Category: Reviews

Winchester Harbor is a magnificent Full region design by Lilly Blackwood with the support of her SL and RL partner William Winchester, who performs the role the region’s Harbour Master. I was fortunate to come across it recently after poking the Destination Guide, and the description there immediately piqued my curiosity.

Winchester Harbour is a mysterious abandoned fishing outpost in the North Atlantic Sea, suspended in time, and cloaked in eternal Autumn. It’s home to lush forests, waterfalls, a river, grass fields, and several haunted places. Enjoy a brew at the Harbour Bar, or sit atop the lighthouse and enjoy the views! There is much to see for those who love to explore.

– Winchester Harbor’s Destination Guide entry

I say “magnificent” as Winchester Harbor is a genuine feast for the eyes and camera; the care and love with which it has been put together has to be witnessed first-hand to be fully appreciated. The landscape is marvellous, the detailing both indoors and out sublime, and the blending of elements exquisite, all neatly wrapped within a sense of mystery edged with the occult and presented in (at the time of my visit at least – I’ve honestly no idea if it changes with the seasons) the perfect autumnal feel.

While the Destination Guide description indicates the setting is “in” the North Atlantic, suggesting a group of islands (something perhaps supported by the lack of region surround), to me the Winchester Harbor evoked thoughts of a coastal location, perhaps along the New England coast of the United States – and not because of any thoughts of Winchester, New Hampshire – or across the border in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. Of  course, it could be anywhere, either side of the Atlantic, but it was thought of New England that tickled my imagination at times when I was wandering around and taking-in all that the setting has to offer.

The bulk of the region forms an extensive land mass richly wooded throughout, with four smaller islands bracketing it from three corners (one with a further little island tucked away out-of-sight behind it, and counted separately for reasons I’ll come to in a moment). In fact, given the stream running through the main landmass from from south-west to north-east, connects to open waters at either end, effectively splitting the north-west side of the land (albeit narrowly) from the rest, some might consider this an additional island in is own right.

The landing point sits on a pier jutting out into the waters to the south of the land and within a bay overlooked by two of the smaller islands. It is on one of these islands that the first hints of mystery might be found by those camming. An old church and graveyard are perched on the island’s shoulder, aged and blackened and with a fire burning within the abandoned church. The trees here add their own brooding presence with their darkened trunks as skulls stare at visitors, a cauldron bubbles and strange child-like figures dance spookily among the tombstones.

Also overlooking the landing point from a vantage point on a rocky island is one of the region’s lighthouses. This is open to the public – although to reach it you’ll need a boat, so keep an eye open for the rezzers (not that they are hard to find 🙂 ), and is nicely decorated for the onset of autumn and the coming of Halloween – the latter just adding a touch to the mysterious / ghostly goings-on hereabouts. It is behind this island that the little hideaway island I mentioned earlier might be found, neatly out of sight from the rest of the setting – and with good reason: it is a private home, so if you do pottle across to the lighthouse by boat, please keep that in mind and don’t be tempted to go and have a pike in person.

On the landward side of the landing point the path is marked by a signpost indicating the major points of interest to visit. Chief among these is the harbour itself, located on the east side of the region and watched over by the second the the setting’s lighthouses. The piers along the waterfront offer a variety of places to sit and pass the time – although the apparent imminent arrival of a kraken might give some pause for thought before hanging around! 🙂 .

It is from one of these piers that boats can be rezzed for pootling around on the water. However, they are not the only options for locomotion outside of pure shank’s pony; the harbour bar pier offers both bicycles and Segways for rezzing / riding. A further touch of the occult can also be found here in the form of the fortune teller’s shack, whilst the apothecary adds its air to the place by being the largest building on the harbour front.

Beyond the harbour, the path following the waterfront on to reach the bridge giving  access to the two north-eastern islands (one of which is home to the lighthouse mentioned above, reached by way of the chapel-like witch’s cottage occupying the other little island in the pair. Beyond this, the path curves to to one of my favourite parts of the region – the old ruins.

Making excellent use of the Ruined Walls kits from Marcthur Gossoon (which I’ve used myself on my island home, together with his superb No Cottage Bizar build). Here, Lily has used the kit elements to create a lovely little ruined retreat that is utterly welcoming and cosy, and a sheer delight to spend time within.

