Category: Exploring Second Life

My first introduction to the work of Hera (zee9 – then known as Kora) came getting on for a decade ago, when I first visited Venexia and Goatswood, two separate builds developed for role-play. At the time, both were popular spots for visitors, with Goatswood possibly the more popular by virtue of its more general setting.  However, both departed Second Life in 2015 and while Venexia has reappeared from time to time since then, I think I’m right in saying Goatswood has largely been absent the grid. At least until now.

As pointed out to me by Cube Republic, Goatswood is now back (for a time at least), sharing Hera’s region with an updated version of her Whitby build (which I wrote about in October 2021 (see Visiting Dracula’s Whitby in Second Life), which I hope to get to in the next few days; for now I want to focus on Goatswood.

Welcome to Goatswood

Well it is that time again when I get the call of the wild and must return to Goatswood 🙂 . It is a virtual Victorian Gothic novel [and] was always my favourite region of all the ones we created for RP 10 or so years ago. For me it had a real heart and soul that the others lacked; many people passed through it and made homes there. The role play was IMHO as good as it gets. This version is very different as there is no game set up, but I feel that for me this version is better in many ways I hope you like what you find.

Hera (zee9)

Set in the period 1860 – 1900, Hera describes the village as being somewhere in the Midlands of England – although I always felt it to be closer to the Cotswolds, something perhaps referenced in the fact that Hera modelled the basic design of Goatswood on Castle Combe, Wiltshire. It was developed specific for easy-going role-play set within that era, and while that may not be central to this current iteration, there is little doubt that Goatswood very much retains the heart and soul of the original.

As is common with Hera’s recent builds, Whitby and Goatwood share a common landing point, both being on the same region. However, for this iteration of the builds, the landing point has also undergone a change, now having about it a touch of Harry Potter, presented as it is as a railway station with two steam trains are drawn up to the platforms. The red train to the right (when looking at them) offers a journey to Whitby, while the green train calls at Goatswood. Just click on the carriage through the open door to be transferred to the required destination.

Those who recall the original Goatswood may well recognise elements of this version – the railway station, the Roebuck Coach House, the church – but these have some subtle difference within them. The Roebuck, for example, now has a grand carving of a stag above the main door, while the church no longer has a steeple atop its tower. These, together with other changes to the setting that allow this iteration of Goatswood to stand apart from its namesake as a quiet independent setting, rather than an mere copy.

One of the major attractions of the original Goatswood was the care with which it had been built; there was a real sense of place in the way the village and its surroundings had been put together. This is also present within the new iteration. Anyone familiar with the Cotswolds or, more broadly, the counties of Oxfordshire,  Worcestershire, or Warwickshire as a whole will realise the beauty of Hera’s build richly replicates the beauty of the countryside through those counties.

Exploring the region is something for which a good deal of time should be apportioned. While many of the houses may be shells, there is nevertheless a richness of detail awaiting discovery along the paths of the village and along the gardens. Those buildings – such as a Roebuck Coach House, the church and manor house, plus a couple of places outside of the village itself (which I’ll leave to you to find 😉 ) – do have interiors waiting discovery.

The setting also retains much of the mystery of the role-play that formed a part of it – including a couple of places I confess I don’t remember, which is not to say they weren’t present back in 2013/14, when I made my original visit. While these may not be present to encourage role-play this time around (Hera requests anyone wanting to more than explore and take photos contact her first), they nevertheless further help bring the overall mystique of the village to life once more.

Goatswood is the story I never got around to writing, about a place that never existed, where I would have loved to have lived. It is a world full of haunted places, Gothic folk tales and shadowy occult mysteries. It is set in a time when attitudes were just beginning to change due to advances in science and technology. And yet this advance caused a counter reaction in many, who tried to revive older folk traditions and beliefs in Magic.

In the countryside most people still carried on as they had done for hundreds of years. They still retained a strong belief in natural magic, folk tales and herbal remedies, and yet they had their feet planted firmly in the reality of a hard working life on the land. A really great example of this can be seen in the recent television miniseries “The Living and the dead”.

