Gorebridge is a small village near Edinburgh. The name Gorebridge always made me curious, I suppose because the name is made up of Gore and Bridge which means bridge. Gore refers to something violent and unpleasant. It seemed like a peculiarly named place then, and on Google Maps we discovered that there was a small forest nearby – perfect for psychenautics’s first documented adventure!
It was August 2018, which was the year this project started to define itself, to come into the world.
We were both excited with ideas for the website, etc… But let’s face it, me especially. So I wanted to go with Laura, use my new video camera and see what was going on out there. We took the bus to the place.
I was free that day, so I wanted to get some extra sleep and we decided to go there for lunch.
When we arrived at the site, we took a little walk through the center and around, all the way to the station. I won’t deny it, the town itself is nothing very special, not one of the most picturesque I’ve encountered in my adventures… to put it mildly.
We arrived a bit late by British standards, probably my fault, and there were really no pubs or restaurants… Only one hotel, which told us that they didn’t serve meals after 2 pm! I remember it seemed crazy how much customs change from one place to another. In Spain, it would be unthinkable for a restaurant not to serve food at 2 pm.
We ended up at the local fish and chips, and I remember the food was good. The local guy was nice and I think that overhearing his conversation with another customer Laura and I was entertained while we devoured our fritanga.
When we finished we headed to Gore Glen Woodland park, to meet up with the forest.
The day was threatening rain (as it always does in Scotland, to be honest) so we wanted to hurry before it poured, showers are common at this time of year. Crossing a modern bridge, we arrived at the forest.
My crazy videography ideas entertained us a bit on arrival. I wanted the footage to make it look like we magically appeared, but I forgot to record one of the shots… Here is a small sample of the place, in some of them there is no sound, as I had a problem with the camera (it wasn’t very good, to be honest).
The trees were tall. It really gave the feeling that you are in a forest. A small river was flowing, which gave its name to the place. We walked around feeling the place, the mild summer temperature, and the sun that managed to sneak through the clouds and branches. It has very beautiful and photogenic corners, where you feel a bit like you are in a fairy tale. In some parts of the path, this feeling was stronger than in others, and there was a kind of musicality in the atmosphere.
Both Laura and I concluded that if there were spirits, elementals, whatever you want to call them, they would manifest in some way in places like these.
Walking under the trees always has healing and pacifying effect on me. In other words, it clears my mind. At that time I was beginning to theorize, to ask myself, what its effect was on our own energy fields.
The tree takes energy from the earth. In its system, it absorbs nutrients through the root and brings them up to the trunk. Then from the trunk, it expands into the sky with branches and leaves.
After a while we stopped at some small ponds, green with algae, to talk and make a short video for the Toolkit, and to capture the place even more.
After this, it was time to head back to Edinburgh. The day was getting darker, and indeed, the threat of rain was becoming a reality, so Matilda and I had to run to Gorebridge station, to get back from the first adventure.
