Findhorn is a model carbon-neutral community on the Scottish coast, founded in the 1960s.

Fifty years ago, the environment wasn’t at the top of most people’s agendas. Nuclear disarmament and women’s rights were more the topics of the day. But six people in Scotland accidentally found themselves living a cleaner, greener life. Out of work, they – three adults and three children – took a caravan and went to live in a remote fishing village on the Scottish coast.

To save money they decided to grown their own vegetables (including 40-pound cabbages), then plants, herbs and flowers. That was back in 1962.

The garden prospered, and more people came to join them in their own caravans; then cedarwood bungalows were built. Over the next two decades, many hundreds of people came to live at Findhorn, which also welcomed celebrities such as Burt Lancaster, Hayley Mills and Shirley Maclaine.

The ecovillage was founded in the 1980s, with the first round whisky barrel houses (yes, made from reused wooden liquor vats) being built in 1987. Other ecohouses – there are now around 80  – were made from straw bales, local stone and recycled car tires. Some of the houses even have “breathing walls,” made from recycled newspaper or wool insulation, as well as green roofs. (Findhorn, which is a hotbed of expertise in ecodesign, recently published the UK’s first technical manual on ecological building.) The first wind-turbine was added in 1989 – there are now four, which provide 100% of the village’s electricity needs.

In 1992, the first solar-powered water heater was installed; today’s system uses light, without requiring direct sun which is ideal for the cloud-covered UK. The village has pioneered many innovative modes of harnessing nature, none more so than the Living Machine brown water treatment system (below), set up in 1995. It may not be sexy, but it’s ingenious.  The chemical-free tanks break down sewage using an ecosystem consisting of bacteria, algae, micro-organisms, plants, trees, snails, and fish. The resulting bio-filtered water is clean enough to be reused, or discharged into the sea.

One of Findhorn’s latest additions is a biomass boiler (2010), which uses locally-sourced woodchips as fuel.

The vegetables, which started the whole idea off originally, continue to thrive in organic gardens, providing food for staff and guests.

Today this pioneering new-age community, which has its own currency and bank, has 100 resident staff and and around 300 members in the local area. Findhorn has half the UK average ecofootprint – the community uses 50% fewer resources and creates 50% less waste than normal – and is a founding member of the Global Ecovillage Network.

the community also runs holistic courses on everything from astroshamanism and holistic awareness, to permaculture and sustainability, with 2000 people attending  each year. Courses cost from $672 for three days – eco-accommodation and organic meals included, naturally.

Photos: The Findhorn Foundation

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

The post Places & Spaces: Half a Century of Green Living in Findhorn Ecovillage, Scotland appeared first on EcoSalon.

Island life is a fragile thing.

Deciding to live on a remote island is to enter into a complex balancing-act with the local environment. Your arrival puts an unusual drain on the carrying capacity of the land – something you need to offset if you want to survive. You gamble that the climate will help rather than hinder you. You trust that bouts of extreme weather will be fleeting. However hard you work to establish a toe-hold, you could be knocked off your feet by any number of factors – including sheer bad luck.

Such is the case with the remote Scottish archipelago of St. Kilda.

Head forty miles west of the Outer Hebrides, deep into the Atlantic Ocean, and you’ll find a cluster of fang-like islands forming the archipelago of St. Kilda, one of the most savage-weathered parts of Britain (waves up to 5 meters high; recorded windspeeds as high as 130 mph). Its forbidding cliffs, often inaccessible from the sea, include the sheerest drop to sea level in the whole of the UK. This is not a place you linger.

Tell that to its previous inhabitants. There have been people on St Kilda for 2,000 years. Or rather, there were, until 1930. Thanks to a tragic combination of crop failure, accidental contamination of the land and an unsustainably low population (70 people in 1920; 37 in 1928), the delicate ecological balance that had sustained a hundred generations of human inhabitants was broken. The St Kildans were a dying community – even with their dwindled numbers, the land couldn’t support them. They were too far from the mainland to rely on food deliveries until the soil recovered. They had no choice. On August 29th 1930, the remaining inhabitants were evacuated off the low-lying main island (Hirta) and back to mainland Scotland.

Since that day, the island has had no permanent population. It’s now a World Heritage Site and an important seabird breeding station, a place of scientific interest…and a poignant reminder of our relationship with the land we stand on.

Images: CaptainOates.

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VideoAround the world on two wheels.

Be they humorous or touching, all of these videos are about celebrating life on two wheels, for work, for pleasure, for simplicity, proving that no matter where we are in the world, the bicycle is a beautiful thing.

USA with Euro flare: Le Velo

India + Zambia + Ghana + Guatemala + USA: With My Own Two Wheels

USA: Scrapertown

Ghana: Bikelordz

Scotland: Way Back Home

USA: If I Ride

Canada: Lifecycles

USA: Holstee LIFEcycle

Gambia: Freestyle Cycling

USA: LIFECYCLE: 365 Days in the Life of a Bike in NYC

Slovenia: Making of Orto Bikes

Sweden: Robo-Rainbow

China/USA: The Flying Pigeon

Denmark: Copenhagen: City of Cyclists

South Africa: South African Bicycle Portraits

Australia: Marry Me

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When packing for a stay at the Eco Pod in Scotland, take inspiration from the interiors and mix black, leather and metal with natural materials & hues.