– Hera (zee9)

Now I am an acknowledged “Hera fan” and so am obviously naturally drawn to her work. However, if you have never seen one of her regions before, or if you have never had the opportunity to appreciate Goatswood, then I urge you to take the opportunity to do so now. It is one of the great classics of Second Life.

SLurl Details

• Goatswood / Whitby Landing Point (Cloud Lake, rated Adult)

It’s been some 18 months since I last dropped into Whimberly, the homestead region held by Staubi Reilig (Engelsstaub), so given the fact the last time I visited it was in the autumn of 2020 and we’re now in springtime, I thought I should hop back and have a wander once more.

Once again, the region sits within a ring of mountains and offers a mix of gentle lowlands and rugged low hills. To the north-east the lowlands hold a broad meadow, rich in yellow alirium, ringed by a dirt track. It sits as the widest point of the island, the rest of the landscape curled around a finger of water that reached inward to its centre.

Waterfalls tumble from some of the higher ground to the east into what may have once been a pool of water all on is own, but which has broken out to the south and north to meet waters that may have once been a deep inlet to the west, to leave the centre of the region as a slender ribbon of land reached by a pair of humpbacked bridges.

South and west, the landscape forms the more rugged parts of the setting, a path climbing away from the landing point and the field to run over the top of the waterfalls to pass a hilltop cabin before dipping down to a roll through a bowl of land to either reach a watery terrace below the cabin, or offer a route on south around the region, both paths watched over by deer.

Take the path on around the southern side of the land, and it will eventually bring you to another cabin sitting at the end of a tree-lined walk. But before getting to it, there is the option to take a right run and cross the waters via one of the dainty bridges and reach the middle island. Here people can enjoy tea on a deck extended out over the water or cuddle in the neighbouring rowing boat, or pass on a little further to where a more formal picnic can be enjoyed, together with time on the swings behind the blanket – just don’t upset the rabbits!

A second bridge allows people to cross back to the north-east finger of hills that border the field and landing point, offering a coastal walk to where the region’s “land office” is tucked away, complete with coffee on offer outside and a path back to the field and the landing point.

The cabin to the south-west is perhaps the most substantial building in the setting, being a mix of stone and wood. One of Cory Edo’s distinctive designs, it looks out to the west and a shingle-and-rock beach that has a small  bay of its own as the land runs northward once more between open waters and those flowing outwards from the middle of the region.

Both of the main cabins are cosily furnished for those looking for a temporary retreat and sit-down / cuddle, each with its own outdoor spaces – the watery terrace notes earlier and, for the southern cabin, a little coastal area below the house, complete with a pair of chairs for enjoying the view.

Those who continue north along the peninsula extending away from the southern cabin will find another place to sit out on a little boat moored next to a rickety pier and beyond it, through a cut between two rugged hills, a little hut set out for fishing (which a little chipmunk appears to be enjoying!) and a chance for some hearty stew or some eggs whilst appreciating the view back over the water to the slender middle island.

As ever, Whimberly is again rich in details awaiting discovery, with lots of opportunities for photography, all rounded-out by a super soundscape. It thus retains its reputation as once of SL’s ever-popular public regions in which to spend time.

SLurl Details

• Whimberly (rated: Moderate)

Where the soft breeze of the sea wind touches your face, where you smell the fruits of the trees. Where in the evening the flowers spread their smell, where life is simple and slow, and your glass of wine always filled.

– From Lemon Trees Mediterranean About Land

So reads the description for Lemon Trees Mediterranean, a Homestead region design by Lian (LiandavK) that I’ve hopped into a couple of times over the course of the last month or so, and have finally managed to sit down and write about.

As the name suggests, this a public setting with a lean towards the Mediterranean, although it is distinctly a place of two halves. Lemon Trees Mediterranean refers to what might be regarded as the main part of the setting, offering a high landing point amidst aged ruins on a plateau top, with a pair of villas sitting below it, reached by a long stairway that descends the finger of a hill pointing south.

