Category: Exploring Second Life

Sable Hound Hollow presents a sanctuary for dreamers and a haven for lovers. Here the first whispers of Spring and the enchantment of the Hollow invite you to linger awhile and let your heart rest and your worries fade. Be it alone or with that special someone, allow the quiet beauty of this place remind you the magic of love is real.

– Sable Hound Hollow About Land

So reads a description for Sable Hound Hollow – Romantic Reverie, a setting designed by Honey Heart (H0neyHeart) as a public space for people to visit and enjoy, and forming a part of the wider Sable Hound Hollow region.

set as a pair of islands floating just over 500 metres in the sky, this is – as the description suggests – a romantic setting, one of considerable beauty and detail and offering much to appreciate and see. The Landing Point sits on the larger, western island, located on its highest level.

Here, within a large gazebo where visitors can join the local Group and – from now through until the end of February – join in a number of events centred on a celebration of Valentine’s Day. These include a hunt (group tag required), and the opportunity to obtain a daily gift when visiting from February 1st through 14th (again, Group membership required).

Placed within a circular garden area, this upper reach of the setting offer two paths for visitors to follow as they explore. One of leads to a ladder draped over the edge of the plateau to offer a way down to a shoulder of rock arcing around the garden plateau. This forms another garden space with its own gazebo nicely separated form the rest of the setting to give a greater sense of intimacy / privacy, with treats and hot drinks available under its roof, exotic plants scattered among its flowers together with statutes, while trees provide shade and birds watch over the comings and goings of visitors.

The second path goes by way of steps to a larger garden space. this offers seating in the form of a bench floating under a cloud and a balloon holding aloft a seat for singles and couples (beware of the drop when standing up!), together with another table of treats and a Greco-Roman style gazebo where the 14 gifts for Valentine’s can be found, displaying the dates and times they will become available to Group members.

Beyond this area, another ladder descends to the second half (so to speak) of the lower shoulder of rock, which again offers companionable seating in two locations (and an easily missed swing if you are not paying attention!), together with a bridge spanning the gap to the smaller of the two islands.

Here, the setting is again split into various levels. Just off to the left on crossing the bridge, the island offers a curve of grass richly coloured by wildflowers, as it arcs its way to where water forms a curtain and pool as it drops from a rocky archway. As it does so, the path passes a table set for a tea party, although no individuals in hats or mice or caterpillars are in evidence –  just a pair of friendly rabbits :). Just before the waterfall and pool, a hint of magic is provided in the form of a bird perched on an upright post. Magical because if you wait just a few minutes, the bird will change its form and song.

The waters of the fall drop from the rocks forming the upper tier of this island, reached easily enough by a set of stairs. Here visitors can take a pony ride and receive a gift of said pony at the end. A trail winds around the plateau, passing all the points of interest, including statues, a pair of swings to ride, together with the opportunity for a picnic under the boughs of twisted trees and in the company of white peacocks. This trail ends in steps running down to another path and gazebo set at one end of another sweeping curve of garden.

A third ladder has been cast down from the north-eastern side of this upper space to offer a way down to perhaps the most secluded part of the gardens. This is where water drops down from the pool mentioned above to join with the flow of additional waterfalls as they combine into a large pool before tumbling over the edge of the island to fall away into the clouds below. Marked again by a colourful array of flowers and trees,  this area offers seating within another gazebo and a further swing suitable for solo sits.

All of the above barely scratches the surface of all there is to be found here; Honey’s attention to detail means that everywhere are touches and details. These run from the mix of flower and plants – most conventional, some carrying a sci-fi or fantasy twist; the local wildlife, some of which might be easily missed (like the weasel peeping out of a hollow log); the floating lanterns, and more.

Both romantic and serene, the island of Sable Hound Hollow make for a relaxing and visually engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• Sable Hound Hollow – Romantic Reverie (Sable Hound Hollow, rated Moderate)

Sitting on the mouth of Galway Bay on the west coast of Ireland, are the three Oileáin Árann, the Islands of Aran. Comprising three core isles –  Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer, together with a number of small islets, the Arans are not a large grouping; the three main isles provide just 46 square kilometres of land mass between them. However, they carry a history of human habitation going back to around 1100 BC.

Between them, the islands have seen their fair share of history, including Cromwell’s forces stomping around the islands and building multiple churches (among other things), and in being folded into the Nine Years War (1688-1697), with Irish-born privateer Thomas Vaughan, working for the French, seized the islands for a brief period after a series on initial raids on the settlements there.