Pack for a weekend at the Eco Pod in Scotland by filling your bag with a mix of Scottish and American eco-design. Take inspiration from the interiors of the geodesic dome pods and mix black leather and metal with natural materials and hues.

Erica Weiner Circles & Squares Necklace
Made from a long vintage brass chain threaded through a series of gunmetal-plated brass cubes with hollowed-out circles, this necklace by Erica Weiner echoes the shapes found in the exteriors of the Eco Pod hotel. It’s geometric shapes create a nice contrast with the neutral garments.
$75, Erica Weiner

Right As Rain T-shirt
Taking the idea of natural beauty to the next level the team behind Right as Rain came up with the unique concept of planting and harvest shirts, thus leaving the design to the unpredictability of nature. After the t-shirt has been planted in the ground for two to three months they are “harvested” and dried and then they are ready for wearing.
Approx. $325, Right As Rain

Izzy Lane Shetland Herringbone Zipped Coat
This zipped coat in a black and camel herringbone fabric will keep you warm through that British winter. Made from a rare breed of Shetland wool from the Izzy Lane flock of 600 rescued sheep, this coat is truly one-of-a-kind.
Approx. $520, Izzy Lane

Henrietta Ludgate Leather Skirt
Scottish luxury women’s wear designer, Henrietta Ludgate is known for her distinct structural aesthetic, and minimalist design, as well as for channeling her Scottish Heritage into her collection. The entire collection is produced locally, supporting Scottish craftsmanship.
$603, Yoox

Melange Hoodie Scarf / Alpaca Wrap by Mayu
This chunky knit alpaca scarf is the perfect size to wrap up with and in case you can’t find a hat, it’s got a super cute, oversized hood to keep you warm. Handknit by artisans in Peru with the highest quality pure, eco-friendly alpaca fiber.
$140, Mayu

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Sprawl across an Eames recliner while a Scottish loch laps outside your eco-bubble.

When you’re staying in a place which is all about the view (you’ve got a castle on an island within caber-tossing distance here), big windows would seem a sensible option. The vista at Ecopod, on the wild west coast of Scotland, is unimpeded since most of the facade is made entirely of glass.

With an extremely low environmental impact, these two geodesic domes (a third is opening later this year) are set in woodland on the shore of a loch. Fear not the monstrous chill: they are well insulated due to being heated by biomass stoves, which burn fuel from nearby sustainable forests. The domes also feature organic bed linen and aromatherapeutic bath goodies that are locally sourced and organic, too.

On the aesthetic side, 1950s classics such as Eames recliners, (FSC-accredited) wood-paneled bathrooms and retro-styled kitchens hit the spot; when the view palls, digital music and movies are on hand to entertain.

Decadence ensues with a dip into the outdoor hot tub with a tumbler full of the hard stuff.

Pod 2 has something called Clouds, a 3D DIY tile art installation by French design duo Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec featured on EcoSalon before. Here, they are used to screen the bedroom from the main living area.

Rates from $782 (three nights minimum) including tax and a hamper stuffed with local treats like malt whisky, fresh loch scallops, chocolate and beer.

Images: Honeymoonbeat, Dome Sweet Dome

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

The post Places & Spaces: Ecopod, Scotland appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Grand Tour and beyond.

We’re all familiar with the rolling hills of Tuscany, the cliffs of Santorini, the Eiffel Tower in Paris. But Europe is so much more than classic postcard images. As the continent’s Eastern half becomes more accessible, spots like the ports of Dubrovnik, the caves of Slovenia, and the Renaissance towns of the Czech Republic are becoming more popular as travelers venture off the traditional backpacker’s route. As everywhere, sustainable tourism practices are needed to protect this region’s intense natural beauty.

(above) Appenzell Innerrhoden, Switzerland

Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK

Telc, Czech Republic

Cyprus

Bua, Sweden

Reykjavik, Iceland

Istanbul, Turkey

Mariazell, Austria

Kiev, Ukraine

Crete, Greece

St. Petersburg, Russia

The Pyrenees, Aquitaine, France

Wick, Scotland

Aalesund, Norway

Berlin, Germany

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland

Capri, Italy 

Karkonosze, Poland

Postojna Cave, Slovenia

Paris, France

Margam Park, Wales, UK

Dresden, Germany

Barbarin, Spain

Berg, Austria

Florence, Italy

Copenhagen, Denmark

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Luster Kommune, Norway

Porto, Portugal

Boka Kotorska, Montenegro

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Lanzada, Spain

Castelluccio di Norcia, Italy

Moscow, Russia

Skradinski Buk, Croatia

London, England, UK

Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia

Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Santorini, Greece

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It is often said that “it’s not the destination, but the journey that counts.” I have never fully subscribed to this theory, at least when it comes to travel. In my experience, there are some destinations that involve a long and unrewarding journey but make up for it in the end.

