. That growth is most visible in the final video, the closing chapter of a journey that changed me.

I’m deeply grateful to the path itself and to the unseen companions, the fairies and forests, who joined me along the way. I hear you now. And I’m ready to let you speak.

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Facing Fear on the West Highland Way: A Journey into the Wild (and Myself)

“Some dreams wait patiently. Others push until you’re ready. The West Highland Way was both.”

‘The Dream That Sat on a Shelf‘

For years, I had romanticized the idea of walking the West Highland Way — a legendary long-distance trail stretching through the Scottish Highlands. During the pandemic, like many others, I started dreaming bigger while stuck indoors. I made a list of long-distance hikes, and at the top sat the West Highland Way. I even planned it out in detail… and then left it sitting on a shelf for two years.

Finally came the time I could make this dream a reality.

From Planning to Panic: When It Got Real

I had a freer week, the courage to commit, and a growing need to reconnect with something raw and real. I started planning seriously: mapping out the trail, calculating daily distances, booking time off work, and reserving campsites. The more tangible the plan became, the more real the challenge felt.

Suddenly, it wasn’t just a romantic idea. I was going to walk over 100 kilometers alone, carrying all my gear on my back. That realization hit hard. What would I pack? Could I handle the weight? Would I be safe on my own?

And there it was — the fear. Quiet, creeping, and relentless.

‘Wild Camping… Or Not Quite Yet‘

I had originally wanted to wild camp along the route. But the more I researched, the more unsure I became. Would I find a safe, discreet spot? Would I feel vulnerable alone in the wild? In the end, I filled even the final “let’s see what happens” night with a pre-booked campsite. I wasn’t ready to fully embrace wild camping — not yet.

Once I was actually on the trail, though, I quickly realized how many of those fears had been unnecessary. Still, facing the exposed landscape and unpredictable Scottish weather was no small thing. At the time, even staying in a tent at a site felt like a huge leap. But I also learned something important: it’s okay to take it step by step. Next time, wild camping will be part of my journey — I know that now.

‘Fear, Gear, and What-Ifs‘

The night before I left was the hardest part of the whole trip. My nerves were very present. Scotland might be my home now, but it’s still a land filled with unfamiliar corners — and I was about to walk through many of them, alone, for days.

I hadn’t pitched my tent before. I hadn’t tested sleeping in it. I had never hiked so far alone. And those questions started running wild:

  • What if something goes wrong?
  • What if I meet the wrong person?
  • What if I can’t handle the weather?
  • What if I just… can’t do it?

All the conditioning we carry — especially as women moving through the world alone — came rushing up. It wasn’t just fear of the unknown. It was the burden of a lifetime of “what ifs.”

It is not to say one shouldn’t be careful, but I realized something else that night: my mind tends to swing between extremes. I either overthink every single detail, or I leap in with barely a plan. With time, I’ve learned to find a middle ground — to prepare mindfully without letting fear take the wheel.

“I’ve learned that fear doesn’t mean I shouldn’t go — it means the journey matters.”

‘How I Deal with Fear (And Still Go Anyway)‘

So how do we move forward when fear shows up?

I’ve always felt deeply afraid before taking a leap. But I’ve also always jumped. That fear never fully goes away, but I’ve learned to listen to the quieter voice beneath it — the adventurous one, the curious one, the one who still believes in possibilities.

That night before my journey, I chose to listen to her.

Because she deserves to be heard.
Because she’s the part of me — and of all of us — that knows freedom.

And so, I went.

“We all carry fear. But we also carry the part of us that still wants to jump.”

You can find full story and more on my YouTube Channel -> @evainscotland

Connect with me on Instagram -> @evainscotland

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First SOLO camping in WINTER – How did it turn out?

In February I have attempted my very first winter camp SOLO.

I didn’t know what to expect and in all honesty I was a bit nervous. Only a week or two before storm Eowyn run through the region, it was still quite middle of winter which meant trees didn’t have any leaves yet, plus the path wasn’t heavily forested either and so I wasn’t sure I will find suitable safe enough place.

If curious, come with me to find out how it all turned out at the end.

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Solo Hiking 109km Borders Abbeys Way in Scotland

Another stage of long distance hike 109km Abbeys Way in Scottish Borders is done! This was one of those times when I really needed to go outdoors, but same time did not feel like going anywhere.

Usually I really enjoy recording, it helps me see the world around in different ways and process the experience afterwards, which is one of the reasons I actually really enjoy video creating. But this time I just really did not feel like doing so.

All have changed and turned around after first day, when I actually pushed myself going. One step at a time. Beautiful views, immersive environment and healing power of nature were absolutely present on this journey.

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Running 5k every day. Can it be done?

Since I had to stop last year due to sore heel for couple of months with no prospects of any long runs if any at all I had a hard time coming back to running. I tried to persuade myself it is a part of the journey and it is just temporary, but my willingness going for runs progressively declined.

Part of me, very proud part of me, who managed to run half marathon and was on the journey to the full one, was just sad. She didn’t want to stop running, she wanted to reach her goals and feel as she can and is capable doing so. She didn’t want to feel defeated, give up and start all over again.

