A Thank You and Farewell For Now to the Trossachs

We wanted to say a little thank you to everyone that we have met in the community before we head south for the winter. The article I sent to the local community paper is on page 20 in the Strathard News.

Here is the article in it's entirety before it reached the editor.

Nix in Nature

What an enchanting and enriching place to live this is. We have been lucky enough to have absorbed the beauty of this area since 2008. It has given us the opportunity to explore our dreams further after leaving the rat race well behind in 2006 after selling up and completing a charity backpacking trip from Land’s End to John O’Groats, along with our Jack Russel, Daisy.

Our path then led us to here and where for the last two years we have been freelance rangers. From bat walks and bushcraft to magick wand making and the infamous Wacky Forth Races at Cobleland Campsite, the journey so far has been amazing! We have been able to re-discover our childhood sense of discovery, learning about various uses and folklore of flora, fauna and even faeries, developing too our creative interests in wood craft and painting and I have been introduced to and now practice the wonder that is Reiki.

Bats are not blind and are highly unlikely to get caught in your hair, especially one this size! Bats need all the help they can get so go on a bat walk and visit The Bat Conservation Trust to find out how you can help!

A selection of new wands ready for magick making, for good spells only and the Dryads were asked first of course!

This year’s conservation theme was the wildcat at Cobleland Campsite.

As we leave for a while though, maintaining a sense of adventure and unsure of what is next, we would like to send our heartfelt thanks to all those we have met along the way, particularly to Lesley and Grole at Cobleland Campsite, to David, Mairi, Lucy and Will at The Lodge, to Nikki, Lucy and Neil at Tigh Mor and Gemma, Cheryl and Helen at Forest Hills, They have all been amazing places to be able to work at and thank you for allowing us to share our passion for nature with your guests.

Also thanks to Jane and Arthur Jones for all your support and for the ceilidh fun and to Victoria and all at Lendrick Lodge. It has also been a special experience to feel a sense of community spirit in Aberfoyle and Callander, something that we definitely missed back in the City of Portsmouth – and the fresh air! Hopefully this isn’t a proper goodbye though as we will definitely be back to visit and possibly be able to offer our services at certain times of the year in the future, but we felt that it was important to thank all who make this area and our experience here so special. In the meantime, we’ll be off to see family during the winter and I’ll be adding all I have learned to our website below so if you would like to see the journey so far or what we are up to next take a look and follow the blog.

Happy Celtic New Year!

Nikki & Will

xxx

Some Hallowe’en/Samhain Traditions

• Hazel nuts have lots of protein, plus you can use them to find a romantic suitor. Throw a nut into an open fire after naming your prospective or new partner and say ‘if you love me pop ‘n’ fly, if you hate me burn and die’.
• Make a magic wand from Rowan for protection against mischievous spooks. Make only good spells though to avoid them back-firing threefold!
• To see your future husband eat an apple in front of a mirror by candlelight – ‘On Hallowe’en look into the glass and your future husband’s face will pass’.

Will and Nikki talk ‘bushcraft’ and all things edible and medicinal. (Photography thanks: Neil St Quinton)