Scotland: Giants in the Forests

For time's sake, how about I upload pictures now, and spend time describing the INCREDIBLE journey through Scotland later? Suffice to say, it was amazing, nay, SPECTACULAR! I loved it, everything but how cold it was (I wore 5 layers and long johns every day, but that's just me). 

http://www.giantsintheforest.com/about/

While I didn't bring my camera along for the Giants in the Forest walk at night, it was one of the coolest things that we've done since arriving in Europe. Unfortunately, that's just my strong opinion; the boys were absolutely terrified. In an effort to encourage more people to visit forests, Giants in the Forest is a project in Scotland, Wales, and England that combines art, technology, and the natural environment - basically, a group installed a large, interactive art exhibit along a mountain bike trail, to be enjoyed at night. Giant heads, made from sticks and moss, were hung from trees throughout the forest, enhanced by lighting. Other artistic creations were featured throughout the forest's trail.

It was awesome. After arriving at the head of a mountain bike trail, we were shuttled further into the woods with a small group of people, where we gathered around an old storyteller. Before leading us through the woods, with just her torch lamp to illuminate the trail, she introduced us to the story of how giants and man were once friends and helped each other build things. But then man began inventing things and using machines, science, and technology as their means to an end, and no longer relied on the help of the giants. Man even spreading rumors about the giants that they were scary, terribly abusive creatures, so the giants retreated to hiding in the woods. Or so this particular legend goes.

So then the storyteller cast a spell on us so that we could be invisible (as not to scare away the giants) and guided us through the woods, taking the rare opportunity to see some magic. We saw lighting that made the trees different colors, candles illuminated the path, which took us over bridges and along ponds, and really cool giant's faces hanging from the trees. As we walked, we were accompanied by creepy music box music, fog machines that engulfed us in a foggy haze, amazing paper lanterns that seemed to float among us, and the grand finale of a giant translucent swan gliding across the pond to represent the shape-shifter giants taking the shae of a swan and leaving this world, done only by crossing a body of water. I know that none of this probably makes sense or even sounds worth while, but I loved it and would rank it among my favorite things done while in Europe. It was really too bad that it scared the living daylights out of Jasper, who sobbed right from the very beginning, and a quarter of the way through, he left the exhibit with Alex and Roy. Oliver, who is younger, was a bit scared, but was a champ once I hoisted him up on my back and gave him a piggy back ride through the whole thing.

If this was a permanent installation in every woods nearby, I'd definitely would spend more time in the dark forest at night.