[UK Islands Project] Coast Magazine - July Issue 2018

I'm beyond delighted and excited to share that this month's Coast Magazine [July 2018], features an article I've written about my UK Islands Project. 

It's this copy....(see pics below) 

If you do read it, I'd love to hear what you think and if you are now keen to go on your own Creative Island Adventures...! (or any other Creative Adventures for that matter) 

Huge Thank You to Caroline Wheater & Coast Magazine!

[UK Islands Project] Half-way through & planning fatigue

I'm just over half-way through this year-long project and I've hit my 'planning peak' (have you experienced something similar?) and since June (after Avalon actually) have been suffering from planning fatigue. I've been feeling below par for a number of weeks and basically All Planned Out. 

Not so long ago I was not a planner at all, in fact even the words 'what's the plan'  would send a cold shiver down my spine, ugh. Since my Art Relief Volunteer Adventure I'd become a slight planning ninja and had been enjoying it - until hitting this peak. Time to stop. I didn't want to plan a single thing anymore. So I stopped. For a while at least.

I looked at what was coming up - a holiday to Snowdonia, followed in quick succession by two Islands - Anglesey then Skokholm and decided to let go and just see what that was like. Most of the planning had already been done for these trips so its wasn't as hard as I thought and it's helped me to figure out what things I like/need to have planned to lower my anxiety levels about stuff and what I'm not so bothered about. Its been really useful.

Only useful though by having taken the time to consider and notice what was going on and to ponder on it. How about you? Do you need to stop and reflect/consider something yourself? Just taking half-an-hour out and writing or doodling down your thoughts will help. Trust me.

Having made this discovery and figured out what to do about it, I'm feeling more perky about the rest of the project and also about the pieces of writing and artwork relating to each island I've yet to create. I've also had to make some other decisions which would have seen me feel stuck before as it meant changing my plans.

One island I’ve had to ‘carry-over’ is Caldey.* I had an email a few weeks ago to say that all retreats were to be cancelled due to the refurbishment of the retreat house. That was a blow, as I’d been especially looking forward to that Island experience. The one snippet I’ve managed to glean as to why it was closed is that the managers left rather suddenly so there was no one to run the retreat centre for the guests booked in for the rest of the year. Curious though so if you’ve any info of the exact details – do let me know!

I did consider visiting for the day on my way back from Skokholm last week, and had even packed my bivy bag with an idea to sleep overnight there, when it came to it though we didn’t get back from Skokholm until later than thought and I just felt rather worn out so decided I’d come straight home and save that Island for its proper exploration once the retreat house is open again. Next year hopefully.

This brings me to looking at what Islands I've actually explored so far, and what’s next.

Here’s the run down (some pictures at the bottom of this post)

1. January - Isle of Portland - Tick!
2. February - Isle of Sheppey (via the Tate) - Tick! 
3. March - St. Agnes (Southernmost settlement of the UK) - Tick!
4. April -   Lundy - Tick!
5. May -    Skomer - Tick!
6. June -   Avalon - Tick!
7. July -    Anglesey Tick! & Skokholm Tick!

Still to come are:

August – Bardsey
September – Looe
October – Jersey & Kirrin Island (Yes, Really!)
November – Brownsea aka Red Squirrel Island
December – The Island of Reflection

I'll be creating art postcards from each island - so if you'd like one created just for you click here to sponsor one ;-)

Having reached my planning peak and worked out what helps me get through it (Stop, review & take intelligent action) I'm feeling positive and excited again about the rest of these Islands and the project in general. Toot Toot! Yes indeed - the spark is back ;-) Even writing this blog post to you has helped, so thank you. 

