Scotland in Stories
Ancestral Connection Travel
For Women
August 24th - September 4th, 2026
Journey through the Scottish landscape to sacred sites with local storytellers.
Connect to your ancestral lands and ways
Weave your own story with that of Scotland
From Participants
Forged by fire, ice, wind -
and the Cailleach,
Scotland inhabits liminal space on the edge of the world.
As the ice retreated, before Britain was an island, our ancestors arrived by foot and by boat.
We’ve been telling stories ever since…
This trip is for you if:
You have a longing for Scotland
You love the old stories
You delight in being in the natural world and may have been known to talk to trees and rivers!
You long to be nourished by the pre-Christian spiritual ways of your ancestors and this land
You have Celtic heritage and want to connect more deeply with your ancestors (this is not required, people of any heritage are deeply welcome)
You are working to make sense of what it means to be uprooted from your ancestral homelands
You are working to make sense of what it means to live on settler-colonized land
You crave authentic conversations around these things
You know it is time to expand your personal story of who you are to include your ancestors and the land
You enjoy sitting with fires and listening to stories
Edinburgh & The Scottish Borders
Days 1-4
Our story together starts in Dun Eiden, Eiden’s Fort, of the Gododdin, the Brythonic Celtic tribe who held this land long before the Romans attempted to take it. The land has been inhabited since at least 8,500 BCE.
From an ancient castle to sacred wells we explore this gorgeous city from the Stone Age to modern times. Edinburgh offers a wealth of history and cultural immersion.
Our luxury home in The Borders - land that now forms the southern extent of Scotland. holds us in story. It is land held by the Votandini and the Selagove tribes before the Romans tried to take it - and failed. The rolling green hills, wide river valleys and streams tumbling from hills are alive with folklore.
We explore sites of ancient ritual and famous stories from our luxury farm-stay accommodations overlooking the Lammermuir Hills.
Sir Walter Scott became famous writing from his home in the Borders and for collecting stories carried in the hearts of shepherds who tended flocks here. We visit his beautiful home and estate on the banks of the River Tweed.
These days spend wandering the hills help us feel into this land and what might be stirring in our own ancestral stories.
Throughout, we create space to talk with the ancestors, connect with the land and reflect on our own stories.
Loch Tay: The Song of Oak & Ash Retreat
Days 4-8
We travel north through Edinburgh to the shores of Loch Tay in Perthshire. Here we visit a crannog, an Iron Age dwelling built over the water, and learn ancestral crafts and lifeways.
We join a gathering of Scottish and Irish storytellers and musicians for the three-day Song of Oak and Ash retreat. Here we gather round fires, at the loch’s edge and in the shadow of mountains to immerse ourselves in the lore of Ireland, Scotland and Scandinavia. These stories are our sacred heritage, our gateway to the gods of our ancestors.
Beneath waterfalls, on hilltops and at the rising of the sun, we will make ceremony together, answering that bone-deep urge to reach out and entwine with a living, breathing, ensouled world.
The Isle of Lewis
Days 8-12
Saying our farewells to new friends we journey to the Isle of Lewis, out there on the edge of the world. A fascinating mix of Norse heritage and modern Gaelic speakers the island floats between worlds
The Isle of Lewis is part of the Outer Hebrides, the most north-westerly islands in Scotland. The remote island is home to some of our last Gaelic speakers and full of stories. Known for its white sand beaches, rugged terrain and Harris Tweed, it is home to some of the best preserved 5,000 year old standing stones in Europe. The land and sea call us to a slower pace, to drop into our bodies and into deep time.
We stay in a traditional crofting village, built in the 1600s and occupied until the 1970s. Since then it has been restored and offers a unique glimpse into island life for the hardy folk who call Lewis home.
The standing stones of Callanish are just down the road. Boat tours, walking, Viking mills and delicious hospitality abound. Our days here will be co-created by the group, our local guides and the weather.
On the shores of the Atlantic, looking West to the Americas, we further craft our stories, weaving the threads of Scotland into the tapestry of our lives.
May the blessing of light be on you,
light outside and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine down on you like a great fire,
so that strangers and friends alike may come and warm themselves with it.
— Traditional Scottish Blessing
Our Team of Tellers and Singers
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Katherine (Houghton) Parker PhD
Rites of Passage Guide | Storyteller
Kat hails from the Borderlands between England and Scotland, now rooted in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
She weaves eco-psychology, ritual and story to create transformational experiences. She is committed to personal and cultural healing through embodied, ancestral connection.
Kat is your host for the entire 12 days. -
Jennifer Armstrong
Storyteller, musician and Scottish tradition-bearer, Jennifer has been featured multiple times at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro.
Born into a family of singers and tellers she has been performing since she was five years old. The Armstrongs hail from the Scottish Borders. Jennifer was born in the US and makes her home in the mountains of North Carolina.
