Celebrating Lùnastal

Things to make and do to mark the first of the harvest festivals in the Celtic Wheel of the Year 🌾

1st August marks Lùnastal (Scottish Gaelic, pronounced “loo-nas-til”) or Lughnasadh (in Irish Gaelic): the halfway point between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and Autumn Equinox (Mabon), and the beginning of the harvest seasons in the Celtic wheel of the year. The festival corresponds with other European celebrations such as the English harvest festival Lammas. To me, this is the start of a seasonal shift: the landscape turns increasingly golden, later Summer flowers such as dahlias and rudbeckias bloom, and the nights are starting to lose the endless quality of Midsummer.

Lùnastal celebrates abundance as the harvest reaches its peak. Crops ripen on farms and the first blackberries appear, tasting of late Summer and the anticipation of early Autumn. This time of year is my favourite; I say that about every time of year, I know, but hear me out! There’s so much seasonal goodness to enjoy during this glorious in‑between time as late Summer gives way to the earliest hints of Autumn. Here are some things that I’m making, doing and celebrating this August, inspired by the seasons. If you enjoy these newsletters then you will definitely enjoy my debut book, Slow Seasons: a Creative Guide to Reconnecting with Nature the Celtic Way, which you can pre-order here. You can also join me live on Instagram this Tuesday to find out more about it and hear me reading from the book for the first time. I hope to see you then!

Blackberrying

The blackberries are beginning to ripen in the hedgerows – I’ve been monitoring my usual spots and they even appeared in my bouquet of local flowers from Ochre Botanical Studios this week (pictured above)! When blackberry picking you’ll need dedication, gardening gloves, maybe a ladder or tall person and a large box or basket to collect them in. For the best flavour of berries, pick at the end of a sunny afternoon, opting for fruit that is plump and sweet. Pick sparingly from each patch, making sure to leave enough fruit for other foragers and plenty for the wildlife. What do you make with yours? I’ve got a whole section on blackberries in my book with recipes for blackberry shrub, blackberry fruit leather and blackberry, chocolate and cardamom cake and I have to say these are among some of my favourite recipes in the book!

Picnic by a Meadow

All around, the countryside is beginning to turn golden and the farmers have started to harvest their grains. Local green spaces and communal meadows are idyllic spots for a picnic with seasonal produce. Pack simple fare: dips, crackers, cold meats and cheeses served with seasonal fruit will hit the spot - fresh, simple and easy eats. Engage all your senses to slow down and embrace the moment: watch the corn ripple like waves and listen to its gentle rustle in the wind, or count the different colours of the wildflowers and identify their species. Smell the crispness in the air after rain (and we’ve had a lot of rain…) and watch the swifts and house martins dancing in the breeze - I’ve just spotted them over the rooftops across from us as I write.

Enjoy Seasonal Produce

Late Summer goodness meets early Autumn produce at this trans‑seasonal time of year. Tomatoes are spectacular just now and the plant that my Dad gave me has even got some small wee toms on it! We just need some more sun for them to ripen. I enjoyed Isle of White tomatoes stuffed with courgette and fennel at Elliott’s wonderful Summer Series last weekend (I highly recommend a visit if you’re local). This week we also tried a new farm box from The Free Company here in Edinburgh (again, I recommend a visit if you’re local!) and it was filled with delicious produce: runner beans, courgettes, blackcurrants, beetroots… I wrote a whole newsletter last week dedicated to blackcurrants (which features the recipe for the ice cream pictured above) and I’m about to enjoy some for dessert yet again this evening, and I’m not even nearly sick of them! If you have a farm who does veg boxes near you, why not check it out? They can be incredible value for money, while supporting the local economy and enjoying the freshest of Summer’s produce.

Head to the Hills

August sees the heather in full bloom and hillsides transform with purple hues. If you’re lucky enough to have heather where you live, head to the hills to see the spectacle up close. I’m biased but it’s pretty special in the North of Scotland and I’m longing to go back to the Highlands where it was the best I’ve ever seen and can’t wait to visit two of the Wildlands properties later in August. And even if you don’t have heather near you, I still recommend heading to the hills to make the most of the beautiful late Summer light and to see things from a different vantage point if you can, to spend time in nature as it turns beautifully golden, and to spot wildlife as the seasonal shift begins. Even living in the city here in Edinburgh, a walk up Arthur’s Seat or Blackford Hill feels like a brain break from my day to day: something about the scale and distance never fails to put my worries into perspective.

Make a Lavender Garland

In Slow Seasons you’ll find all sorts of simple, seasonal crafts to help you tune in with the time of year, to inspire creative flow and to celebrate the moment. This is one that didn’t make the final draft, but I thought I would share with you instead! You’ll need colourful string or twine, a small bunch of lavender & miniature pegs to make this simple Summer garland that smells amazing too! Here’s a video if you’re a visual learner like me. Measure the length of string for your garland against the space you want it to hang. Make small bunches of 3 small stems of lavender each, trimmed to around 3 cm. Cross the stems as you peg them to the string, evenly spaced along its length, make a loop at each end, knot and hang! The lavender will dry and curl a little as it hangs. Happy making!

If you enjoy my seasonal newsletters, do consider joining us in my paid subscriber community for more regular posts. Together in this wee corner of the Internet we are creating a beautiful community of like-minded old souls who want to slow down, simplify and connect with the seasons. Here’s a flavour of what I’ve been posting over there this last month:

Slow Living Ideas for Summer

Litha in the Kitchen

Summer Flower Arranging and a Garden Update

Blackcurrant Season

Sow, Grow, Harvest, Rest Reading Group: July

Thank you so much for your kind words on my book announcement last month, reading your comments made me feel overwhelmed by positivity and even more excited for the book to be out in the world in October for you to read it. You can also help me spread the word by sharing this post. Thank you for your support xxx

Pre-order Slow Seasons here.