The Threads Between Us

24 October–2 November 2027. Ten days and nine nights in Scotland: two nights near Dunfermline, then seven nights at Kinnaird Castle. Limited to ten women.

Expressions of interest

Bookings are planned to open in February 2027. Registering your interest is free and non-binding. No payment is required, and it does not reserve a place or create a confirmed booking.

You are welcome to register your interest or arrange a complimentary 20-minute conversation with me.

Proposed prices

These are proposed prices. Final prices and terms will be supplied when bookings open.

A shared room is for two guests booking together, and each guest counts as one place. The proposed price is per person. These prices cannot be secured now.

Payment

Payment options will be confirmed when bookings open.

The retreat is subject to a minimum number of confirmed participants. Minimum participant numbers and the retreat confirmation deadline will be provided when bookings open.

The Threads Between Us is offered and operated by Life Bridge Pty Ltd (ABN 29 132 643 497), 13 Norval Court, Maroochydore QLD 4558, Australia. lynbaird.com is Lyn Baird’s website, operated by the same company.

The full ten-day journey begins with two nights near Dunfermline, travels through Scotland, and spends seven nights at Kinnaird Castle. Some days are for historical places. Others stay close to the castle. The rhythm is experience, space and reflection.

Breakfast and dinner are included as specified below. Lunches are not included.

1. 

   Sunday 24 October · Arrival & Welcome

   Our journey begins with a personal welcome at Edinburgh Airport, where individual transfers will be arranged around each guest’s flight arrival time.

   We travel to Garvock House, near Dunfermline, where there is time to settle in, meet fellow travellers and gather for our welcome dinner.

   Arriving Early?

   Guests wishing to arrive before the retreat may be able to arrange additional accommodation at Garvock House. The proposed rate is £126 per person, per night, for single-occupancy bed and breakfast, subject to availability. Final prices and terms will be supplied when bookings open.

   Early arrivals are responsible for their own airport transfers unless separately arranged.

2. 

   Monday 25 October · Kingship, faith and forgotten women

   Dunfermline Abbey, then Edinburgh’s Old Town, the Royal Mile and the Witches’ Well. At Queen Margaret’s shrine we remember a woman who made a new home and shaped generations. In Edinburgh we pause for women whose names were almost lost. There is time to wander before we return to Garvock House.

3. 

   Tuesday 26 October · Beyond Outlander: The Women Behind the Stories

   Today we journey from Garvock House towards our new home at Kinnaird Castle, stopping along the way to discover the places where Scottish history meets the world of Outlander.

   In Culross, the fictional village of Cranesmuir, we wander cobbled streets and explore stories of women, healing, courage and survival.

   We continue to Falkland, which became 1940s Inverness in Outlander, with time for lunch and exploring the historic village square.

   As we travel onwards to Kinnaird Castle, we reflect on the stories we inherit, the women who came before us and the threads connecting past and present.

   We arrive at the castle with time to settle in before dinner.

4. 

   Wednesday 27 October · Stone, Sovereignty & the Living Land

   What do we inherit from those who came before us? And how much of our own story are we free to write?

   Our journey takes us into Perthshire, where history, legend and storytelling meet.

   We visit Balvaird Castle, featured as Castle Leathers in Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Here, the story of Brian Fraser invites us to consider family expectations, inherited loyalties and the choices that remain our own.

   At Perth Museum, we encounter the Stone of Destiny, a symbol of Scotland’s sovereignty. At Scone Palace, we explore the place where Scottish monarchs were inaugurated and reflect on identity, inheritance and personal authority.

   Later, we visit The Hermitage, where ancient woodland and flowing water offer time for quiet reflection.

   We return to Kinnaird Castle for dinner.

   We cannot choose where our story begins, but we can choose how we live its next chapter.

5. 

   Thursday 28 October · A reflective day at Kinnaird

   A spacious day at the castle, led by Lyn. There is nowhere we need to go. The day holds rest, facilitated reflection, journalling, and time to enjoy the castle surroundings. We gather again for dinner.

6. 

   Friday 29 October · Memory, loss and what the land carries

   Clava Cairns and Culloden. Among stones placed by ancient hands, we reflect on thresholds, time and remembrance. At Culloden we consider the loyalties, stories and wounds carried through generations. The journey back to Kinnaird is quieter.

7. 

   Saturday 30 October · Castle, story and lineage

   A gentler day at Glamis Castle, then home to Kinnaird. Within a house shaped by generations, we consider what a house remembers and what its walls leave untold. The afternoon is open for tea, a walk, journalling or rest.

8. 

   Sunday 31 October · St Andrews

   A day for place, story, history and reflection. St Andrews is shaped by pilgrimage, faith and the sea, and by the Reformation history held in the town. There is time to explore. We return to Kinnaird for dinner.

9. 

