The phrase solvitur ambulando comes from the early world of philosophy, where it meant that some arguments could not be settled in theory, only tested in practice — by getting up and moving.

There is something about a threshold that slows us down. A doorway. A gate. The hush before dawn. New Year’s Day feels like that kind of space — neither fully behind us nor yet clear ahead. Here at Rydal Hall, cradled by ancient hills and winter-bare trees, the turning of the year feels less like a firework and more like a held breath.