Laura Drever

Just back from a few days in Rackwick – the place where time slows down.

“Here is where peace begins”

The colours, smells and textures of Rackwick are quite unlike anything else. My niece who came out for a day trip said “this place has a unique kind of energy”, she is not wrong. After walking for miles through the hills I slept for 12 hours one night which is unheard of. Falling asleep in complete darkness and being woken up by the sun coming up should be the way it always is.

On this trip we wanted to walk a few places we hadn’t walked before and picked a short and long walk. Rora head and The Kame of Hoy.

Rora head is located about a kilometre from the path between Rackwick and The Old Man of Hoy. I have always admired the lochan in the middle of the heather and always look across from Rackwick to see how big the arch has become and always try to spy to see if the wind is making the peedie waterfall an upside down waterfall. This weekend we were treated to beautifully still weather so the waterfall was only a trickle and the lochan was reflecting the blueness of the sky. Approaching the Old Man from a slightly different angle was great too. This walk didn’t add to much longer to the traditional path – worth doing if you fancy making your walk a bit longer, easy underfoot and a path to follow.

The Kame of Hoy is somewhere I have always wanted to go. Looking at it from the mainland and studying its contours and lines from afar is not the same as being there. Starting early we left Rackwick, headed to the Old Man and continued on to St Johns Head. Instead of heading across to the Cuilags, we hugged the coast and headed towards the Kame. I had a slight panic when I looked down into the bowl – thats what I call it – before starting to head down the heather. Most of the way down was on my bum, sliding. It made me feel like a kid for a bit.

At the bottom it was just really blooming beautiful. It was warm and untouched.

I smiled the rest of the way and felt pretty proud of us for walking so far. We saw nobody from the moment we left Rackwick until we joined the road at Murra around 5 hours later. We did spot 5 Mountain Hares (4 still white and 1 browning) and we think 2 Eagles.

Not sure I can describe the walk in words but that means it will have to be described with paint, and that is pretty exciting!

(our son was on his Mountain bike, that is a whole other story!)

Before heading back home on the boat we had our last wander down to the beach into Burnmouth Bothy. All the birds have gone – 17 years after they first flew. An empty hoop. I have so enjoyed visiting them every year, watching them peacefully fly but at the same time felt a bit sad they are gone. One day I will gather all the images collected over the years. I think they’ve had a good life listening to the stories told by all those that use the bothy as shelter. I hope they have brought peace to those that noticed them – I think that was why I made them all those years ago.

Back at the studio now where a few new panoramic canvasses have been unwrapped. The brown paint is out and it’s great to feel so inspired after a few family days away.