Parked up miles from anyone & anywhere, at the edge of a bright aquamarine reservoir, surrounded by acres of beech & pine forest, we hike the hounds & cook good food. As the sun dips behind skyscraper-sized mountains we kindle a fire into being. Slow days & simple times for when the mind starts speeding too fast & I can’t seem to get a hold of anything. Sitting here, slowing the mind down, feeling such freedom, with everything we own…
There is a writing ritual: hiking over cloud-grey boulders I stand at the water’s edge & hunt for silver flashes of inspiration. Coffee bubbles on a tiny twig-fired stove transforming the space, inviting warmth. Heart threaded throughout the earth’s surface with the roots of bird-song-filled pine trees I loosen thought’s fishing nets into turbulent waters & sit with the patience of river rocks. I wait & wait, until finally, words appear… photography: @andyrgarside words: @sophiemckeand_outsider jacket & bag: @jeckybeng With…
We’ve arrived in the French Alps, crossing borders from flat forgettable agricultural landscapes to once again sleeping in the shadows of mountain gods. The quickfire spring burst of creativity is giving herself over to something more mature that needs time to evolve in these longer days & summer sun before sharing. Still, these travels & insights unearthed as we wander across Europe feel as if they need to be published in real-time, in Slow Time. The longer, more thoughtful posts…
Dear friends – firstly I want to thank you for following this evolutionary journey as we work to slow our lives down & decouple from the stresses & expectations of our hyper-fast culture. Last night in Italy, sleeping under fruiting cherry trees, I dreamed of a strong, wide river. Filled with bravery, I swam into the centre & was carried swiftly downstream. I wasn’t drowning, but the fast-flowing river bundled me much farther than anticipated. I wasn’t able to swim…
Sometimes Vanlife is exactly as breezy & beautiful as it looks on Instagram. We arrive at a low-key & lovely VW festival outside of Milan & park with friends under chattering trees laden with ripening scarlet cherries as endless trout bellyflop through the lake’s mirrored surface catching flies. We remain outdoors in the rising heat with cold drinks & vow to wring every last ray of sunshine out of a kaleidoscopic day as rolling green grasses are patchworked over with…
As much as Instagram might want to prove otherwise, Vanlife isn’t all syrupy sunsets and myth-filled forests of giants. We spent yesterday day & night in this camping superstore car park near Magenta, Italy surrounded by other vans, facing a noisy, traffic-filled roundabout. It made me think on the phrase: happiness is a state of mind. It doesn’t really matter where you are or who you’re with, if you’re not happy in yourself then you’re going to find things to…
A return to Italy. The sudden spike in heat makes it feel as if the drive from east to west has also been straight from winter into summer (this time last week I was sat in 4°, today it is 26°). The fallout from the past few days’ torrential rain is evident in the rivers’ swollen banks and the speed at which the water boils across flat, characterless agricultural landscapes. I don’t know if the giant pendulum swing in temperature…