Of the three islands, Inis Oírr – to give Innisheer its Irish name – is the southerly. Covering just 1,448 acres, it is actually the island with the second highest population count for the Arans (343 as of 2022). Its small size makes it an ideal inspiration for a region build in Second Life – and that is exactly what Jade Koltai has done in order to create her latest region design at Overland Hills, and which she calls, appropriately enough, Inis Oírr.

Of course, even trying to capture 1,448 acres in a single region is no easy task, so Jade has once again sought to capture the spirit of Innisheer, focusing on offering representations of the island’s more notable landmarks and locations. And in my opinion, she more than succeeds. The design captures much of its namesake whilst offering a unique setting in its own right.

Chief among the latter are the Innisheer Lighthouse, completed in 1857 and located on the southern tip of the island; Teampall Chaomháin, the ruins of a church dedicated to the island’s patron saint, Chaomháin of Innisheer, and a representation of the MV Plassy. Despite being the “most celebrated of all the saints of the Aran islands”, little is actually known about Chaomháin, but the church dedicated to him lies within the cemetery on Innisheer, and which today looks more like an excavation than a church , something Jade has neatly reproduced.

The MV Plassy is very much a part of the island’s more recent history. Originally built as an armed anti-submarine trawler for the Royal Navy, the vessel was originally names Juliet (as in Romeo and Juliet, the ship and her sister vessels all being named for Shakespearian characters).

The ship saw service in World War Two, prior to being sold-off and renamed the Peterjon prior to again being renamed Plassy in 1951, and working as a coastal freighter. In 1960, a storm drove the ship onto Finnis Rock off the coast of the island, with the entire crew rescued by the islanders. A second storm then beached the wreck up on the rocky shore of Innisheer, where it remains to this day (perhaps gaining wider fame via a certain British-Irish sitcom of the mid-to-late 1990s).

Jade’s build wisely steers away from trying to present the island’s local community (although the Landing Point does take the form of a harbour wharf), instead concentrating on the above and other historical details, such as what might be seen as the ruin of one of the churches built by Cromwell – or perhaps a reference to O’Brien’s Castle, built in the 1300s.

There are also dry stone walls snaking across the rugged landscape, just as can be found across Innisheer, whilst a part of the landscaping of the coast might be taken as referencing the island’s limestone pavement. Even the island’s connection to Ireland gets a mention: at the landing point is a sign for the Doolin Ferry, which connects the Aran Islands with the settlement of Doolin, County Clare, to the south-east of the group – and indeed, a ferry is docked at the wharf.

The offshore region surround elements might be a little too mountain-like in places to represent the Galway / Clare coastline or Innismaan (Inis Meáin), the second largest of the three main islands, but this hardly matters; the presence of the elements help to give Jade’s Inis Oírr a further sense of place.

When visiting, do have local sounds enabled for a more immersive feel, and do note also that the shared environment is a little on the gloomy side (well, it is winter and this is the Irish Sea, and nature is hardly sunny a gay this time of year!).

It is because of this, I opted to make some adjustments to lighting when taken my photographs, and then overly this with shots using the actual EEP settings for the region as a part of post-processing. Hopefully, this helps bring out some of the details more clearly.

Slurl Details

• Inis Oírr (Overland Hills, rated Moderate)

Landscaping creator and friend Cube Republic pointed me in the direction of Whithermere, a Homestead region designed by Dargason L’Ardente (rlhaydenfield) as both her home and a public space. Incorporating multiple settings within it, the region also forms a showcase for Dargason’s own landscaping skills.

Whithermere’s Dryad Sanctuary, and the home of Dargason L’Ardente, Dryad of Sedany Wood.  Enjoy the myriad winding paths through dappled wood & glade, uphill & over stream. The sharp of eye may spot some of the lovely dryads hidden throughout the woods.

– Whithermere  About Land description

No Landing Point is set within the region, so the SLurl I’m giving here is quite arbitrary on my part. It will deliver you to a stone gazebo on the southern side of the region, sitting on a rocky shoulder of tall hills rising behind it, and overlooking the setting’s lake.

I selected the gazebo as it offers both a view across the setting to its northward extent, and the distinctive curl of land there almost forming an island in its own right rising from the waters on either side; and because it offers multiple routes of exploration.