The first of the villas sits bounded on two sides by water, one of which is actually a bay that cuts into the landscape. The villa, with bell frame raised to one end, has the look of a converted chapel about it; a long, single-floored building with what might have once been the priest’s room alongside. Now it forms a simple house, the courtyard outside given over to a place for music and dancing, the far end of which forms an open-roofed bar.

The second villa sits half way up the hill, tucked into two shoulder of rock, one of which forms the base of the landing point plateau. It is more suggestive of a private home (but one open to the public rather than an actual private residence), with a light snack set out on the table on the terrace, the house simply but comfortably furnished. Modest rows of vines are growing on the slopes below it, suggesting this is a working home, whoever occupies it taking the time to produce their own wine – so perhaps the bar at the second villa is their means of selling their produce to any visitors who drop by.

Both villas have views to the south and east, the latter looking out over the waters to where the sea has carved the rocks of a ribbon islands, and the view more directly sough looking over the bay to the southern end of the region.

This southern end of the region can be reached via a tree-shaded path that runs due south from the steps leading down from the landing point. It sits as a somewhat different location to the villas, being set out as a spa complete with its own landing point bounded on three sides by coastal waters. Most immediately facing the walk leading to it is the main swimming pool, its waters warm and inviting, wooden decking stretching out from one side around an aged tree to form a place set for music and barbecues.

Beyond the pool, and setting between it and the southern beach, sits the main spa building, complete with further decks on its beachward side. The building offers a mix of environments: the main section providing lounges, a bar and dance floor; the smaller section presents what appear to be private bedrooms / treatment rooms.

This is an interesting setting in that the spa area is signed in different places as “PG” and “Adult”, although the region itself is Moderate. As such, the signage may appear to run counter to Second Life maturity ratings, but it is intended to give fair warning that some of the furnishings to be found within the smaller section of the spa building and out on the south deck include Adult animations and poses. The spa also has its own group (free to join), but this doesn’t appear to be a requirement for access to any of the areas within it, or to the “Group Access” elements of one of the sets of teleport discs found throughout the setting.

There are also various activities available as the spa – the smaller of the two swimming pools has poses (including dives into the water), there is a sign that can be touched for swimming in the Linden water, a jet ski rezzer. All of which add to the spa setting. For those who want a little more privacy, the north-west corner of the island offers a secluded sing sitting over a rapidly flowing stream that drops away from the local waterfalls.

All of which makes for an engaging visit with some excellent opportunities for fun and photography.

 SLurl Details

Auto 1 is rated Moderate.

• Lemon Trees Mediterranean
• Lemon Trees Spa

 

Ars Vivendi has been a public destination since late January / Early February 2022, and a place I’ve dropped into on a number of occasions and explored with the intention of writing about, but never quite getting to. However, after receiving several suggestions that I pay it a visit (thanks to all who forwarded them!), I felt it about time I did put down some notes on the setting.

The work of Camila (Camila Runo), it is a part of her 80 Days series – builds focusing on various locations from around the world. In this case – as the name might suggest, this full region takes as its inspiration the countryside of Italy.

Stroll through the wide, yellow rapeseed fields and discover the splendours of the Tuscan countryside and beaches. Places that look like they were drawn by hand: a vineyard, a cypress alley, an old town inviting you to sit down and breathe the atmosphere!

– Ars Vivendi About Land description

This is very much a setting that speaks for itself, from the landing point within the walled courtyard of the farmhouse landing zone, up through the hilltop town and over the water to the neighbouring little island that has been topped by a villa.

The landing point farm sits on a northern headland to the west of the region, ribbons of beach sitting at the bottom of the sloping cliffs on either side. Reached via stone steps to the west and a set of wooden stairs mounted on tall wooden piles to the east, these beaches offer sandy walks under the Sun, shaded places to sit and, in the case of the eastern beach, a little pier from which a Culprit motor boat can be taken to that neighbouring island and its villa crown.

