Slow Living Scotland

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Peterculter
Slow Living Scotland

Your guide to embracing simplicity, seasonal living, and sustainability through events, escapes, and local stores in Scotland.

16/01/2025

NEW RECIPE: POTATO, LEEK & VENISON CHORIZO PASTIES

Delighted to share with you our first recipe of 2025!

This latest recipe was kindly given to us by the wonderful family behind . After recently discovering Great Glen Charcuterie venison (and gifting most of my family some this Christmas!) I knew I had to persuade Anja to share a recipe with us, too!

Originally from the Netherlands, Jan Jacob & Anja Baak moved to the Scottish Highlands over 20 years ago after falling in love with the rugged landscape and slower pace of life. While here, Jan became involved with managing the wild deer population, and soon after, their love for delicious, sustainable venison was born. 🦌

After years of experimenting, building a smokehouse in their garden and creating recipes, Great Glen Charcuterie was created. These days, you can find their smoked, cured meats in over 50 locations all over Scotland, both in independent stores and served in some of Scotland’s best restaurants.

These crispy, flaky pasties include in-season vegetables, some spice and, of course, delicious local, sustainable venison. They can be served hot or cold and will make a perfect lunchtime treat! 😋

To see the full recipe please visit: slowlivingscotland.com/recipes where you will also find a bit more about Great Glen Charcuterie plus some links to visit too! 🧡

13/01/2025

WHAT’S IN SEASON… JANUARY 🌱

New for 2025 is our monthly ‘what’s in season…’ posts!

I always find these posts to be super helpful when trying to eat seasonally. The only problem I tend to find is that they usually contain foods that are in season else where in the country or have been imported.

Whilst I am by no means an expert, and will more than likely get some wrong on occasion, I will try to list foods that are available in Scotland. This will include fruits and veggies we can grow ourselves (or buy from local suppliers 🙌🏼) and forage in the wild. Eventually, I’d like to add in meats and fish too but that is a work in progress! 🥴

I hope these monthly guides will encourage you to eat seasonally and more in tune with nature. Saying that, I see no problem in eating stovies in the height of summer if that’s how you roll… as that is, in fact, how I roll 😂

Have I missed any out? I’d love you to add any extra seasonal produce in the comments below 👇🏼

Rachael x

11/01/2025

✨ STORES UPDATE✨

Happy Saturday, everyone! We’ve just had a wee STORES directory update this morning.

Please welcome our newest small businesses:
🌿
🦌
🧘🏻‍♀️ .speyside
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
🌍
🍞
🌿
🐝
🏺
👗

Head over to slowlivingscotland.com/stores to see the full lineup.

Each entry includes a business description, categories and links to their website and socials. I also only ever recommend businesses that I have personally worked with or bought from previously meaning you’re guaranteed to be shopping with high quality, sustainable and genuinely brilliant businesses and their families!

Please follow each of our friends and shop small whenever possible 👍🏼✌🏼

Have a lovely weekend whatever you’re up to!

Rachael x

08/01/2025

✨ Introducing our brand new feature, SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT interviews! ✨

In this series, we’ll shine the spotlight on some of Scotland’s most talented small businesses—our makers, creators, nurturers, and explorers!

Through interviews, we’ll introduce you to the passionate individuals behind these local businesses, each dedicated to nature, slow, seasonal living, and traditional practices.

Join us as we celebrate their creativity, vision, and dedication to their work. I hope their stories will inspire and motivate you to reconnect with nature and forge your own path.

First, in this series, we have , who has supported Slow Living Scotland constantly since we began in 2019. Co-founder Autumn recently designed all the artwork for our festive event and has been a huge support for all things business and marketing-related! I felt it was only right that this wonderful family business kicked off this new feature!

To read the full interview, visit our website slowlivingscotland.com/journal - link in bio

I’d really love to know what you think of this new feature and if you’d like to be interviewed next, get in touch!

Rachael x

06/01/2025

✨ A HELLO FROM ME! ✨

To kickstart 2025, after having a wee influx of new followers since our Christmas event in December, it was about time I introduced myself and my business!

