The Shielings

Farm where Ruth et al live
Chapter 8:
‘It’s pretty remote up here,’ he told them as they drove up into the hills. ‘The Shielings is thirteen miles from the nearest village. It gets snowed it every winter. It’s peaceful though, and you are away from all the nonsense.’
The car wound its way up through quaint looking Scottish villages, past farms, over old stone bridges until, in the dark winter evening, it was on a single lane road that followed a river into an area of flat farmland surrounded by a ring of looming flat-topped hills visible only due to the starlight they blocked out.
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The Sheilings is isolated, situated at the end of a long, tall-sided valley. To get there from the nearest village you must first drive up through ten miles of desolate Galloway hills on a pot-holed road, then a further five miles on a dirt track. As you descend into the glen from the east side of the valley you see the roofs of Sheilings Farm rising out of its wind break of spruce trees. The farm consists of a large farmhouse, a wide cobbled yard that is surrounded by whitewashed out-buildings, three big byres and two tractor sheds. The farm keeps sheep on the hills and rugged Galloway beef cattle in the glen.
Interior
As they entered the warm kitchen an even older and smaller nightie-clad lady quickly got up from the table and left, heading further into the building’s interior, closing the door behind her. Before the door was shut, Helen caught a glimpse of the most Scottish looking room she had ever seen. There were tartan sofas and chairs, stuffed animals, several stag heads, and skulls on the walls. She barely understood what she was looking at, it was like a nightmare set inside a taxidermy museum brought on by eating too much shortbread before bed.
The Out Buildings
Once she had left, they explored the rooms. There was a central room, which contained a fireplace, a stove, a sink, and some kitchen units. There was a table and enough seating for about ten people. Near the fireplace was a rather beaten-up sofa and a selection of mismatched armchairs. Helen felt she was in familiar territory here as it was just like the hostels she had ran back in Perth. At either side of the room was a corridor that led to three small bedrooms. One of them was locked, this was where Naomi stored the furniture from her house after she had moved onto the farm.
Surroundings
Helen decided to go a walk on her day off and climbed up through the trees on the slopes of the Windy Standard. Beyond the forest there was a trail, of sorts, and it was here that she had thought to turn back, but the snow was not deep, and the path was still visible, so she kept on going. This was where the summer pastures for the sheep were, the last shallow dip of the valley until the mountain flattened out at the top. This was where all the windmills had been built. In the distance she could see them standing against the clear blue sky.
Slaves
Previous slaves
Ruth had met him at the door, he had phoned ahead and although she had not really approved, she had let him come. ‘It’s not that I don’t want you to see her, it’s just that I’m scared it will end up like last time,’ she had told him over the phone. ‘The lady ran away to be with her family, and when the Committee caught her, they stoned her to death.’
Category:Paradise
Category:Paradise Locations