Meanwhile, reached by a country track running up to it from the farmhouse, the hilltop town spans the southern extent of the region, west to east. With its walls and towers, it has about the the sense of once having been fortified, and with it, a sense of age – one that possibly runs back as far as the days of the Roman Empire. At the western, down slope end of the town stands a great bathhouse, its waters clean and clear, its walls painted in frescos. But whether a place of antiquity that has been preserved, or a reproduction designed to lure tourists, is up to you to decide.

Above this, to the east, the little town rises in steps and sloping streets up to where the hill is crowned by the local church, sitting as it does on its own small headland, somewhat aloof and separated from the main town by a set of gates and single track reaching out to it from the town’s piazza.

The town is rich with a sense of life. Shops are open, the piazza is set with bleachers and a stage ready for an outdoor event, whilst locals shop and barter and tourists take photographs. To one side of the piazza sits The Four Seasons boutique hotel as it rubs shoulders with the houses below and looks across a broad slope of road running up to the piazza to where the local cinema stands, a pizzeria nestled beside it.

This is a location that is worth taking the time to explore as it has much to see, and care has been taken to presenting it as a living, breathing place. Similarly, the countryside to the north and the beaches to either side of it offer an escape to the country that many in towns large and small appreciate, and so then blend well with the hilltop town whilst also presenting the full richness of the Tuscan countryside from the beauty of its often rugged coast to the rich colours of its inland towns and farms.

Taken as a whole or in its various parts, Ars Vivendi is a beautiful and well-executed design and a deserving destination not to be missed while it lasts.

SLurl Details

• Ars Vivendi (Nausicaa, rated Moderate)

Following a poke from Shawn Shakespeare, I hopped back to Cathy Vathiany’s (zaziaa) ever-evolving region design Lost Dreams, which has had a further re-dress (and relocation), with a design that now exists in a region of two distinct halves, with several secrets awaiting discovery.

To the west, and with a north-south orientation, sits a very temperate-looking landscape which encompasses the landing point within a very rugged setting. This presents a pair of cliff-sides plateaux separated by a low meadow that is home to most of the local wildlife and spanned by a tall suspension bridge that picks its way over an inland body of water fed by falls dropping from a curtain of cliffs.

From the landing point sitting alongside a cobbled path, it is possible to walk path west and then north to where it runs down a slope to a set of steps to where a small waterfront town sits. This is a place of broad paved roads, a busy wharf and waterfront where artists of both the visual and performance kinds have found a home, and posters on the walls give the setting something of a French connection.

Following the cobbles south from the landing point quickly leads to the tall bridge and the southern plateau, a slightly wilder setting offering camping (or glamping, given the use of ultra-modern geodesic domes), with a hint of history with the presence of the ruins of a stone-built church. Winding across the plateau, the path runs down to a southern shoreline and a small island. Those wandering down to this should be aware that there is a rental cottage tucked into the south-west corner of the setting.

To the east, and again with a north-south orientation, the region takes on a completely tropical look. Separated from its temperate neighbour by a broad channel of water, this tropical environment can be reached via a broad bridge connecting the north-western town with a broad events space with café and fairground rides.

Beyond this, the sandy landscape points southwards – although again, be aware that the southern end of the beaches is again given over to a further pair of rental cabins – and these are not the only rentals here. Sitting off the east coast is an arc of tiki rentals, each on its own little sandy hump for those facing a holiday on the water.

Within these two environments, however is more to be found. Clues to this can be found in the form of a couple of teleport portals – one in the temperate one on the tropical – that are hard to miss, and more subtle teleport disc scattered around. Find the right one, and you may be transported under the waters to a sunken gardens, or another to find yourself in a skyborne multiple-room lounge that has – for those of a sensitive nature – a decidedly adult theme (although other adult, umm, pointers, can be found floating on the beachside waters of the intervening channel between the two halves of the region). While sitting over those waters is a cliff side house that – I believe – is open to the public, although access is somewhat restricted.