   Monday 1 November · Integration and closing

   Another spacious day at Kinnaird, with facilitated reflection and time to notice what the journey has awakened. There is time to write a letter to yourself, to be returned later, and each woman receives a beautiful Scottish scarf to take home as a keepsake of the journey. We share a closing dinner in the castle.

10. 

    Tuesday 2 November · Abbey, farewell and departure

    Arbroath Abbey, then a farewell at South Queensferry, beside the Forth. At Arbroath we reflect on Scotland’s great declaration of freedom, and ask what we are ready to declare for the life ahead. You came to Scotland looking backwards. You leave looking forward.

Included

• Ten thoughtfully curated days in Scotland.
• Nine nights’ accommodation, including seven nights at Kinnaird Castle.
• A room of your own. A shared room only if you are travelling with a friend or your adult daughter and request it when you register your interest.
• Breakfast and dinner as specified in the itinerary.
• Group transport during the retreat.
• Individual Edinburgh Airport arrival transfers included, arranged around each guest’s flight arrival time on 24 October 2027.
• Included entry fees and scheduled historical visits.
• Lyn’s facilitated retreat sessions and guided reflections.
• Retreat materials.
• A beautiful Scottish scarf to take home as a keepsake of the journey.

Please do not book flights until you receive written confirmation that the retreat will proceed.

What is not included

• International or domestic flights.
• Lunches.
• Travel insurance.
• Personal purchases.
• Alcoholic beverages unless specifically stated.
• Optional activities outside the published itinerary.
• Any bank, transfer or currency-conversion fees charged to you by your own bank or payment provider.

Garvock House, near Dunfermline

The first two nights are our place of arrival. Garvock House is somewhere to step out of ordinary life, share our first meals, and begin the questions that will travel with us.

Kinnaird Castle, Angus

For seven nights an ancestral Scottish castle becomes our home. This is not a castle hotel or a commercial resort. Kinnaird remains a living house, still connected to the family, history and land that have shaped it.

Stay in castle apartments within the family home of the Duke and Duchess of Fife, with our own private chef preparing breakfast and dinner during our castle stay.

Morning light at breakfast. Woodland beyond the door. Conversation around the table. And time enough to wander the grounds, journal, or sit at a window and watch Scotland beyond the glass.

For a little while, we don’t simply visit a Scottish castle. We live in one.

Come on your own and enjoy a room of your own. If you’re travelling with a friend or your adult daughter and would like to share, please request this when you register your interest.

We come from stories that began long before us. Somewhere between what has been handed down and what is still waiting to unfold, we discover the life that is ours to live.

The retreat begins with the question, “Who came before me?” It can end with a quieter recognition: “I am somebody’s ancestor too.” Nothing here is a promised outcome. These are invitations.

Reflection and personal space

There is time to rest, to journal, and to listen to heart, mind and soul. You might ask: What do I carry? What is calling me? What does freedom mean to me? How do I want to live my life? What legacy do I want to leave? You will not be asked to share more than feels right.

Meaningful connection

Ten women, with room to become known. Conversation is welcome. Solitude is welcome too.

Scotland’s history and landscapes

Places chosen for what they still hold. You may leave with a clearer sense of the stories, landscapes and questions that met you there.

What you may take into ordinary life

A letter written to yourself, if you wish to write one. A practice of pausing. A beautiful Scottish scarf to take home as a keepsake of the journey. And, perhaps, a clearer sense of what you want to honour, release or carry forward.

Since then, I have led retreats through seasons of grief and loss, helped couples make space for themselves and each other, and brought people together through counselling, creative therapies, spiritual reflection and contemplation.

Some journeys have taken us further from home: walking in the footsteps of Jesus in Israel and following the journeys of the Apostle Paul through Greece. In these places, stories we had read became landscapes we could walk through. We brought our own lives into conversation with what we encountered along the way.

I have come to value both—the places we visit and the space we make within them. A conversation around a table. A quiet walk. Time to linger with a question without needing an answer just yet.

That is what I hope to offer you in Scotland. We will explore, share stories and enjoy being together, with room for silence and reflection too. I will bring the experience of these years, and an invitation to listen for what this journey might stir in you.

This retreat is history, storytelling, belonging and guided reflection. It is not counselling or a therapeutic treatment programme.

From previous Life Bridge retreats

From earlier retreats facilitated by Lyn. They do not describe this Scottish retreat.

“A totally safe space created to explore your own experiences and spirituality in whatever form that takes. Relax, connect and enjoy with others on their own paths.”

— Petra, Australia

“Lyn is warm and supportive, and I felt safe to share my thoughts, feelings and creativity with the group. The pace of the weekend was perfect for me — plenty to learn and experience but relaxing at the same time.”

— Penelope Rose

“I’ve walked away with new perspectives and understanding, feeling inspired and confident to pursue the next chapter of my life.”

— Trinity Dang