An autumn cycle rooted in fear, folklore and the thinning veil. Ghosts, lost places and old stories return as the year darkens and the nights draw close.
You know how some places feel as though they’ve absorbed the people who passed through them? Sometimes it’s in the atmosphere. Or sometimes it’s a worn patch on the staircase or a mark on a wall, or a room that feels different from the others. Whether it’s hotter, colder or simply watchful. That’s where The Muse takes … Continue reading The Muse…
Days 5 & 6 We were up at six, aiming to be on the road by eight. It was still middle-of-the-night dark. We dressed, made tea and sat beneath a sky scattered with familiar constellations while the campsite around us slept on. By the time we were ready to leave, other campers began to stir … Continue reading The Road Beyond the Map: Spain (Part 3)
Days 3 & 4 By the following afternoon, we arrived in Santander. It was after three when we finally drove off the ferry and into Spain, heading towards the Picos de Europa. The mountains began to appear on the horizon as we travelled inland, and slowly the journey began to feel very real. Eventually we … Continue reading The Road Beyond the Map: Spain (Part 2)
Days 1 & 2 The adventure began, as these things often do, with a long drive south. We broke up the journey in Somerset, staying on a farm where we were able to do a spot of wild camping. We were the only people in the field, surrounded by hay bales and a small gathering … Continue reading The Road Beyond the Map: Spain (Part 1)
There are moments when the world feels slightly less… solid? A familiar place can suddenly seem strange. A landscape can feel watchful. A sound in the darkness can become something else entirely when we can’t see its source. Perhaps it’s simply the way our minds work, filling the gaps between what we know and what … Continue reading The Thin Veil…
Tonight’s full moon is known as the Harvest Moon, traditionally associated with the full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox. Its light once helped farmers continue harvesting after sunset, extending the working day when crops needed gathering. There’s something poignant about that name now. The moon still rises over the fields, but many of the … Continue reading The Harvest Moon…
Days 7 & 8 High on Alpine air, we left Santa Maddalena and headed back through Austria, travelling through mountain tunnels until we eventually arrived in Germany. We headed north through the area around Lake Constance, catching glimpses of its turquoise waters twinkling tantalisingly in the distance. For a moment, we thought we’d drifted into … Continue reading The Long Road Home from Dracula: Germany…
Days 5 & 6 Up and on the road early, the highlight of today was the Vršič Pass in Slovenia, which offered exhilarating views of the Julian Alps, as well as many nail-biting hairpin bends. The road threaded its way around the mountains and into the Soča Valley. All of it was breathtakingly stunning. We stopped to … Continue reading The Long Road Home from Dracula: Italy…
Day 4 We made good progress packing up and got on the road for our long drive to Slovenia. However, fate had other plans. Not even twenty minutes into the journey, in the middle of forest with no phone signal, the dreaded engine oil warning light flashed up on the dashboard. Three hours later, we … Continue reading The Long Road Home from Dracula: Slovenia…
Day 3 One final stop-off in Romania to see Corvin Castle, which translates as Raven Castle, and then we were on our way towards Hungary. Along the way, we passed a graveyard unlike anything I’d ever seen. It went on for miles, packed tightly with graves. I joked to my husband that you’d need to … Continue reading The Long Road Home from Dracula: Hungary…