And still there is more to explore – be it the little swamp with its slightly run-down cabin or Mystery Mansion atop the north-western hills with its well-appointed décor and ghostly hostess on the veranda. There’s also the local camp sites and the gazebo hidden in the woods, and the high waterfalls. Paths are clear and easy to follow, with lanterns thoughtfully placed to alert travellers at night as to where routes divide.

Rounded-out with places to dance for those of a romantic disposition, a fitting soundscape and ideal EEP setting, Winchester Harbor makes for an engaging, enjoyable visit.

SLurl Details

• Winchester Harbor (rated Moderate)

Following the lead of Susann DeCuir, I dropped into Xanadu, a quarter Full region held and designed by Xan Dark (Xan Darkheart) and presenting a (primarily, but not exclusively) Sino-Japanese fusion of ideas wrapped within an Adult-rated environment in which adult / sexual activities are allowed; as such, I’ll say up front that the setting may not appeal to everyone in terms of its function, but it is nevertheless visually engaging and photogenic – and during the time of my visit, it was quiet and friendly.

The landing point sits within a Zen garden located more-or-less in the middle of the setting and to which it might said – that in the manner of ancient Rome – all roads (or in this case, paths) lead; or at least depart, given it is the landing point. Watched over by a Zen master, the garden offers visitors a choice of routes to take.

To the north, the path crosses a zig-zagging walkway of modern design as it passes over an oval body of water served by waterfalls, to reach a coastal pavilion; south to where a stone bridge guarded by a Torii gate and a pair of Kirin crosses another body of water before the path climbs up to a temple in which Buddha listens to the prayers and chants of monks; west to pass a bamboo garden with it bed-enclosing tea house and onwards to where a Tibetan structure sits as a bathhouse come personal retreat.

Off to the east, the path skirts the waters crossed by the stone bridge to where a hollowed tree trunk provides the way up to another little house for adult pastimes, and then on to where a sauna hides amidst an enchanted wood before reaching ruins that would not look out of place in Medieval Europe.

And that’s just the start of things. There are in fact two pavilions looing out over the waters to the north and west of the region and the off-region mountains guarding the waters. Both provide a view across the turquoise waters to where a giant octopus ravages the wreck of a sailing ship. Or, if you turn to the right on crossing the zig-zag bridge, the trail will lead you to a wooden bridge as it reaches out to a boat-like island in the middle of the lake. Here, slung below the bough of a Sakura tree is a swing, with other places to sit and cuddle along the bank of the lake nearby. Whilst sitting at any of these, you might get a sense of being watched. If so, look up at the waterfalls that feed the lake here and you might find the reason 🙂  – and another place to have a little fun.

Then there is the lake between the landing point and the temple. Not only is it home to Koi carp and swans and herons and more, it is home to a floating deck reached by crossing a stone dragon bridge. And still this is only scratching the surface of all that might be found within Xanadu. There are dozen of little touches to be found, from the little playground for pandas to the more obvious table-top games – and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of a ninja-like figure clearly up to nefarious mischief. There’s also the hidden theatre awaiting discovery and the hot tub deck, both of which add their own modern twists to  what might otherwise be a ageless setting.

Nor – outside of the Kirin – had I mentioned the fantasy touches apparent throughout. Fairies await visitors wander the paths, a goblin keeps watch, whilst a wall of giant basalt columns separate the setting from the neighbouring parcels like a rocky version of G.R.R. Martin’s Wall separating Westeros from the North. Not – I hasten to add, having recently been chastised for offering personal impressions in describing another region, that this setting in anyway contains anything to do with Martin’s mythology; it’s simply what comes to mind when exploring.

As might be gathered from all of the above, Xanadu packs a lot into a quarter region – and quite beautifully so; the flora is rich and verdant, the paths set out in such a way as to give the impression one is wandering a location far larger than its 14,368 sq metres. Thus, throughout all of it there is never a sense of being overcrowded, just of being in another land where inspiration come from many sources, those from Asia reaching beyond Japan and China, and the fantasy elements offering a nice twist.

Yes, sexual activities, D/s and BDSM do form part and parcel of the overall setting, so discretion is advised for those not into these particular activities as noted; but also as noted, I didn’t encounter anything off-putting during my visit and found a delight in the overall design and my explorations.

Kudos to Xan for such a richly diverse and detailed location, and my thanks to Susann for the pointer!

SLurl Details

• Xanadu (Angel Bay, rated Adult)