For example, step out of the gazebo and follow the grassy trail downhill to the left, and there is a choice of stepping down to a little wharf at the lake’s edge or following the trail along the step bank of the lake about 5 metres above the water, as it leads the way eastwards to where another path passes by way of a little bridge into Sedany Woods, passing by way of hither moors.

Alongside of the trail leading down to the lake, a paved path also sets out from the gazebo, rising and turning gently to also follow the curve of the lake below. A stone dragon – one of many sculptures in stone or wood to be found throughout the region – marks a branch of the path, where steps climb up to a cliff-edge walk leading to what I’ll call dragon’s hill (if reasons which are pretty self-explanatory!).

Passing this, the paved footpath passes into the misty peace of Thither Wood, where visitors might dance around a fire to the woodland’s sounds and under the eyes of silent sentinels in a shaded clearing where plants glow with bioluminescence. Beyond the glade, the path continues on, turning towards the north and dropping down to become the route to the little bridge crossing to Sedany Woods, passing the grassy trail as it does so. Or, for those turning right as the path clears the trees of Thither Wood, it drops down to the region’s southern coast.

Head west from the gazebo, and another cliff-edge trail runs below the shoulder of “dragon’s hill”, passing steps cut into the rock to lead up to its promontory before dropping sharply down to a rock slab as it offers passage over a narrow channel to the sands at the edge of Mistwold, the island-like formation on the region’s north side.

Here there are multiple paths of exploration up and around this rocky swirl as it exudes a sense of ancient history and mystery, crowned as it is by standing stones and tall pines. Goats graze here, watched over by eagles overhead whilst water tumbles by way of falls and channel to reach the lake.

Two paths from Mistwold point the way east to where Sedany Woods may once again be reached, and explorations can thus continue, completely circling the region.

To call this region peaceful and mystical would e an understatement; the entire setting mix natural beauty with a sense of mystery and fable, that latter helped in part by the presence of dragons and the glowing plants and growths.

At the same time there is a the undeniable feel of magic and ancient (I will not say “pagan”, as that does not do justice to the depth of the feeling that might be evoked here) mystery. So much so, that in wandering the land and passing through the mist and trees, I would not have been surprised had I encountered the likes of Herne the Hunter. Indeed, and while the show itself dramatically relocated Herne’s place of residence, I did find myself listening to Clannad’s Legend, the soundtrack for the very excellent TV series Robin of Sherwood and its reimagining of the legend of Robin Hood.

With dryads to be found throughout and plenty of opportunities for appreciating the beauty of the region and for photography, Whithermere is well worth visiting, and my thanks to Cube for recommending it to me.

SLurl Details

Whithermere (rated Moderate)

With the start of a new year, I thought I’d take a trip to one of my favourite SL settings: Reality Escape, the Full private region held by Tripty (triptychlysl).

It’s a place I’ve appreciated over the years both for the way each iteration presents something new to appreciate whilst each carries forward motifs from Tripty’s original Books, Coffee and Chairs, Oh My! which I’d visited in 2023. I’ve been back some four times since then, and Reality Escape have never failed to feel like a safe and welcoming retreat.

For this iteration, the Landing Point sits in the south-western corner of the setting’s main island, where Tripty’s familiar greetings are etched into the boards of the Landing Point decking and can be seen on the sign facing the deck. The latter is a greeting I always find raises a smile – You Are About to Enter Someone Else’s Dream -, and which is joined by another: Blame it on My Gipsy Soul, a sentiment I can fully appreciate for the wanderlust it evokes.

From here, three routes of exploration present themselves to new arrivals. Two take the form of raised wooden walkways and the third a hop over a very narrow channel to a flat, grassy island, home to a bench “borrowed” from a waiting room. The first of the two walkways runs along the southern shore of the the island to the Reality Escape Coffee Shop, whilst the second winds northwards and turns a little inland to arrive at the Reality Escape reading nook.

The Coffee Shop is an open-air affair marked by Tripty’s familiar chair sculptures, the place made cosy by the ivy-hung trelliswork extending out from the cliff and ancient wall adjoining it at a right angle.

Another walkway here offers a route to the shingles close to the island’s edge and offering a further route onwards, watched over by the island’s Siamese ruler, sitting in his rather novel throne. Beyond the shingle, under an archway of chairs, the walkway continues up the island’s east coast. As it does so, it passes a summer house of unusual design offering a place of retreat.

For those who prefer to stay on the shingle path, this points the way – with the aid of stepping stones – to the crooked finger of another island as it points south and east, wooden decking running over the grass and around a firepit, offering another place for friends to gather.

