Via Retreats - Benefits to You

Are you looking for a relaxing break in a rural setting in Scotland? Want time to think your own thoughts and refresh your spiritual energy? Wander through ancient World Heritage sites such as Skara Brae?

On a retreat at Via House you...
Can't hear traffic; you can hear birdsong.
Can't see streetlights; you can see stars.
Can't drive in the rush hour; you can walk on the sands in the sunset.

Are you looking to discover something? Something more? Something else?
Discover the beauty in your own movement that is Tai-chi.
Discover the healing power of your own breath that is Chi Kung.
Tai Chi and Chi Kung renew, cleanse and massage the mind, body and spirit.

Are you looking for something in yourself? Something in the world?
On retreat at Via House our holistic courses re-energise you. Walk Island seascapes and earth walks - the gentle pathways of nature, exploring ones senses, moving silently in the wild and reconnecting with simple human companionship.

World Heritage Sites - Skara Brae

About two miles from Via House lies the beautiful white curve of the bay of Skaill. This bay is home to Skara Brae, where the remains of a Neolithic fishing and farming village were discovered after a fierce storm ripped off the sand dunes covering them. Skara Brae dates back to 3,000BC. Skara Brae is the best known of Orkney's World Heritage Sites, as well as one of the best-preserved stone-age settlements in Europe.

You can visualise these ancient fisher/farmer folk living and working at Skaill bay as you walk along the narrow passages connecting the little houses huddled together against the North Atlantic gales.

"The city of the vanished race lay dark and silent in that place as I came home from Sandwick a star was in the sky."

George Mackay Brown

Ring of Brodgar, Standing Stones of Stenness

In spring and summer the meadows and cliff tops are a brilliant green, shining with wild flowers, while long days pour light onto the land and sea.

Small communities began to settle in these islands from around 4,000BC. Even today the peaceful continuity of Orcadian life and its environment is reflected in the well preserved treasury of sacred stones such as The Ring of Brodgar (Temple of the Sun) and the Standing Stones of Stenness (Temple of the Moon). Even now, these sacred circles stand proud holding their mysteries. Archaeologists continue to discover unseen settlements, cairns, and ceremonial sites surrounding these stones. Stone age man, a prolific and skilled mason, was the architect of the Ring of Brodgar and the Stenness Stones.

Are they a testimony to his awareness and knowledge of mathematics and astronomy? The spirits of the stones are not just archaeological remnants of a dead culture, but rather vital places, symbolic gateways to universal energies accessible to anyone from any land.

Go slowly, breath and smile.