From Cafe to Clinic - We're Making Some Changes

When I moved up to Harris almost 6 years ago I had a plan to simplify my life a bit, find some peace in a really unspoilt landscape and give myself the opportunity to delve far deeper into my plant based practice. I wanted to create a little joyful beacon in a remote wilderness and make products that were both environmentally sustainable and incredibly effective.

 Having found a wreck of a house with a large croft in the most beautiful spot in Harris I thought everything was aligned. The initial curve ball was that the house came with a much loved café, housed in a stunning building. It had been set up by the previous owners who worked incredibly hard delivering cakes, lunches and dinners from a minute kitchen. Initially I thought we should continue as they had but with fewer dinners and a smaller menu and so I employed Ianthe to cook and her friends to work alongside her. Little did I know that the café would end up taking so much of my time to manage and that Covid was just around the corner.

 We managed to keep the café running, changing to a bakery during the Covid period to keep a little money flowing in and our staff employed (on the plus side I learned to make fantastic croissants). Then we reverted to a café once we could get underway again properly. Meantime I bought a big ex industrial building in Leverburgh to house the Apothecary and erected a 24m x 8m greenhouse on the croft for our plants. I also invested in a 12kg Probat coffee roaster to roast speciality coffee beans for the café and other discerning local businesses.

 In the last few years, alongside the café, I’ve developed Wild Eve our non-alc mood boosting spirit and launched the Harris Edition of A.S Apothecary, I’ve made teas for health and tinctures to quietly but effectively support mental and physical wellbeing. We’ve also really cracked growing in the Hebrides which is no mean feat given the conditions here. It has been a roller coaster of a ride.

 By the end of 2024 I wanted to put in place the final bit of the puzzle – I’m contacted constantly by women who need support, generally through the peri-menopause and the menopause and also in the years that follow. I regularly tinker with products to personalise them adding in remedies and essences to sort out health issues. It has felt really good to be able to offer that kind of individualised support.

 When I lived in Sussex I had a busy Practice offering homeopathic treatments alongside herbal support, it was great to work closely with clients and see them flourish. When I moved to Cyprus I continued my practice offering support for clients from a space in Nicosia. In Harris there haven’t been enough hours in the day to offer this service.

 So now finally, the time is right, I’m closing the café and turning the building into a space where I can re-open my Practice and start to see people again. There is a desperate need in the Western Isles for good care, especially for women who are going through hormonal changes and unsure what their options are. In addition I want to offer a treatment room where Caroline can offer targeted facials and massage to support health. We plan to open in Spring 2026 and we’ve already started work on the design and enlisted help for the internal building transformation. It’s going to be such a special place.

 Until the new building is ready, and because there is such a need, I’ve decided to offer online consultations from March the 28^th. I’m also aware that there are people off the islands who might want support, so the online consultations will be a permanent arrangement for everyone, running every Friday. We’ll be sorting out the online booking form shortly and it will be accessible from the website. 

 In terms of what I’ll be offering, this will be tailored for you – the initial consultation will be around an hour and a half, follow ups around 45 minutes usually once a month. Once I understand what you need, I’ll use Homeopathic remedies, herbs, essences and extracts, I’ll make supplement, lifestyle and other recommendations to get you well balanced and feeling better. I have long specialised in women’s health and wellbeing and am excited to offer such a comprehensive, integrated range of treatment options. 

 I have always said that when you plan a different life you have to remember that wherever you go, you take yourself with you – I was never going to come here and stand still, there’s always so much learn and develop and always people to help. Coming to Harris has not been easy, especially on the house renovation front, but for me, it has allowed a flow of creativity  that I couldn’t have accessed anywhere else. This landscape is becoming so familiar, I understand the plants and what a strong heritage they have medicinally and it is a real privilege to be tapping into the work of women through the ages here. I love the stories of traditional plant use from the Western Isles, it is a rich seam to explore.

So as we enter this next phase of A.S Apothecary, with the team of people I work with and depend on, I'm feeling really hopeful that we're bringing together decades of work into its final, wonderful incarnation. And...if you want really excellent coffee, we have an espresso machine in the shop in Leverburgh...

 Just a reminder that I now have a personal business email address if you need to contact me directly, it’s amanda@asapoth.com. I’m looking forward to seeing the changes in the old Temple and I’ll post photos as we go along.