Knowing the kind of holiday you need is a bit of an art form in itself but something visiting Roshven Chalets in the highlands of Scotland has taught me is that I love being completely removed from choices and although it is perhaps a little odd for some, also not having too much convenience.
Roshven Chalets are a small set of chalets on the shore of Lochailort, owned by my friend Eleanor's family who have so generously welcomed us many times over the years. It is one of my favourite places to go on holiday because its a place where landscape and nature take you in their grasp as soon as you arrive. On our way there we treat ourselves to a big shop in the M&S in Fort William so we know we have all the food we need as there are no nearby shops and once we're there, we just want to stay.
I love how simple holidays are when you remove too much choice from your days - choices like which restaurant or village to visit. Roshven has just a handful of chalets, a small beach, rocks to scramble on, a stream and I love the way our days wind along driven by the weather and the simplicity of exploring in detail the natural world around us.
If its sunny, the curved beach sheltered with rocks and the ancient burial ground behind might be as far as we get, soaking in the sun and the view interspersed with dips in the chilly sea loch for the brave (all of Eleanor's family are brave). On cooler days we still have a dip in the sea if we can but set about to explore small stretches of the coastline in detail, clambering over the rocks, finding sea urchins the seagulls have littered. We remove their spines to find pretty ornaments to treasure, trace our hands through the wavy grasses the sea leaves behind and paddle across streams to find special shells for painting on whilst getting totally distracted by all the other kinds we find and the utterly magical purpley pink sand.
There are so many micro habitats in the beauty of the vast landscape and I feel so privileged to have a friend like Eleanor who knows so much about what surrounds us and is brave and knowledgeable and generous in helping us explore the landscape with her. If you follow the small byrne (stream) up the hill you're led to fairy waterfalls with deep, deep pools that you can plunge into if you dare, despite the great height and small pool your feet never even touch the bottom. It feels like some kind of otherworldy magic.
My favourite of all the activities is to kayak across the small stretch of water to the island where a perfect white sand beach and miniature silver birch woodland greet you and make you feel immediately like intrepid explorers despite the short crossing.
When the rain comes in, we either choose to embrace it or sit behind the glass and watch it power through the landscape while we paint or read or watch a film.
I have another friend I wrote about here recently called Simon, and my friendship with him has some of the same qualities of my friendship with Eleanor as they both inspire me to go deeper in my understanding of the natural world around me. Simon is tragically very unwell with MND and as he descends into the physical trap of this horrendous illness, his passion for nature is still so inspiring.
He can no longer speak but writing on his pad the things he talks about are the timings of the cow parsley blooming and helping me to identify a bat Alice and I found in our barn recently. His passion and the fact he now has limited access to experience nature in the way he would want to, urges me on to appreciate all that I'm able to see around me, to explore in more detail the plants and birds that I have always loved to see in passing. To take note of the timings of when things happen so we can be aware of when things are changing.
To stay at Roshven Chalets, visit their website here.
