On our island we share space and history with many including the vibrant lifeways of the venerable and new. Here they gather and entangle where the land meets the sea, and where the wilder places interweave with the edges of cultivated fields. As in many island cultures across the world, our agricultural year is marked by a wide array of transformations that occur throughout our landscapes as the seasons change. Dictated by the Earth's relationships with the Sun and the Moon, the cycle of the seasons on Gigha brings changes to the levels of light in our skies,
the tides and temperatures, weather systems, and the activities of the myriad of life within and above our soils and waters.
Our immersion within these cycles carries us into phases of birth and growth, maturity, death and rebirth - from one year to the next, through each of our lifetimes and beyond them. Since ancient times the agricultural year in Scotland has been marked by festivals that celebrate and reflect upon these solar events and vital thresholds as we move from winter to spring, summer to fall.
The Celtic Wheel of Year is a modern expression of this ancient solar calendar that visualises 4 key solar events: the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes and the Summer and Winter Solstices around a circle or wheel. In between each of these events a midpoint is also marked to denote the arrival of each new season. Eight in total, these annually recurring thresholds correspond to festive activities enjoyed by many different cultural groups across the British Isles, Europe and Scandinavia. This diverse array of festivals sees communities gather to honour their relationships with the more-than-human-worlds they share space with, as well as their bonds to one another and their ancestors.
Each season brings with it new types of abundant flora and fauna, and these festivals and appointed times for harvesting and feasting, align most often with the telling of oral histories through song and dance as well as the upholding of ceremonies and ritual activities. These seasonal festivals also offer the opportunity to create space and time to explore how our own personal seasons of birth, growth, abundance, mourning, death and rebirth occur in our lives. They are times to gather strength from, care for, inspire and support one another and ourselves as we wheel around in a fervent dance cycling the sun.
Whether upon the high hills or down by the sea shore, in the woods or on the moors, our beautiful Isle of Gigha is full of opportunities to deepen your relationships to plants, wildlife and the natural landscapes around us throughout the Celtic Solar Year.
Join us this Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter on Gigha as we celebrate the emergence of each new season with our Wild Walks: Wheel Around the Sun event series! Centred around the Celtic Solar Calendar and its many Gaelic traditions, our walks offer unique cultural tours across Gigha that invite you to explore the island's rich biodiversity and cultural heritage.
Interwoven with gentle and mindful, multi-sensory storytelling, encounters with abundant plant and wildlife, outdoor eats and creative activities, our walks offer the chance to fully immerse yourself in the rhythms of each season. Our small, public group tours are perfect for those new to the island, to Gaelic language and to wild plants and are curated to offer a welcoming, friendly and informal environment that will leave you inspired, restored and energised for each new season.
To learn more about our current and upcoming public and private Walking Tours see our listings below or get in touch with our team to plan your Isle of Gigha adventure.
Public & Private Walking Tours
Wild Walks : CARN BAN : SolsticeMultiple Dates28 Jun 2025, 11:00 – 14:00Isle of Gigha, United Kingdom
Wild Walks : DUN CHIBHICH : SolsticeDate and time is TBDIsle of Gigha, United Kingdom