There are also multiple touches of detail that await photographers – not that the entire setting is in any way unphotogenic; but small details are often what bring a place to life; so these are worth looking out for. There are also curious dichotomies within the region. Take the town for example: it offers something of a European tone with a pub, outdoor café, the street performance, etc., – and then sitting on the streets is a pair of stagecoaches right out of the American west.

Compared to past versions of Lost Dreams – and Les Reves Perdus (“Dreams Lost”) before it – this iteration of Cathy’s vision is very different in tone, simply because of the way it offers that temperature / tropical split whereas past designs have tended towards just the one overall theme for their setting, be it Nordic, temperate, tropical or pastoral. However, it is clear Cathy has taken extraordinary care to make sure the two sides of the region work both as individual settings and as a united whole, with equal care being taken to keep the rentals sufficiently apart from the public spaces so as to minimise the risk of intrusion from public to private.

All of which makes for another engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• Lost Dreams (Creative Hearts, rated Adult)

Bo and Una Zano (BoZanoNL and UnaMayLi) are back with a new Homestead region offering which is an absolute joy – as one might expect from Bo, who is justifiably held in high regard for his Elvion region designs.

Having opened in March, RockMead offers a wonderfully delightful setting that contains within itself shades of Elvion whilst offering an entire unique environment; a group of islands rich with the sense of spring and summer; a place where horses roam and stags and deer keep an eye on things on land, whilst heron watch over the waters and birds give the air song.

This is a setting that could easily be wherever the mind cares to fancy, northern or southern hemisphere; although that said, the beaver present within the setting do perhaps suggest this is a place far more in the northern hemisphere than the southern. The islands making up the landscape sit as something of a nested family: one of the two larger isles sits cupped in the arms of the other, a small isle sitting as home to the landing point held gently between them.

The landing point sits tucked into the south-east of the region, leaving the rest of the land spread before the visitor ready to be explored. Little humpbacked bridges span the waters as they divide the the landscape, connecting the dusty trails that cut across the low-lying lands to offer routes for wandering feet. The only man-made exceptions to the stone bridges are a pair of wooden walkways that span the channel splitting the westernmost island from its brethren.

A long, slim finger of grassland topped by trees, this western isle is the most “private” it terms of its position sitting beyond the widest channel of water and partially hidden from the rest of the region by low hills. To its northern end sits a little sandy area – not a beach per se, but a place secluded enough to offer a little romantic setting at the water’s edge, reached by passing under a natural rocky arch.

At the southern end of this island, the beaver mentioned above are busily creating a dam – one perhaps sufficient enough to cause the waters to spread behind it and offer more of a protected place in which the local geese can swim.

A single homestead occupies the land, sitting on the large L-shaped island. It is a simple affair, partially ringed by dry stone walls, its rough-hewn frame and walls topped by a roof that has in turn been covered by turf to provide an extra layer of insulation, suggesting this is a place that can get cold in the winter months.

Sheep graze on the grass in front of the cottage, whilst from its overhanging front eaves it offers a view across the last of the islands, a place set out for horse grazing and marked by a single ruin; that of a former brick-built house that now sits at the edge of slowly-encroaching waters, the fence alongside it already partially submerged.

Pastoral in tone, RockMead is a place where the beauty runs large and small; from the overall design of the region through to the little birds waiting to be found here and there. Horses roam their field and take the occasional nap; geese swim the waters and pass overhead, whilst at least one familiar little character from the Elvion builds is watching over the landing point. It is a setting that is genuinely relaxing in look and feel, neatly rounded out by an engaging sound scape.

Another superb build from Bo and Una, and one that should be savoured by all, Those wishing to rez props for photography can join the local Group in order to do so – but please remember to clean up if you do.

SLurl Details

• RockMead (rated General)