I didn’t run for two months in hopes for my heel to heal. It got better, but as soon I have started running again pain came back as well. So although very reluctantly I had to start again from the beginnings. I had to change my already very stripped 10k run plan into 5k one.

Just few months ago I have run full twenty kilometres and now I run just ten five minutes and I feel tired?

What happened to my body?

This has been quite a mental challenge of going running, than few days processing the decline, persuading myself it is going to get better and running again. Sometimes unsure if the pain is normal or I just should stop all together. I tried to listen to my body, but same time not to make excuses for myself. As enjoyable runs still has been and helped me clear my head to somewhat extent it was just not what it once used to be. Fearful part of myself got to speak about my heel never getting better and proud part of myself just nagged me about never running marathon again.

Sometimes in the midst of it is hard to see things may ever got better.

Slowly, step by step I got to walk and run 5k.

My birthday came and I had a strong urge going outdoors as I was working all day. As we have longer light now I got to go to a forest for a quick 5k walk and run. It was a beautiful day and as I smelled pine trees around and heard birds singing I have decided this is the perfect time. Time to start running 5k every day for a year.

The idea was brewing in my head for quite some time, but I have been postponing it as I still didn’t feel ready for the challenge. When would I be though? What better time there is than mark it by my birthsday. I might not manage every single day, my injury might prevent me from doing so, but there is no harm to try and see. I can not run long distance runs this year, but maybe I can run (almost) every day distance I am capable to handle.

And see where it takes me…

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Feeling grounded in Scotland deepening lost connection

Visits to an old homeland are slowly turning from challenging experience, where I see slipping myself into old patterns, into opportunities to observe the person I have become and am still becoming.

Recently I have attended reunion from my high school after almost 20 years. We are supposed to have such reunion in 2 years and this was meant to be deciding how to make it happen, which I don’t think we got to actually plan, but that’s besides the point.

I haven’t seen some of the people for twenty long years. We all grew, aged, went through life experiences. We all changed in some ways and stayed the same in the others. It was an overwhelming yet joyful experience. I loved most of my high school years and I loved people who were part of it, despite our differences or disagreements. But I am not the same person I once used to be. Or maybe I appear to be on the outside how I behave, yet the inner me feels completely different and I wander how many of us experienced such throughout the evening.

One of my classmates asked me if I am looking forward to return to Scotland. I paused for a second. Yes, I definitely do, my life is here, this is my home now. I answered strangely even to myself, that I feel rooted or grounded here in Scotland.

What does it even mean?

I have had my ups and downs with this country, similarly as I have my ups and downs with Slovakia, but the truth is I feel connected to this land. I don’t know why and I find it strange at times, but that is the truth I feel in my heart. I am still not in the place I feel I am supposed to be, but spirit or call it what you will of this country brought me here, somewhat randomly.

It has never been my true intention to come here, yet since I was 18, looking back I see the path always leading here, no matter what direction I would take.

After a decade living here different struggles came to the surface.

I am realising I am and always will be in between two places, having two homes, one which shaped me and another one which helps me to become who I truly am. That is the root and connection I strongly feel here. When plane descends in Edinburgh and I see hills, the sea or bridges from the window, I feel immediate peace and calmness spreading through my body. I am still not sure what is the reason for me to be here, but I know this is the place helping me to figure it out.

Here I reconnected with nature on a level I don’t think I have ever experienced before.

I had moments in Slovakia, where I felt home in the hills and forests on countless trips I have experienced with my family, friends or throughout the school, but I don’t think I would be able to understand this deep connection if I wouldn’t come here. I am starting to recognise, that the deep connection I have with not only Scotland, but as well with my  birth country is forming miles away from it.

Life in the small town in Scottish countryside, is helping me to connect the dots, the places, all the experiences I went through into unique map of ones life, my life.

I surely loved the time spent in Edinburgh, but high cost of living, constant noise and business were my main struggles of past 5 years which prevented me to dig a bit deeper. Prevented me to reconnect with the part of myself which in bursts of energy was trying to speak while I was growing up and visited nature, when pandemic hit and now when I moved out of Edinburgh.

It is an authentic part of what does it mean to be woman or a man connected to this part of themselves. Our connection to the earth and nature. It is ancient vaguely remembered memory of our ancestors, wise intuitive women who were persecuted for the awareness of such connection. Awareness every woman possibly feels deep inside on conscious or subconscious level. Journey some of us feel pull towards very strongly, because society built on current values is disconnecting us all from ourselves – the nature we are.

I feel as by moving out of Edinburgh I have started a chapter of my life, where I can explore this connection deeper. Something I tried in past few years, but practicalities of life, constant rush and need earn living (which is still a struggle, but in different ways) were standing in the way of true deep connection found in solitude, in nature.

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Braving The Storm | Walking Along Long Distance Abbey’s Way In Heavy Rain

Another stage of infamous long distance hike Abbeys Way is done. This was not an easy one and I had to dig deep while conquering elements. Heavy rain would not leave me and there were moments when I wanted to turn around, yet that would help nothing as I would have to walk through it all once again.

Boggy landscape, completely soaked shoes and even waterproofs at the end of the day.

I set a camp hoping to have a peaceful night.

Come have a look how it all turned out and if I managed to finish second stage of the journey.

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