A Pilgrimage From Edinburgh to Iona
September 20-30, 2023
This journey is filled, but if you would like to be on the waitlist or have priority for our September 2023 trip, please fill out form at the bottom of this page.
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Join Mythica for a ten day journey in Scotland as we weave together a tapestry of stunning nature, fascinating history, art, poetry and music. The Celtic imagination holds nature, art, music, poetry and friendship as the five-fold pathway to the divine, and that is exactly what we will be exploring during our early Autumnal adventure.
We will begin our journey in Edinburgh, one of the most charming capitals of Europe, where we will feast on the land art of Andy Goldsworthy at the Royal Botanical Gardens and the masterworks of Vermeer, Raphael and Rembrandt at the Royal Gallery of Art. We will drink in the history of Mary, Queen of Scots during a private tour of Holyrood Palace (pictured below) and marvel at the historical instrument collection at St Cecilia Hall, followed by a private chamber music concert. Literary excursions include the "Writers' Walk", where we will see the sites and haunts of literary legends including Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J.M. Barrie. You can lunch at the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote "Harry Potter" and admire will visit the vast library and armor collection in the home of Sir Walter Scott.
We will begin our journey in Edinburgh, one of the most charming capitals of Europe, where we will feast on the land art of Andy Goldsworthy at the Royal Botanical Gardens and the masterworks of Vermeer, Raphael and Rembrandt at the Royal Gallery of Art. We will drink in the history of Mary, Queen of Scots during a private tour of Holyrood Palace (pictured below) and marvel at the historical instrument collection at St Cecilia Hall, followed by a private chamber music concert. Literary excursions include the "Writers' Walk", where we will see the sites and haunts of literary legends including Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J.M. Barrie. You can lunch at the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote "Harry Potter" and admire will visit the vast library and armor collection in the home of Sir Walter Scott.
TSacred sites we will visit include:
Iona: We will spend two nights on this magical island, a site for centuries of Druid pilgrimage where St Columba arrived in the sixth century and established a Celtic monastery renowned for its illuminated manuscripts. At the Abbey, we will enjoy with a concert of Bach in the Abbey. Weather permitting, we will create offerings of land at on the shores with the famous green and white stones and share a labyrinth walk on the beach while Robin O'Brien serenades us with Scottish folksongs and Celtic hymns.
Melrose Abbey: Standing in the ruins of this majestic Cistercian monastery, we will feel the echoes of the centuries as we learn to sing the Gregorian chant "Salve Regina"
Dunkeld Abbey: The resting place of St. Columba's relics for several centuries, the abbey stands now in the midst of the Trail of Trees, bringing together once again the power of nature and contemplation within the Celtic spirit
Iona: We will spend two nights on this magical island, a site for centuries of Druid pilgrimage where St Columba arrived in the sixth century and established a Celtic monastery renowned for its illuminated manuscripts. At the Abbey, we will enjoy with a concert of Bach in the Abbey. Weather permitting, we will create offerings of land at on the shores with the famous green and white stones and share a labyrinth walk on the beach while Robin O'Brien serenades us with Scottish folksongs and Celtic hymns.
Melrose Abbey: Standing in the ruins of this majestic Cistercian monastery, we will feel the echoes of the centuries as we learn to sing the Gregorian chant "Salve Regina"
Dunkeld Abbey: The resting place of St. Columba's relics for several centuries, the abbey stands now in the midst of the Trail of Trees, bringing together once again the power of nature and contemplation within the Celtic spirit
As we journey from Edinburgh to Iona in the comfort of a private luxury coach, we will be drinking in the extraordinary scenery that inspired Felix Mendelssohn to compose his "Scottish Symphony" and "Hebrides" Overture. We will have time for a languid stroll and high tea on the shores of "Bonny Loch Lommand" , a hike through Dunsinane Forest (made famous by its appearance in Shakespeare's Macbeth). On our moderate walks. we will see stunning waterfalls, looming mountains and quaint hermit huts, and, with luck, we will be able to disembark. from our boat to explore "FIngal's Cave" on the Isle of Staffa. In every site we stay, you'll be invited to create art inspired by nature (and Andy Goldsworthy!)
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Our host, and trip director Stephen Carpenter, spent his career in orchestra management, starting in Scotland in the early 1980s with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and later the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In 1988 he moved to London to take on the role of Chief Executive first of the City of London Sinfonia and then the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment . His passion for Felix Mendelssohn led him to begin researching Mendelssohn's experiences in Great Britain. Now in addition to serving as the orchestral manager for Chineke, a pioneering and award winning youth orchestra in London dedicated to multicultural diversity and social change, Stephen directs his own cultural tour company. Carpenter Holidays including planning and leading "Mendelssohn in Scotland" which follow exactly in Mendelssohn's footsteps nearly 200 years after his visit in 1829. Read more at www.carpenterholidays.com,
Mythica was delighted to begin our partnership with Stephen for our first musical journey in the fall of 2019, and we are hoping to resume our planned collaborations to Austria,England and Italy once the pandemic has passed. |
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Costs:
Early Bird price, applicable until Friday, 25 February 2022 (prices go up £399 per person thereafter, space willing) Tour price: £3,300 per person sharing a double or twin room Single room: £3.890 per person Deposit: £1,000 due on booking Tour price includes: Accommodation, breakfast daily, nine dinners, three lunches, recitals in Edinburgh and on Iona, private tours of Holyrood Palace and Abbotsford, and Iona Abbey, coach transportation throughout, all tips for guides and coach driver, ferry crossings to the Isles of Mull and Iona and boat trip to Staffa and Fingal's Cave, the services of Stephen Carpenter and Kayleen Asbo as tour managers, Celtic music singing circles with Robin O'Brien and art journaling activities with Sue Ellen Parkinson Excluded is your travel to and from Edinburgh, a few lunches and two dinners on your own and any drinks you order with meals. | ||