ancestral pilgrimage :: england + ireland (+ estonia too)
J U L Y 3 0 , 2 0 1 8
ferns, ivy + me // 📍 blarney gardens, ireland
in may we were invited to present a new program for work in july in tallinn, estonia (airfare included!) so of course we leapt at the idea, and made sure to book free, extra long layovers in liverpool on the front end, and dublin on the back end #travelpros
mama used her super-vision powers to plan an iNcReDiBle trip to the holy lands of our ancestors — england + ireland, and daddy channeled his road warrior studness to drive us all around europe, on the opposite side of the road.
the itinerary was:
chicago > liverpool (for mad’s 12th beatles birthday!) > the ancient roman city of bath > wells > glastonbury, magical land of my soul > tintagel (king arthur’s camelot) > stonehenge (!!) > the charming + idyllic cotswolds > london > tallinn, estonia > dublin, ireland > glendalough > cork (and the blarney castle) > killarney > kilkenny > dublin > chicago
phew!
an absolutely stellar family adventure. <3 <3 <3
we started months earlier by studying the culture, history, mythology, food and lore of these countries in our homeschool.
as with our normal country studies, we explore the flag, create maps + wildlife maps, read famous myths, cook the country’s fare, listen to folk music, and learn all about the culture, politics, economics and more.
before we knew it, it was july and we set off!
we arrived in manchester on july 2 / drove to liverpool and checked into our hotel.
the next day was our sweet little sunbeam’s 12th birthday, and we went all out on the beatles/
we toured the entire city & saw penny lane, strawberry fields, the cavern club, john lennon and paul mccartney’s childhood homes, eleanor rigby’s grave, and more.
our girl got to choose her birthday meal and, of course, chose crunchy, greasy, heavenly fish n chips, fresh off the dock.
en route to bath we stopped off at the famous gloucester cathedral (aka hogwarts) where we got to hear the choir practicing their song. music of the angels! resonant, divine, and oh so moving.
we spent the rest of the day exploring the ancient roman city of bath –
like stepping through a portal into medieval times.
we visited castles & cathedrals, plazas, and ultra-creepy graveyards with vampiric mausoleums (whose door johnny knocked upon three times and then ran like the wind). we ate lunch, and spent the night.
we hit the road again, weaving our way through the english countryside (stopping at the breathtaking wells cathedral along the way), and landed in my most favorite place of the entire journey – glastonbury. the ancient lands of avalon, and the tor :: heart chakra of the planet.
i found us the ***most adorable*** air bnb of all time – a tiny little hobbit hole right off the side of the main road, tucked down into a ravine, but with a back deck that overlooked the surrounding hills. i had some pretty unreal, otherworldly experiences out on that deck, moving my body, breathing, attuning to the land and communing with the crows.
glastonbury, for me, felt like stepping through a portal into a land of shimmering enchantment. fluid, ethereal, surreal. deeply connected. magical.
how i imagine the fairy realm might feel.
time felt bendable – dropping deep into embodied presence was natural, effortless.
the home we stayed in was a mystical time warp all on its own, with treasures tucked into every nook and cranny, psychedelic art, strangely architected rooms, low ceilings, and a backyard that nestled right into the hills of the tor. #groovy
we pulled into town in the late afternoon, and went straight to the tor.
down long, meandering country roads lined with towering hedges, past beautiful pastureland, farmhouses and gardens, we turned a corner and caught our first sight of the ancient tower, #dreamcometrue
we meditated at the top for a long while. when i opened my eyes, a dried little red mushroom lay beneath my feet #signs
a crow flies overhead. i reach out to it. it hovers, floating on the wind. i send energy through my hand and can palpably feel contact.
the next morning we walk to chalice well -- a dream within a dream.
as if the earth opens itself and pours forth deep feminine energy, rippling outward in wider and wider spirals.
spirals, everywhere. the most beautiful gardens, flowers, plants. wellsprings, abundant and crisp. sacred waters that wash and nourish so much deeper than the skin.
we’re there for… i don’t know how long.
maddi and i sit in silence on the edge of the well. eyes closed, cloaked in splotches of sun shining down through gently swaying branches of leaves. washed over by bird song and the symphonies of the land.
we harmonize. attune our bodies to the land.
home. i feel it deep deep deep in my bones. the land of my ancestors, past lives, visions, dreams, prophecies.
deep, embodied belonging like nothing i’ve ever felt. i bow. i meditate. i pray. i worship to the language of flowing water. we baptize ourselves in the liquid crystal.
i come away transformed. shifted. altered.
we eat at a rad little vegan café called rainbow’s end. get all the fresh veggie things and give thanks for such deep abundant nourishment.
we walk the streets of glastonbury town, marveling at the mind-blowing array of truly magical shops and offerings. we find charms and trinkets and other magic objects. i secretly buy a one-of-a-kind book/pamphlet called “red moon” for maddi, all about first menarche and the coming of blood/womanhood. it contains myths and stories as well as practical wisdom passed down from elders. it’s such a treasure in my hands. i tuck it away in my suitcase for safekeeping / a future that will be here before i know it.
i have visions of returning to glastonbury solo for an extended period of time – deepening into the magic and following the call of my soul. i could spend months there and still feel curious, receptive, awed. but it’s time to leave, so we pack up our things and drive further west. as far west as we can go – to the western coast of tintagel. #camelot #kingarthur #merlin
tintagel castle, and the entire surrounding area, take our breath away. we follow a winding path along the sea cliffs and up the tallest point where the castle lays. the views are spectacular. endless expanse of ocean as far as the eye can see.