Hi 👋🏼 I’m Rachael, founder of Slow Living Scotland. I live in the Deeside area of Aberdeen with my partner, 2 children, 2 dogs and our cat! When I’m not working, you can usually find me walking dogs or curled up on the sofa with a big mug of tea and a good book! I’m Cancerian, so you home is definitely where the heart is! My favourite season is autumn and if I could choose one food to eat forever, it would be soup of any kind! 😋

Previously known as Slow Living Events, we have been on the go since 2019, when I predominantly hosted wellness events in the Aberdeenshire area. After a change of heart in the last couple of years, I decided to divert my attention from the events and instead begin investing my time in promoting slow living and local businesses through my directories, journal, and daily life.

My main goal with Slow Living Scotland is to encourage a slower, more mindful way of living but to inspire you to reconnect with nature, live according to the seasons, and return to our roots by rediscovering some of the traditions of our culture. I believe we can learn all of these things from the many local businesses that continue to preserve these age-old traditions, skills, and attitudes.

Whilst I often share everything here, you can find all of our main features over on our website: slowlivingscotland.com

EVENTS | ESCAPES | STORES | JOURNAL | RECIPES

Finally, I just want to say thank you so much for following me on this journey. Whether you have been here for a long time or have just recently joined, I am thrilled to have you and appreciate your support. I am so excited to start some new things this year and to bring you even more lovely content from our fantastic community.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! 🙏🏼 I’d love your thoughts on this post and our business so please leave your comments below! 👇🏼

Rachael x

24/12/2024

✨ MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS! ✨

Just popping on here to send my love to you all before taking a wee break over the festive season.

Fear not, I will be back in the new year with some exciting new projects and of course, you’ll probably see me over on stories sporadically too!

Thank you so much for all your support again this year especially with all the changes I’ve made to Slow Living Scotland.

And to all my new friends, I promise to do a little introduction in the new year so you can find out a little bit more about us and what exciting things are to come!

However you chose to spend the next couple of weeks, I hope it’s filled with an abundance of love and you find peace in the slowing down of the season.

From my family to yours, have a wonderful Christmas and a happy and healthy 2025!

Rachael xx

12/12/2024

✨ DECEMBER EVENTS✨

A bit later than I’d hoped but here they are… my recommended events for the month of December!

As we are already 12 days into December (how?! 🥴) we’ve missed so many great events; creative craft sessions, Christmas markets, winter workshops and seasonal feasts… and of course our FESTIVE FAYRE which was featured in very own recommended December events! 🙌🏼🙌🏼

But fear not, there’s still a few goodies out there that you don’t want to miss before the month (and year) is out!

🪵 12.12 - 15.12 & 19.12 - 22.12 | A winter pop up store at

🌲 13.12 - 15.12 | Christmas Market 2024 plus a drop in wreath workshop with

🪴 14.12 | Festive pop up with our friends &

🥧 15.12 | Learn how to make your own festive mince pies at the Cook School

🎄 20.12 - 21.12 | Christmas pop-up with

🧘🏻‍♀️ 21.12 | Winter Solstice Yin Yoga & Herbalism workshop with &

🔥 21.12 | Learn about some of our winter solstice traditions at the

More information on each of these events plus all the links you need to book, can be found over on my website slowlivingscotland.com/events 🙏🏼

Well that’s it for 2024! I’ll be back in January with more events so if you’d like to be listed, just get in touch!

Have a wonderful Thursday 🧡

Rachael x

09/12/2024

✨ WHAT A WEEKEND!! ✨

Thank you so so much to everyone who came to see us at the this weekend! I hope you enjoyed your winter spiced tea on arrival and all the gorgeous smells and beautiful things to see as you browsed our wonderful small businesses!

We had such a great time at this new location and I am thrilled you all seemed to enjoy it too!

Thanks again to our small businesses who travelled out to be part of this event…

And .co who couldn’t be there but who we love anyway!