Each Island is Different

Each experience has been so different and each Island so rich with history – both social and natural that at the moment I don’t have one I love more than the others. Well, erm, that’s not strictly true. My first experience of seeing Puffins ("Look there are sooooo many F**king Puffins", I exclaimed excitedly as we arrived at Skomer) is very special, and not only did I get to hang out with Puffins on Skomer in May – I had the chance AGAIN on Skokholm just last week. That’s Skokholm – off the coast of Pembrokeshire, not in Sweden..(do go find it on a map). The Puffins and their Pufflings, yes their young chicks really are called pufflings, are set to depart any day now, in fact they’d already started to change their behaviour in readiness for their own ‘holidays’ out at sea whilst we were there. Skomer and Skokhom, two islands so close together and yet so totally different.

I’ve got some breathing space before my next Island (Bardsey in mid-August) to write up about these Island explorations and also create some artwork. I’m discovering that as each Island is different each medium I use for each will be different, something I think I’ve touched on before. Skokholm felt very textural – like an embroidery or tapestry piece was calling about to be created, although there was also a hint at a stained glass window as there is such a beautiful one in one of the compost toilets on the island! That could even be another project...Toilets with stained glass windows..or interesting toilets of the world...[Off on a tangent]

If you are already following along on social media (I post on Instagram mainly as I love the photo format) then you’ll have already seen pictures of these island explorations. If we aren’t connected yet – do come and say hello - @morwhennawoolcock

Coming up

Aside from UK Islands Project, I’ve a couple of other things coming up:

One this week (Thursday 27 July) – a Local Creative Adventure in Burrington Coombe – details here and I was interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol about these creative adventures – which you can listen to here – (my chat starts at around 1.25.40 (ish) before Amy Winehouse Valerie - which is what I've called my car! Valerie Volvo!! - spooky) then a there's bit about a lawnmower museum (interesting) - then it's me! Thanks to Becky Walsh for this.

Then starting in September is the ‘How to be a Creative Adventurer’ Exploration(course) I’ll be sharing more about this as I gear up to this over the next month. If you’ve any friends you think might benefit from discovering how a spot of Creative Adventuring can help them in their daily life – please do share it with them.

Bye for now!

Pip Pip

Morwhenna
xx

ps - can you tell which picture is from which island?

UK Islands Project - Making Progress

'Hanmers' on Lundy Island. Copyright MGW Sept 2016

Hello!

As you may already know my next Creative Adventure is all about islands, specifically islands around the UK, you know - those lumps of land you see off the coast as you shielded your eyes from the sun, but rarely actually go and explore? This has been true for me anyway. From 2017 this is set to change as I embark on an adventure to visit at least one island a month for the year. More if I can manage it, totally depends on time and funds to do so. 

I actually have a list of 60 Islands at the moment but am fully aware there are in fact 267 inhabited Islands and over 2,000 uninhabited islands or just bits of rock around our shores. I worked out the other day that if I stick to one Island a month and just visit all 267 inhabited Islands I'll be 64 by the time I complete this project. Heck I thought, 64! After an initial freak out I went back to my list of 60 and thought - so what if it takes me that long? And made my goal achievable by deciding to make a start with one Island a month. 

I want to explore each Island and get to know its character as well as the people that live and work there. I want to discover how the island has inspired artists, writers, musicians..and then I will create something myself in response to that Island.  

So far I've booked six islands to stay on. Hurrah!!

These are: Lundy (yes this will be my third visit!), Skomer, Skokholm, Bardsey, Looe & Jersey. 

Ideally I want to stay at least one night on each Island I visit as I don't think you can really get a sense of its character and the people that live there in just a day visit. This, however, might involve camping. This is not so good as after my experience in the peak district earlier this year I had to admit to the fact that I'm not a camper anymore (unless I have a cosy bed to sleep in). This pained me to admit. So I'll either need to harden up or look at sleeping in a hammock. This could be tricky as a lot of these islands appear to be treeless. Hmmm. 

I'm keen to run a Creative Adventure on at least one Island I visit next year (like Lundy 2015) so if there are any you'd particularly like to join me on, or would in fact like to partner with me to run such an adventure - let me know. I'd love to hear from you. I'm keen to encourage others to join me and be a part of this great expedition around our shores to these miniature lands to uncover their treasures!