She is you co-host for the entire 12 days.
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Daniel Allison
Author | Storyteller
Daniel Allison is an oral storyteller and USA Today bestselling author who makes Celtic Mythology accessible and exciting for new audiences. He is based in Southern Scotland and Thailand.
Daniel’s published collections of Celtic stories include Scottish Myths & Legends I & II, Irish Mythology: The Children of Danu and Finn & The Fianna. He has also published a young adult fantasy novel set in Ancient Orkney, entitled The Shattering Sea.
Daniel is part of the Song of Oak and Ash retreat.
-
Danica Boyce MA
Folklore and Paganism Educator
Danica hails from Western Canada and now lives in Scotland. She is a storyteller and song carrier.
She teaches about contemporary paganism, historical paganism and the medieval European world. She is the creator and host of the Fair Folk podcast. Danica’s combination of rigorous scholarship with bold, contemporary ideas and a living pagan practice make her a unique and greatly exciting teacher.
Danica is part of the Song of Oak and Ash retreat.
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Sorcha Hegarty
Facilitator | Storyteller
Sorcha Hegarty is a Cork-born storyteller and the co-founder of the wildly popular Candlelit Tales. Along with her brother Aron, she has enjoyed a decade of collaborative, eclectic and diverse storytelling shows rooted in Irish Mythology.
Sorcha has a uniquely expressive, naturalistic and modern style of telling, never hiding away from the challenging aspects of myth yet fully embracing them in all their dark and strange beauty. Her vast knowledge, keen insight and brilliant humor make her a delight.
Sorcha is part of the Song of Oak and Ash Retreat
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Aron Hegarty
Actor | Storyteller
Aron Hegarty is a Cork-born and Dublin-based actor, writer, voice-over artist, storyteller and podcaster. Along with his sister Sorcha, he is co-host and co-founder of Candlelit Tales.
Aron’s style of storytelling and facilitation is full of both passion and playfulness, and he is sure to bring much energy and joy to the retreat. In the meantime, you can catch him on the recent SKY TV show Then You Run; other noteworthy film and TV credits include Game of Thrones, Ripper St and Vikings.
Aron is part of the Song of Oak and Ash retreat.
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Sam Gillespie
Musician | Songwriter
Sam Gillespie is a whistle and wooden flute player, guitarist, singer and songwriter from Northumberland. As one half of the duo The Brothers Gillespie, Sam tours widely, sharing songs that describe relationships with wild places and the experience of finding oneself in a world alive with soul.
The brothers have opened for Lankum and Sam Lee and recently headlined Knockengorroch’s longhouse, and Sam regularly leads traditional music sessions in Edinburgh and beyond.on goes here.
Sam is part of the Song of Oak and Ash retreat.
The Logistics
Our group size is limited to 10 women.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN: 2 of 10 SPOTS REMAIN
This allows for spaciousness, deeper connections, and plenty of time for us to explore our own stories together. Our intention is to craft a group container that allows us to do deep work together, rest, rejuvenate and return home inspired. We endeavor to find balance of group - alone time, structure-exploratory time and ritual-integration time. We will gather a few times on Zoom before we fly to get to know each other and deepen into the group weaving.
The price includes:
Group coaching on ancestral and nature connection
12 nights of accommodation
Food for breakfasts and most lunches. In The Borders and in Lewis we will have our own kitchen in which to prepare meals. In Loch Tay all our meals will be provided by the retreat staff.
Most dinners. Whenever we decide to cook at home.
Travel to The Borders, to Loch Tay and to Inverness airport (from there we fly to Lewis)
Taxis as necessary
The 3-day Oak and Ash storytelling retreat (all food and lodging and storytelling)
Entry to, and tour of, the Iron Age village on Loch Tay
All tours in Lewis, including Callanish
Personal ritual invitations and group ritual facilitation
The price does not include:
Your flights into and out of Edinburgh ($700- $1,400 depending on how soon you book)
Your flight from Inverness to Stornoway (you’ll need to book this on Logan Air ~$150)
Dinners when we decide to eat in a restaurant
In an ongoing effort to exist under capitalism while striving for values of generosity, equity and resource sharing I offer this trip at three price points. I understand it will not be accessible to many, and I hope we find other ways to be around the story fire together
Standard Price $4,400
This allows me to pay for all our accommodation, quality food and travel expenses while paying me a fair wage for holding and facilitating the group space for twelve days.
Supporter Price $4,700
If you have enough financial resources to share then the extra you give allows me to make some spaces available at a reduced price for those that can’t make the full price. Thank you!
Reduced Price $4,100
If this is an financial stretch for you I offer this reduced price to help make it easier. I can also offer payment plans as necessary.