after exploring, we climb back down again, all the way to the beach and cross the threshold into merlin’s cave. merlin’s cave!! filled with magical stones and sea creatures and salty sea air and the sounds of the waves crashing along the shore. the air is thick with power. in the belly of the earth, at the edge of the world.
the next day we drive to salisbury, where we stay at the antrobus hotel and are unexpectedly put in the same room that the beatles stayed in during their visit 50 years earlier, while filming “help!” #divinebirthdaygiftsformad
we tuck in early in anticipation of our very early rising the next morning (4am) in order to get to stonehenge for our private vip sunrise experience. if ever you visit this sacred site, be absolutely sure to book this private hour. it’s the only way to get up close into the stone circle (otherwise you have to stand on a designated pathway hundreds of feet away from the circle).
i expected stonehenge to be magical, but i was truly surprised by the palpable energy that i felt standing so close to the stones. it’s strictly forbidden to touch them, but johnny (being so little) promptly forgot about this as he leaned over to get a pebble out of his shoe and leaned his hand against a stone. we quickly corrected him, but are convinced he’s been imbued with some kind of magical powers)
i practiced yoga at sunrise – moving and breathing, soaking in the ancient energy. we stayed for almost an hour and then continue on our cross country road trip –- next stop, the idyllic cotswolds!
the cotswolds were incredibly adorable and picturesque. walking through the towns felt like walking through my childhood fairytale dreams come true.
we visited a lavender farm—became truly intoxicated by the aroma that radiated from the thousands of plants swaying in the breeze. a soundtrack of honeybees buzzing, humming- good vibrations.
at night we walked to a local pub to eat dinner and catch the latest game of the world cup (which we had been watching religiously, along with everyone else in the country).
from england we traveled to tallinn, where we spent a week roaming the medieval capital city of estonia, wandering the cobblestoned streets of old town, and exploring the 13th century gothic architecture.
pat and i completed a 4-day presentation for work at mindvalley university (the purpose of the trip) and then moved onto the final leg of our journey.
we flew into dublin, rented a car and drove straight to the countryside (cities are culturally amazing, but general not our jam). we drove for an hour on the opposite side of the road to glendalough, stopping at the famous johnnie fox’s restaurant for dinner along the way – the most hobbit-vibing pub we’ve ever been to, with incredible food, live music, and of course, a guinness for pat).
when we arrived near glendalough we checked into our lodging for the night –
an authentic gypsy wagon, renovated into a convertible camper. set against the stunning backdrop of the rolling hills of the wicklow countryside, on a family farm surrounded by the most beautiful horses and donkeys, we were absolutely smitten.
we converted the dining area into the most comfy little beds and slept more soundly in the cold, crisp countryside air than we had in weeks.
the next day we explored glendalough – the monastic site and the breathtaking surrounding wicklow mountains national park.
from there we drove 3 hours southwest to cork, and made the mandatory stop at blarney castle, where we kissed the blarney stone (!!), wandered the mystical grounds, and roamed through the network of trails and magical garden paths teeming with ferns, flowers, waterfalls, and mythical stories about local witches and other lore (the gardens were by far my favorite part of our blarney experience).
after departing cork we drove on to killarney national park – ireland’s famously stunning (and first ever established) national park. comprised of multiple lakes, yew and oak woodlands, bogs, and some of the most abundantly vibrant flora and fauna we’ve ever witnessed, killarney np was arguably my most favorite day of the entire trip.
after a good night’s rest we set out early the next morning to experience the 9+ mile, 5 hour hike around muckross lake loop, which led us through enchanted forests, over seas of thick, neon green moss-covered grounds, past centuries-old cottages and rushing waterfalls, to the stone shores of muckross lake, nestled between the foothills of the purple mountains.
the most adventurous part of the day came at the very end of our trek, when it started downpouring rain and we had to find a way back to our car, a few miles away at the park entrance. the only transportation was horse carriage, and nearly all of them were gone due to the influx of visitors wanting to escape the rain.
we finally found one man who was willing to come back for us after dropping off his current ride, so we waited in the wet & cold for 20 minutes until returned.
the ride was a literal rollercoaster – our driver was a hilariously stereotypical, foul-mouthed adrenaline junky, who raced his horse at top speed, careening our carriage back and forth along the slippery road, repeating “jesus christ almighty!” over and over again, and egging on his horse, who was aptly named molly malone. it felt like an actual miracle that we didn’t tip over, but we made it!
we returned to the hotel to get warm and clean, then headed out on the town for some traditional irish fare – more fish and chips, seafood chowder, and beer.
on the way back to the dublin airport we stopped off at kerry cliffs and braved the intense gusting winds while climbing our way to view the raw, wild, jagged sea cliffs hovering over 1,000 feet above the atlantic.
we bid the seaside farewell, as well as the magical land beneath our feet, and we set sail for home.
an ode to travel!! – you sharpen our instincts, polish our sight, wash us clean of stale familiarity and breathe new life energy through us with novelty, and the embodied presence and connectedness it brings.
ours was a special kind of journey – a pilgrimage taken to the holy lands of our ancestors // to places that hold deep significance to our lineage, our bodies, our souls. we experienced fun & adventure as well as the sacred.
ireland and england are a special kind of “home.”
anam cara // soul friend (do read the book by the same name, if you haven’t!)
as with any spiritual quest, we were changed by what happened along the way, and we returned home different, better, brighter people.
we give endless thanks for our boundless blessings!
“may the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may god hold you in the palm of his hand.” – irish blessing
tá grá againn duit – we love you!