On the other hand, there is a valid point to the expression. From an environmental standpoint, the way you travel is much more important than where you are going. There are also some trips where the journey itself is far more than a way to get from A to B.

Rail fits the bill on both counts. It is an environmentally-friendly way to travel, while the world’s best train journeys are breathtaking in their own right. The Trans-Mongolian railway is not the fastest way to get from Beijing to Moscow, but thousands of people do it every year. The Rocky Mountaineer in Canada even has a glass-domed roof in the dining car, the better to admire the stunning mountain views as the train takes you from Vancouver to the ski resort town of Jasper.

Yet, according to Wanderlust, the best rail journey in the world is in Scotland. The magazine included a rail journey category in its travel awards for the first time this year. The stretch of railway from Glasgow to Mallaig – where you can get a ferry to the famously beautiful Isle of Skye – won by a wide margin of votes. It got the gong for the stunning scenery, beating rail trips to Lake Titicaca or Machu Picchu in Peru, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in India, The Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide in Australia and others.

I took part of this trip in reverse recently, from Mallaig to Crianlarich, the junction in the Highlands where you can transfer to the Glasgow-Oban train. My, oh my. I can see why it won.

I spent most of the first half of the journey dashing from one side of the train to the other, marvelling at the sheer rocky hills rising to my left and the silvery lochs (lakes) surrounded by greenery. At this time of year the foxgloves are in bloom, providing a flash of purple along the train tracks. As we went deeper into the Highlands, we passed through peat bog scattered with white fluffy flowers waving in the wind, known aptly as bog cotton, framed by the blue of distant mountain peaks.

At Glenfinnan we passed over a giant viaduct, well known to Harry Potter fans. In summer you can actually go on the Jacobite steam train transformed into Hogwarts Express for the movies. It does a once-daily trip from Fort William, at the foot of snow-capped Ben Nevis, to Mallaig and back, but you need to buy a special ticket and book in advance.

There is no fuss about the West Highlands Railway – for ticketing purposes it’s just a normal part of the ScotRail network. My ticket to Crianlarich cost £23.60 on the day of purchase – it’s often cheaper when you buy in advance.

Rail is a fantastic way to see Scotland. The train journey from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh is also extremely scenic, though not a patch on the West Highlands Railway. Major cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen are well-connected with each other and with England. It is only a five-hour journey from Glasgow to London and there are sleeper services from London to most major Scottish cities.

Sometimes it definitely is the journey that counts.

Images: piglicker, paradiseconnections, brianholsclaw, ipoh

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The Highlands of Scotland are one of my favorite places in the world. The countryside is stunningly beautiful with the steep mountains plunging out of glassy clear lochs. The people are friendly and the food is good – the free-range venison, fresh fish, berries, cheeses, and homemade jam and baked goods that is; the deep-fried Mars bars, not so much. If you like a tipple, you can get a wee dram of whisky anywhere you go and even visit the distilleries where it’s made.

For all its charms, there are a few things the Highlands lacks and one of them is trees – not including the estates where the local lord grows plantation pine instead of raising sheep. Vast tracts of the Highlands are marked as forest on the map but this is merely the medieval nomenclature for a deer hunting ground. Most of the Highlands are covered with heather and tussocks and it’s easy to assume this is the land’s natural state.

In fact, Scotland was once covered with forest and a new project is bringing it back. The work is being led by Trees for Life, founded 20 years ago. The organisation is committed to restoring the so-called Caledonian forest to a target area of 600 square miles and they have planted more than 750,000 trees so far. Here’s what they have to say:

The Caledonian Forest originally covered 1.5 million hectares of the Scottish Highlands as a vast primeval wilderness of Scots pine, birch, rowan, aspen, juniper and other trees. Today, though, just 1% of the forest remains, and species such as the beaver, wild boar and lynx have gone. It’s up to us to ensure the survival of this ancient and remarkable woodland. It’s Scotland’s equivalent of the rainforest and it urgently needs our help.

They run volunteer work weeks (video) and there’s a separate volunteer website. But if tree planting isn’t really your scene, there are plenty of ecologically friendly ways to explore the Highlands. Here are a few ideas:

Scotland is a wonderful destination for active wilderness holidays, especially hiking and sea kayaking. Try Responsible Travel or Wilderness Scotland.

Wild camping (i.e. not in a designated campsite) is allowed in Scotland – see the Mountaineering Council of Scotland for details.

If you’re looking for something more comfortable with eco-credentials, try Huntingtower Lodge overlooking Loch Linnhe, near Fort William and Ben Nevis. The lodge is gold-rated in the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

Or there is this adorable treehouse, part of Kinlochlaich House & Gardens, in Appin, Argyll – near Oban and Castle Stalker.

How are you getting to Scotland? There are frequent trains from London, including a sleeper service.The National Express East Coast (formerly GNER) trains up the East Coast have free wifi on board – not that you’ll need your laptop when soaking up the natural beauty of the Highlands. Once you’re there, savor the surroundings and stay put – or catch the local bus service if you need to get from town to town.

Image: ccgd

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