I'll also be offering my unique postcards again as part of this adventure so look out for details about that if you liked them from my B2M adventure last year. ;-)

Bye for now & Happy Adventuring!

Mx

ps - Have you got an adventure you long to go on and need some encouragement? drop me a line and lets see how I can help you. x Think BIG - Start Small x

Old Books, New Adventures

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I’ve started to research and plan my next Creative Adventure…

This next trip is all about Islands

Islands around the UK

And the stories and experiences they hold

I’m VERY excited!

For the past few months I’ve been feeling rather down and not my usual self. Disappointed that I had to cancel the Lundy trip this year, not really feeling motivated and struggling with being on the edge of the rabbit hole, I had some small trips planned (the Bothy at Peppercombe, and later in the year Snowdon) but I didn’t really have a big adventure in the pipeline.

As usual I had ideas zipping around my head (Driving my Figaro to Japan was a contender – has been for many years that one!) but was finding it difficult to settle on one. One that really grabbed and excited me. I’d started researching my family tree, joined the Weavers and Spinners guild and started to learn to card and spin fleece…but something was missing. 

It was after a rather emotional chat with the fabulous Judith Morgan, that I knew I needed to commit to my next trip and to start research and planning straight away. Island Hopping, Island Odyssey or the snappily named ‘The Creative Adventurer visits as many of the small islands around the UK as possible in as many different ways as possible’ started to take shape. This was an idea that kept popping up so thought, OK I need to grab this one and work with it. 

My recent Book Barn haul. Cost just £12 for all these gems! RM Lockley, I've discovered, lived on Skokholm Island and has written over 50 books about Island life, nature and birds. He sounds a fascinating character and warrants further research. His book, The Private Life of A Rabbit, inspired Watership Down. 

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past few weeks. I declared this as my next project in the business group I'm in on 27 April at 10:46. Prior to this announcement it had popped up on my mind maps and in my note book, way back even in February and I’d mentioned it on my blog on a Wish List that I posted on the 04 February and I’m sure it had been floating around as an idea well before that. Personally, I find it interesting how my mind works in that way. How long it can take before I grab a particular idea and start to turn it into reality. How about you? What happens when you get an idea? Do you act on it straight away? Let it sit for a while? Days, weeks, years? 

Since then I’ve been collecting books on Islands, reading about Islands and I’m looking for people that live on these Islands. I've become a tad obsessed by Islands (in a good way!) and I find old books a great inspiration. I have also been reading Tiny Islands by Dixie Wills; Lundy, Rockall, Dogger, Fair Isle by Mathew Clayton & Anthony Atkinson and Grand Adventures by Alastair Humphreys, so its not all old books I'm using for research.

I have discovered that there are around 4,000 islands around the UK, and of course the question then is – what constitutes an Island? Some are just giant slabs of rock that only birds can really land on so I’m not planning on visiting those. I’m looking for the interesting, the quirky, the creative, the traditional celebrations and crafts, the hidden gems, the stories, the things that make these islands special. I’ve already got a list of about 60…and counting. There is so much to explore around our own coast. 

Shall it be one trip…or split into ‘legs’?  Initially I’d thought I’d set a budget say, £500 and how many Islands can in visit for that? Quickly realising that actually not that many, even travelling as self-powered as possible. I am still working out the finer details as I read about different islands and hopping from each one. I know I want to cycle on some of them.

As with my Brecon’s 2 Morwenstow Pilgrimage last year you are invited to be a part of this adventure. Be that joining me on one of the islands, sponsoring a special postcard (I’ll be creating postcards as I visit each Island, quite a few have their own stamps), or sponsoring in some other way. I am looking for ways to make it just that little bit different.  I’ll share more as this adventure grows from a seed into a plant. There are already a few roots...

Until then I was wondering – have you visited any of the UK’s small Islands? Where have you been? What was your experience? Do you know anyone who lives on one that you’d be happy to put me in touch with? What Islands should not be missed? 

Drop me a line or comment below. I’m very much looking forward to sharing this next Creative Adventure with you!

Toot Toot!
Morwhenna
x