Announcing Birds Eye Scotland
October 1st-8th 2019

Why Iona, Scotland? The sky. The air. The water. The land. The warmth of the Scottish people. Last summer, while on Iona with my daughter, I met a man who was deeply connected to this place and returned there every year. He had spent two years of his early childhood living in a tent with his family at the end of the island, yards from where we were conversing. He shared that his father had been diagnosed with tuberculosis after working in the mines in India and his doctor prescribed as much exposure to Scottish air as his medicine. 24 hours a day for two years the air of the coast of Iona conspired with the spirit that moves it to heal his father completely.

I too experienced the healing properties of the Scottish air during my days there. Iona has been referred to by many as “a thin place”, one where the veil between the material and spiritual world is permeable. And as soon as I arrived, I knew I would return to walk here with others. So, first off, who are these fellow walkers?

You have an adventurous heart. You are someone who understands that travel is challenging. And that each leg of a journey is a chance to work through discomfort in all of its forms. That each leg is also a chance to start anew. To reset the compass with a new true north. Embracing disorientation. Embracing curiosity. Embracing play. Embracing self.
And, who am I and what is my connection to Scotland? I am an adventurous Half-Brit in heart, mind, and body. My paternal grandfather was Scottish and my grandmother was English. I lived in both Scotland and England in my early childhood. I got my traveling, seeker spirit from my dad and my love of color, pattern, texture, and language from my mom. These traits serve me daily in my client work at Birds Eye. I love the way Scotland invites and I am excited to explore it alongside you and give my attention to what you are working on and where you are feeling led.

Details

The adventure will officially begin upon convening in Glasgow, Scotland on October 1st. We will spend one evening exploring this historic city before we take the train headed for the Inner Hebrides of Scotland the following day. We will stock up in Oban before heading on out by ferry, then bus, then ferry, then foot (30 minutes) to our final destination, Iona Hostel. There we will spend 5 nights. Our space includes a lovely, large common area room where we will be cooking the majority of our meals together and enjoying the warmth of the wood burning stove, the wonderful on-site book collection, and the expansive views of the end of the island. Bring with you your art, your writing, your camera, or anything else you might want to give attention to during long stretches of unstructured, undistracted, island time. Iona is a place in which many artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and those wrestling with the hubbub of daily life come to seek solace, inspiration, and reconnection with the natural world. We will explore the entire island by foot, which is easy to do. After these five nights on Iona, we will begin traveling back to Glasgow and you have the choice to travel on your own or with others or head on home.

Price: $1995

This includes:

2 nights accommodation in Glasgow (one on each end of the trip)
5 nights accommodation at Iona Hostel, this is no ordinary place.
Dinner and drinks the first and last night in Glasgow, plus 3 simple meals per day in the hostel and breakfast the last morning
All inland travel including bus, train, and ferry fares
Day boat trip to the Isle of Staffa (weather pending)
Any facilitated sessions and resources provided by Annie Milroy Price

This does not include:

Airfare to and from Scotland
Your personal play/spending money

The weather will be “elemental” (as John who owns the hostel calls it). Meaning, it could be pissing horizontal rain or the sun could be shining bright. You can bank on it varying a bunch during our time together, often in the same day.

Our lodging will be comfortable and simple. You will have a set of well-crafted bunk beds to yourself, top and bottom, essentially your own little pod in a room shared with 2-3 other people max. What I consider to be “full capacity” for the adventure is less than half the capacity of the hostel so that we can preserve a sense of spaciousness throughout.

This adventure will include a maximum of 10 people.

You have 2 options for payment:

6 monthly auto-draft payments of $335 starting May 1st 2019
50% deposit May 1st and 50% remainder due September 1st

Cancellation policy: This trip is non-refundable by Birds Eye. However, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you research and purchase trip insurance to ensure that you will be able to be reimbursed if for some reason you have to cancel at any point. Depending on what amount of insurance you purchase, my research estimates it will cost you roughly $150 for this trip. (This is subject to your own criteria).

For any questions email me at annie@birdseyeadventure.com.