SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: #Silenti

The beautiful vision of the ‘fairytale’ Dunrobin Castle, seen here from across the bay during our visit to Portmahomack, had tantalised us with the reported splendour of its architecture and gardens. Now, we had arrived at the gateway of its estate. (1800 words, a twelve minute read) (Above: Dunrobin Castle through a long lens…) Dunrobin Castle is the most northerly of Scotland’s great houses … Read More Two journeys, one destination (9) : Dunrobin Castle

November 3, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

Helmsdale : haven of the far north

by Steve Tanham

Not far south of John O’ Groats – the most northerly point of the British Isles – lies a beautiful fishing village with a vibrant present and a fascinating history (A twelve minute read, 1500 words) (Above: Helmsdale’s modern outer harbour. It has two…) We’ve finally caught up with ourselves – this twin-telling of the central and incidental places on the Silent Eye’s Pictish … Read More Helmsdale : haven of the far north

November 1, 2020 + #Silenti, Collie dogs, Photographic techniques, Photography, Seasons, Four Seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter,, Stream of Consciousness, Travel and people, Travel and Photography

Mellow moods for Autumn (5) : sounds of the forest stream

by Steve Tanham

We’re lucky to live close to two forests. The first is a few minutes’ walk away, the other is further and larger, the main path taking the walker in a slow ascent through the ancient Sizergh estate. At the highest point, you emerge into the open air within a few hundred metres of the local organic farm shop and cafe. Tess loves the walk. … Read More Mellow moods for Autumn (5) : sounds of the forest stream

October 29, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

Two journeys, one destination (8) : the thousand-year fingers

by Steve Tanham

Despite the world of the Picts being so far away in time, there was one man who reached back and ‘touched’ their minds with a language they shared… Art (A ten minute read, 1300 words) (Above: George Bain) He looked, once again, at the beautiful rendering of belief and life and…. everything. Once more, he was swept away by a sense of identity with … Read More Two journeys, one destination (8) : the thousand-year fingers

October 27, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

“Ain’t this a mess, Sheriff!”

by Steve Tanham

In the film ‘No Country for Old Men’, there’s a famous opening scene at the site of a drugs shoot-out. Everyone’s dead when the local Sheriff and his deputy arrive and start wandering through the bodies as though they were in a Spaghetti Western. The Deputy stays silent for a long time, then says excitedly, “Ain’t this a mess, Sheriff!”. Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee … Read More “Ain’t this a mess, Sheriff!”

October 25, 2020 + #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes, mystical travel, nature, Photographic techniques, Photography

Mellow moods for Autumn (4) : by the river

by Steve Tanham

Autumn is a beautiful time in the Lune Valley… The River Lune rises in the gentle hills of the Eden Valley, in Cumbria, the last western county before you cross the border into Scotland. It flows for 53 miles in long curves, defining a series of beautiful valleys. It’s most scenic section is where it passes a few hundred metres from the centre of … Read More Mellow moods for Autumn (4) : by the river

October 22, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

Two journeys, one destination (7) : Rosemarkie, the Black Isle

by Steve Tanham

The continuing story of the ‘Pictish Trail’, the Silent Eye’s workshop in the far north-east of Scotland. We encounter the best Pictish stone at close quarters… (A ten minute read, 1100 words) Our final visit of the Saturday was to Rosemarkie, a beautiful village on the Black Isle, whose seafront looks south across the vastness of the Moray Firth. Rosemarkie was also home to … Read More Two journeys, one destination (7) : Rosemarkie, the Black Isle

October 20, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, mystical travel, Photography, Travel and Photography

Bridges of Stone and Heart

by Steve Tanham

The emotional story of an unusual wartime chapel on Orkney reveals a different type of heroism… and hope. (A ten-minute read, 1400 words). (Above: the waters of Scapa Flow have not always been so calm…) Shortly after midnight on the 14th October, 1939, a German U-boat, U-47, passed unseen into the vast and hitherto safe waters of Orkney’s Scapa Flow, the base of the … Read More Bridges of Stone and Heart

October 18, 2020 + #Silenti, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Mindfulness, Photographic techniques, Photography

Mellow Moods for Autumn (3): Heysham shadows

by Steve Tanham

Heysham village is a delightful outlier of old Lancashire… Its main street curls up from a one-alley access road for a stony shoreline to become a row of beautiful stone cottages that have stood there for hundreds of years. Near St Peter‘s Church – there since Anglo-Saxon times, the road bends and climbs. This cottage dominates the corner; and today, the light and the … Read More Mellow Moods for Autumn (3): Heysham shadows

October 15, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

Two journeys, one destination (6) : a Pictish horizon

by Steve Tanham

With the wonderful Portmahomack behind us, it was time to meet the three Pictish stones that marked the horizon line of the Tarbat Peninsula. These would originally have been visible from the sea, and boats approaching from the Moray Firth would have known they were approaching sacred Pictish land – centred on the monastery at Portmahomack. On this second day of the Silent Eye’s … Read More Two journeys, one destination (6) : a Pictish horizon

October 13, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, myths and spirituality, Photography, Silent Eye School, Vikings

Stromness by night

by Steve Tanham

A series of short ‘betweens’ from the Silent Eye’s ‘Pictish Trail’ and ‘Ancient Orkney’ workshops. We’re having an after dinner walk along the night streets of Stromness, Orkney’s main ferry port and link with Scotland. My wife and I have stayed here once before. The ‘Ancient Orkney’ part of this Silent Eye trip has been so packed with exploring that this may be our … Read More Stromness by night

October 11, 2020 + #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes, Mystery Schools, myths and spirituality, nature, Photographic techniques, Photography

Mellow moods for Autumn (2) The Secret Path

by Steve Tanham

There are three ways back from the centre of Kirkby Lonsdale to Devil’s Bridge, where most visitors park their cars, if they’re just there for the views and, possibly, a coffee. There’s the river path, itself, with the steep descent down Mill Brow to the Lune Valley; there’s the main street out of the town to the south; and there’s this – the tree-lined … Read More Mellow moods for Autumn (2) The Secret Path