The walk to the island’s bookshop also offers a way to a raised deck built out over the water, and guarded to one side by a further trellis line of Ivy, whilst below it sits something of a damp orchard. Up the hill, the reading nook is really more of an old tram repurposed as a place to enjoy books, perhaps in the Lewis Carroll-esque garden sitting behind the tram.

Beyond this, the walkway loops around westward to link-up with the route running on from the summer house. As it does so, steps lead down to a grass trail, a little muddy and wet in places, running out to north-pointing, low-lying headland. beyond an arch formed by an aged tree trunk, the path is bordered by candle-lit snowdrops as they form a candle-lit fairy spiral. Beyond these, another raised deck awaits, two pontoon rafts tethered to it. The latter perhaps invite people to take a dip in the water as they are watched over by a rather large goldfish enjoying the shade of a bunta tree which adds its own little sci-fi twist to the setting.

Tripty’s Reality Escape designs always presents setting rich in detail, and this version is no exception. There is much to be found and appreciated throughout – more than I’ve covered here (such as a little island hithertofore unmentioned in this piece and the various animals and wildfowl waiting to be found).

When exploring, I would recommend sticking with the region’s shared environment – although, as again is the case with Tripty’s work, the region does work very well with many other environment settings. Also, do make sure you have local sounds enabled for the fullest experience.

SLurl Details

• Reality Escape, rated Moderate

It has been a fair while since my last visit to Luane’s World, the estate held and operated by LuaneMeo and her publicly-accessible Full region, Le Monde Perdu (The Lost World). It was summertime 2024 when I made that last visit, so with winter now dominating Second Life, a return for a Christmas-time blog post seemed to be in order.

The lake that often forms a part of the region remains with the latest iteration, but is now frozen, offering a place to go skating. Cabins sit to either side of the lake, with the Landing Point on a third side.

Taking the form of a winter market where hot drinks and more might be found, the Landing Point sits under an awning of lights. A small deck offers skates for those who wish to head out onto the ice. For those who prefer their skating on a smaller scale, a wooden gazebo sits to one end of the little market with an ice rink under its awnings. It is located alongside a large Ferris wheel waiting to give visitors a ride.

At the opposite end of the market area, a covered bridge allows explorers to continue onwards around the lake-edge trail. This leads past steps climbing to one of two chapels in the setting, this one ready for services and guarded by a cat.

Beyond the chapel, the trail winds past one of the two cabins mentioned above, turning away from the lake as it does so before branching. One part of the trail then climbs the setting’s uplands via log steps set into a relatively gentle slope, while the other offers the way to the bridge connecting the region with the rest of the estate, a shrine-like folly looking out over the water close by for those who seek it.

The path along the uplands runs around to the north, passing cabins among the trees there, including the one directly overlooking the lake, and which has a stairway leading down to a deck close to the water’s edge. None of the cabins are private, allowing them to present visitors with places to rest and enjoy company.

Continuing westwards, the path ends abruptly at a sheer cliff, the land dropping to a gorge-like valley through which water would normally flow between the lake and the open sea, but now sits frozen. A tall bridge spans the valley to reach the far side, where a snowy path curls up to the setting’s second chapel.

However, this is not a place of worship; it has been converted into a place where beverages of an alcoholic nature might be imbibed and pool played. These probably explain why Santa is circling overhead in his sleigh (and presumably awaiting clearance to land) – after a busy night zipping around the world delivering presents, the old chap justifiably deserves a drink or two! As well as being reached on foot by the path just described, the chapel bar is also connected to the lowlands by a ski lift as it shuffles back and forth between the bar and a spot close to the Ferris wheel.

Another path, this one marked marked by footprints and a sign pointing to the North Pole, runs west from the bottom of the ski lift and out to the icy edge of the region (say “hi!” to the little Santas having some fun along the way).

The ice floes are home to dogs having snowball fights or sleeping in igloos. Further around the ice and cliffs, that familiar SL anachronism of polar bears and penguins mixing together can be found; in this case the penguins are having fun with their versions of skating and sledding while the polar bears appear mostly interested in having fun with Christmas lights.

Throughout the setting are multiple places to sit and pass the time, watch the skaters on the lake or observe the local wildlife, while the familiar hot air balloon sits overhead awaiting anyone wishing to pose in it. Walks can be had around much of edge of the setting and there are touches of detail waiting to be found – such as the little Santa figures I’ve mentioned.

And of course, the entire region is highly photogenic, so have fun exploring!