And finally, thank you to my dear friend Autumn of for her support throughout this whole event. Her design work on the Festive Fayre images, all her advice and the photos she has gifted to me for this post are so very much appreciated! 🙏🏼🧡

Please continue to support our friends by giving their pages a follow and spreading the word about how wonderful they really are!

So, now we’ve got a cool new venue sorted… who’s up for a spring market?! Let me know in the comments below! 👇🏼🧡✨

06/12/2024

✨ TOMORROW!! ✨

It’s here! It’s market weekend! 🌲✨

We’re all set up at the and ready to welcome you tomorrow morning from 10am!

It’s looking like it’ll be a bit of a dreich day but fear not, we’ll have the fire on and cosy winter tea for you to enjoy whilst browsing our small businesses’ stalls.

Join us from 10am to 4pm tomorrow, Saturday 7th December and again on Sunday the 8th of December for our FESTIVE FAYRE - natural products, sustainable ingredients and materials made using traditional artisan skills. You’re going to love it!

SEE YOU TOMORROW!! 🧡✨

FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | MILTON OF CRATHES, BANCHORY

05/12/2024

02/12/2024

✨ MEET THE MAKERS ✨

It’s here! The FINAL set of makers we’ll be hosting at our FESTIVE FAYRE on the 7th & 8th of December!

| Saturday & Sunday | Laura, a skilled silversmith, crafts thoughtful jewellery using recycled precious metals with each piece being carefully handmade by Laura herself. Her creations often feature uplifting messages, encouraging us to slow down, trust the journey, and stay true to our path. She also incorporates genuine crystals and gemstones into her unique designs. Laura will join us with a stunning jewellery collection, including necklaces, bracelets, scented rollerball lockets, and more.

| Saturday & Sunday | Yogi Oils’ mission is to create products that bridge the connection between the ancient wisdom and symbolism of plants, nature, the seasons, and stories related to the land we live on. Handcrafted by Katrino, each essential oil and plant-based creation is designed to immerse you in the wild beauty of nature and ignite your senses. Every item is thoughtfully crafted with its unique story. From candles and oils to mists and incense, let yourself be enchanted by the pure magic of her creations.

| Sunday only | Deliciously indulgent dark chocolate treats handmade by chocolatier Rachel in her solar-powered cocoa kitchen. Inspired by her family’s food intolerances, Rachel set out to create a range of “better-for-you” chocolates free from all the nasties. Her chocolates are dairy-free, gluten-free, and 100% plant-based, and she uses eco-friendly packaging, too. With rich, delicious chocolate made from natural ingredients, how could we possibly resist?

| Saturday only | Hairy Highlander celebrates the magnificence of beards and the power of organic, natural ingredients. Founded by Josh and inspired by the rugged beauty of the Highlands, their beard oils, balms, and grooming products are crafted without fragrances or synthetic additives. Instead, they use the finest natural ingredients to support male hormones and promote healthy beard growth.

We can’t wait to see you there! 🧡

FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | MILTON OF CRATHES, BANCHORY

01/12/2024

✨ ONE WEEK! ✨

It's official! There's only one week to go until our
FESTIVE FAYRE at Milton Of Crathes!!

We'll be back with a selection of FANTASTIC local makers all with a common theme... SUSTAINABLE products, NATURAL ingredients and created using TRADITIONAL artisan skills.

We're a Christmas Market with a twist!

Join us next weekend for a very special and unique shopping experience and support our local businesses and their families this Christmas!

FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | MILTON OF CRATHES, BANCHORY

✨ PLUS FREE ENTRY FOR ALL! ✨

29/11/2024

✨ MEET THE MAKERS ✨

Here we are, just over one week away from our FESTIVE FAYRE!

As we get scarily close to the main event, I am delighted to announce the next set of makers joining us on the 7th & 8th of December!

Re:treat Aberdeenshire | Sunday only | Award-winning organic skincare, therapies, and apothecary based in Aberdeenshire. Kathryn, the founder and creator, has been crafting natural skincare for many years. In 2020, she launched her own skincare line, offering clean, cruelty-free products made with 100% natural ingredients, free from harmful chemicals. As an expert in natural skincare, I’m thrilled to have Kathryn join our market and share her knowledge and wisdom on clean cosmetics.

