Welcome to a ‘Thin’ Place…

“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”

Francis of Assisi

Entering The Bield, we first encounter tall and ancient trees, sentinels to what lies within and beyond. Their size and age anchor us in something deeper—an encounter with timelessness, where the outside world of today begins to dissolve away.

Many of our guests speak of the sigh they experience as they turn into the drive: how their shoulders soften, their breathing slows and their minds begin to rest as they release the cares of the day.

For many of us, it is a homecoming—a place where we are seen, heard and held in unconditional acceptance by the people of The Bield. Here, food is lovingly grown, prepared and served, nourishing our bodies. The gardens welcome us in every season, offering a different face of nature, with changing sights, colours, sounds and scents filling our senses.

Coming to The Bield is the fulfilment of a deep inner calling to stillness, inherent in being human. It offers necessary nourishment for our souls: a place where the Divine is palpably present, where we can rest in God and renew our spirits.

Here, our hearts and minds tune out the cacophony of daily life and surrender to a gentler pace.

When we are still, we enter a new world. We watch clouds drift by, creating pictures in the sky, and hear birdsong beyond the dawn chorus, allowing God’s symphony to enchant us.

When we are still and open to nature, animals welcome us into their world, emerging closer than we realised they were. A deer grazes nearby—gentle, graceful and trusting—while the air feels clearer and softer, perfumed with hints of grass, morning dew and blossom.

These moments of deep awareness in nature are timeless.

As our souls absorb the richness of spiritual nourishment, our edges blur and we become one with the natural world.

When we join nature at dawn, in the early morning or late evening, we enter a liminal time. As many guests have said, “The Bield is a ‘thin’ place”—a place where the veil between earth and heaven feels especially close. The Bield is such a place.

“St Francis of Assisi was hoeing his garden when someone asked what he would do if he were suddenly to learn that he would die before sunset that very day. ‘I would finish hoeing my garden,’ he replied.”