About Barry & Theresa Dunford

Barry on the Holy Isle of Iona

Until coming to live in Scotland in 1990 my home base had been in Buckinghamshire, England. I first came to Scotland in 1972 and was immediately attracted to its spiritual and mystical aura. Between 1972 and 1990 I visited Scotland most years, during which I found a spiritual affinity with certain kindred spirits as well as with the land itself. Since around 1970 I have been consciously following a spiritual path and indeed the quest for spiritual truth has always been my guiding star.

For the past twelve years I have been engaged in researching aspects of the early Celtic history of Scotland and the greater British Isles with particular reference to the founding of an Apostolic Church of Christ in ancient Britain. This led to my writing an initial thesis, in 1996, entitled The Holy Land of Scotland: A lost chapter in the Gospel of the Grail Tradition, and in 2002 I published a revised and largely expanded edition with a new sub-title: The Holy Land of Scotland: Jesus in Scotland and the Gospel of the Grail. Since 1997 I have been giving illustrated talks on my historical research, together with guided tours around a number of sacred sites in Highland Perthshire, Scotland.

Theresa on the Holy Isle of Iona

I was born in Essex, England and moved to London in the late 70's, working as a secretary, until 1990 when I came to Scotland. For the past 30 years I have been interested in various spiritual teachings. I am a student of the Light and Sound teachings. Coming into an awareness of myself as Soul, a spark of God, or whatever term one wishes to use for the Creator of which everything is a part, is important to me and I will spend some time reading and then reflecting on ideas and beliefs as well as doing spiritual practices that facilitate a conscious awakening and an awareness of what is real. I like to read as widely as possible on a variety of subjects, including autobiograpies, holistic health care, worldwide events etc.

I am also a Shiatsu practitioner and have a particular interest in oriental medicine. Along with this I also maintain this website, together with input from Barry, and carry out most of the administration for Sacred Connections.

Whilst a secretary in London I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Africa and the USA. When I resigned from my last permanent secretarial job in 1988 I joined a group tour to Ladakh (near Tibet) after which I spent three weeks in India.

Background pertaining to us both:

When we first came to live in Scotland in 1990 we created The Strathtay Bookshop in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, which we operated for three and a half years. Within the book stock we had a mind/body/spirit section as a primary focus which helped us to connect with all types of spiritually orientated people. We subsequently established a mail order book business, Brigadoon Books, specialising in publications of a metaphysical nature and various aspects of alternative healing. Concurrent with this we also organised a number of alternative health exhibitions throughout Scotland which provided us with much useful experience and many further interesting and helpful contacts, providing us with a network of spiritually aware people both within and without Scotland.

For several years we have organised a number of seminar/workshops in Fortingall, Perthshire. This is an area of much historical significance, which geographically is situated at the very heart of Scotland. After living in spectacular Glen Lyon, the longest glen in Scotland, for five and a half years, we subsequently moved near to Aberfeldy, Perthshire in central Scotland.