Seven Chaga | Saturday & Sunday | Founders Autumn and Jackson from Aberdeen craft small batch wellness products using consciously foraged wild Scottish chaga. Their passion for health and wellbeing inspired them to start the business in 2020 and has been driven by a desire to support their family’s health using natural and holistic methods. Specialising in chaga and natural healthcare, Autumn is a wonderful addition to our event, sharing her expertise in herbal and alternative remedies.

Swedish Candle Logs Aberdeen (Touckswood) | Saturday only | Sustainable woodland, Toucks Wood is an 88-acre, sustainable woodland just outside Stonehaven. The team will be joining us with their wooden homewares, all of which are locally grown and handcrafted in Aberdeenshire. Using a blend of traditional methods and modern equipment, Touckswoods creates stunning wooden pieces for your home and garden. Candle logs, furniture, chopping boards and candle holders are just some of their beautiful creations that will be available to take home.

Our final set of makers will be announced next week, but until then, please give our friends a follow and join me in welcoming them to our market in 8 days' time!

FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | MILTON OF CRATHES, BANCHORY

28/11/2024

NEW RECIPE: CHICKEN STOCK + BONE BROTH

The wonderful Autumn of has kindly provided us with the most delicious chicken stock and bone broth recipe to get us through the winter!

When she shared photos of her stock on her Instagram stories earlier this year, she was inundated with recipe requests, so we figured it had to be added to our recipe collection, too!

Packed with vitamins, protein, minerals, amino acids and other nutrients, this is an essential recipe for any home cook 👩🏻‍🍳

Add the stock to soups, sauces, curries, gravies, risotto, and more as a delicious meaty base, or simply dilute the bone broth with some water, season to taste, and sip for a tasty light lunch.

For the full recipe, visit the recipe tab on my website slowlivingscotland.com 🧡

24/11/2024

✨ MEET THE MAKERS ✨

Delighted to announce the next set of makers we will have the privilege of hosting at our FESTIVE FAYRE in two weeks' time!

—Originally from Romania, Bea is a talented artist, sea glass collector, and (most importantly!) mum. She will join us with her beautiful botanical monoprints, sea glass art, jewellery, and “small moment” illustrations. For everyone who loves simple, cosy art, this one is for you! Bea will be there to discuss how she creates her natural art and what inspires her to do so.

- Newton Dee is a Camphill community based in Aberdeen, which offers home, meaningful work and opportunities for personal development to adults with learning disabilities and other special needs. Their onsite bakery is just one of the many places some residents choose to work. Using their very own organic flour, the bakers create beautiful award-winning bread, pastries, and traditional bakes every week, which are sold in their bakery and the Newton Dee Store With baking being one of the oldest traditions in Scotland, the bakery team will be happy to chat about their organic produce and how to bake the perfect bread.

Leaves and Snails —Tea lover Milla will join us with a selection of her very own tea blends and some samples to try. Combining her love of foraging and tea drinking, Milla creates all-natural, seasonal teas that taste great and good for us too. Foraging has always been a traditional skill in Scotland, but few of us nowadays have the knowledge to do so. Fortunately, Milla will be on hand to tell us how to forage our ingredients and create our very own tea blends.

More makers will be announced in the coming weeks but until then, please give our friends a follow and join me in welcoming them to our market in December!

FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | MILTON OF CRATHES, BANCHORY

23/11/2024

🌿 7 of the Best Botanical Inspired Workshops this Winter 🌿✨

As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, winter may seem like a time to hibernate.

But for those passionate about plants, the cold season offers a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the world of botanicals. Scotland, with its lush landscapes and rich horticultural history, is home to a variety of workshops that embrace the beauty of nature even in the frostiest months.

I’ve scoured the internet and found you the 7 best botanical-inspired winter workshops available this side of Christmas.

At the time of writing, all classes have places available and can be booked via the links in each description.

