A horse-drawn circus is certainly a romantic way to move about the country. We believe this lifestyle carries greater significance than nostalgic charm. Horses require little more than grass, water and room to run. Much more sustainable than motorised transport that relies on air-polluting fossil fuels, factory machined parts, and global distribution networks.

A horse drawn circus can’t get far without horses. We realized from the beginning that an experienced horse person was essential. A lot of unexpected things can happen on the road. A horse can throw a shoe, get spooked or become ill. The required skills appeared in the person of Raina Jones. Raina has worked on horse-logging crews and pulled a canal barge. She’s been riding, grooming and training horses all her life. We take the safety of the horses very seriously and Elsewhere’s horses are in good hands.

Slower travel allows for a deeper connection with the land you are crossing. Trees are intoxicatingly wonderful at 3 miles an hour - harder to appreciate at 60. As more people take pleasure in nature, the greater the likelihood that Scotland’s natural beauty will grow.

While we embrace the marvels a high-tech society – people around the world can follow Elsewhere through social media – we also believe these modern times can learn a lot from traditional lifestyles.

In an age of digital entertainment, live performance and real interaction with living things are especially important to a healthy culture. Quality human experiences filled with creative expression, positive community, shared laughter, music, and celebration, are all possible – and often more genuine – without depending on sophisticated technologies. 

The Travellers of Elsewhere are most at home in the wild greenwood. We would love to see Scotland’s forests spread from coast to coast. To help this along, we will be planting trees throughout the tour. 

Please check out the £15 Plant a Tree perk. We have teamed up with Woodland Trust Scotland and for every £15 you donate, £5 will go directly to the Trust as their buy a tree incentive. Additionally, we have found a piece of land near the Pentland Hills wanting the cultivation of a new forest. We will match each of the Trust trees with another planted on this site. Let’s plant at least 1000 trees, or even 10,000.

Making new friends is one of the great joys of travel. Elsewhere has partnered with the Scottish Community Drama Association to help us include as many people in our project as possible.  We are offering a free in-depth workshop session with the directors and cast to anyone interested in creating their own Elsewhere persona and taking part in a live performance.  If you would like to work with a professional performance company on a highly unique production, please get in touch.

This is an awesome challenge and we relish the opportunity to make something really unique and inspiring.

Sit spell bound under a leafy canopy as a storyteller calls to life tales from myth and legend. Woodland sprites spring from the trees with impressive aerial artistry. Jugglers dazzles with feats of dexterous manipulation beyond comprehension. Dance to the lively tunes of Elvish musicians. This is a day you will remember and talk about forever.

This is our fantastically handsome, custom made carriage. She was built by Dan Brown of Labryrinth, New Castle. You’ll agree he did a remarkable job. Indeed, her like has never been seen before. But two more wagons are needed to carry all the tents, costumes, props, cooking gear, food, feed, and tools of touring circus.

Of course the biggest wildcard when performing outdoors in Scotland is the weather. We don’t mind walking through windy rain, (Well, we don’t mind that much.) But our audiences have to be cozy and dry. 

Consultations with a certified rigger have lead to an approved workable design for a canopy that hangs from the trees and is adaptable to different locations. Most importantly, visitors to Elsewhere will enjoy a comfortable experience whatever the weather. 

Due to the structure of crowd funding platforms such as Indiegogo, 25% of the funding target will go directly into producing this campaign. The 75% majority of the money will then be used to make this project happen. This is how we spend it.