I’ve found you everything from classic wreath-making to botanical cocktail-making to get you into the festive spirit!🌲

Head over to my website journal now for the full lineup and links to book! 🧡

📸 Images 1 and 7 courtesy of .beattie

20/11/2024

✨ MEET THE MAKERS ✨

Delighted to announce the first set of makers we have the privilege of hosting at our FESTIVE FAYRE in two weeks' time!

✨ .co - Florist Emily will join us with her range of sustainable and seasonal wreaths, posies, and gifts. Inspired by our Scottish landscape, Emily will bring the wild indoors for Christmas! Emily will be there to chat about sustainable floristry and will also be taking orders for wreaths and bouquets throughout December and into the new year.

✨ CarnieBees - Run by Anna and her daughter Kaya, CarnieBees is a small, family-run business passionate about natural health. Specialising in crafting honey infusions and other natural bee products such as bee pollen and candles, Anna ensures only the best quality honey is collected in the most sustainable way possible. Anna will be there to answer any questions you might have about beekeeping and using honey as a natural medicine.

✨ Shearing Crafts - Shearer, rug maker and knitter, Pam, founded Sharing Crafts in a bid to create beautiful, cruelty-free free and sustainable rugs and accessories. Using wet felting as her technique, Pam creates the most wonderful wool products using 100% biodegradable and renewable surplus wool. Pam will be showing us how she goes about creating her rugs using methods that date back to the Bronze Age!

I am so excited to have Emily, Anna & Pam joining our event! More makers will be announced later in the week but until then, please give our friends a follow and join me in welcoming them to our market in December! 🌲

FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | MILTON OF CRATHES, BANCHORY

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Peterculter

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http://www.slowlivingscotland.com/

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✨ Unpack a @napiers1860 wholesale order with me! ✨ Super excited to unpack my very first wholesale order, so I thought I’d let you guys in on it, too! I’ve used Napier’s products for years, and I love how committed they are to using natural ingredients in all their products. 🌿 Founded in Edinburgh in 1860 by botanist Duncan Napier, the company remains true to its roots in creating natural remedies, skincare, botanical beauty products and herbal food supplements in Scotland. Duncan’s dream was “to provide an affordable choice of natural healthcare for all people”, and to this day, they remain one of the UK’s leading names in complementary and natural healthcare. I’ll have a small selection of Napier’s products available to buy at our FESTIVE FAYRE and lots of warming winter tea for you to sample when you arrive! 😊 FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | MILTON OF CRATHES, BANCHORY #FESTIVEFAYRE #traditionalartisans #naturalproducts #countdowntochristmas #slowlivingscotland #slowliving #artisan #christmasmarket #chrismtasevent #miltonofcrathes #banchory #aberdeenshire #napiers #napiers1860 #herbalremedies #wholesale #unboxing #unpacking #wholesaleorder

📍 Milton of Crathes, Banchory, Aberdeenshire In less than 4 weeks, we’ll be back at the @miltonofcrathes for our FESTIVE FAYRE! This time, we’ll be cosy and snug in the old sawmill, nestled at the bottom corner of the complex, overlooking Coy Burn. Our festive market will be open all weekend from 10am to 4pm, but there are lots of other things to do in the area while you’re there. If you have the time, why not make a day of it and visit some of the other small businesses in the area: @hiddenscotlandshop @themiltonartgallery @miltonbrasserie @livi.loves_dress.agency @twinpeakesflyfishing whiteskyphotographics @culterperennials Santa trains will also be available at the old Milton railway station, just a minute’s walk from our market. We can’t wait to see you there! FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | MILTON OF CRATHES, BANCHORY #FESTIVEFAYRE #traditionalartisans #naturalproducts #countdowntochristmas #slowlivingscotland #slowliving #artisan #christmasmarket #chrismtasevent #scottishmakers #scottishartisans #miltonofcrathes #banchory #aberdeenshire

✨SAVE THE DATE | FESTIVE FAYRE ✨I am thrilled to announce that on Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of December, we will return with a brand new Christmas market…. A Festive Fayre! FESTIVE FAYRE | SAT 7TH & SUN 8TH DEC | 10-4PM | THE SAWMILL, MILTON OF CRATHES, ABERDEENSHIRE