• Churches, abbeys and chapels History Latest Feature

Kilneuair Chapel

January 01, 2021
  • Latest Feature Wildlife & Nature

A December walk through Ballachuan hazel wood

December 07, 2020
  • History Latest Feature

Dunaverty and St Columba’s Footprints

November 29, 2020
  • History Latest Feature Scottish castles

Inverlochy Castle

October 24, 2020
  • History Latest Feature

The Watchman Stone

September 22, 2020
  • History Latest Feature

Alexander II and the ‘ghosts’ of his galleys

August 18, 2020
  • History Latest Feature Megalithic sites

A folk tale, a battlefield, and a witch’s leap

July 19, 2020
Latest Stories Popular Stories
  • History , Latest Feature , Wildlife & Nature

Remembering the magic of mistletoe

December 08, 2019
Mistletoe traditions have been described as some of northern Europe's last surviving remnants of plant magic
  • History , Latest Feature , Megalithic sites

Diarmuid and Grainne: a boar hunt and a tragic love story in Glen Lonan

November 22, 2019
Old legends lie soft as cobwebs across this landscape of cairns and standing stones
  • History , Latest Feature , Wildlife & Nature

Finding the Faery Isles

October 27, 2019
Is there some ancient magic about these tiny wooded islets in Loch Sween?
  • History

Tirefuir broch on the Isle of Lismore

October 10, 2019
The ruins of this once-magnificent stone structure can be found on Lismore's east coast
  • History , Megalithic sites

A walk to Rí Cruin Cairn

September 28, 2019
Hidden in the fabulously ancient landscape of Kilmartin Glen, this Bronze Age cairn has a serenity all of its own
  • Wild flowers , Wildlife & Nature

Meadowsweet

August 16, 2019
Over the centuries, meadowsweet has played an important part in our natural remedies, our traditions and our folklore...
  • History , Megalithic sites

Loch Nell: the Tomb of the Giants and a Serpent Mound

July 26, 2019
Not another chambered cairn! Yes, but this one comes with a twist...
  • History , Megalithic sites

Greadal Fhinn – a chambered cairn and a Norse burial

July 16, 2019
On a windswept hillside in Ardnamurchan, this ancient grave is linked in local lore with a Viking ruler
  • Wild flowers , Wildlife & Nature

Enchanter’s nightshade

July 04, 2019
Haunting damp, shady places, this shy woodland flower has a spellbinding beauty
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

St Conan’s Kirk

June 27, 2019
Nestling by the side of Loch Awe, this extraordinary church was the vision of 19th century architect Walter Douglas Campbell
  • British trees , Wildlife & Nature

The power of the elder

June 21, 2019
A guardian of half-forgotten places, the elder's magic is both old and dark...
  • History

Looking for the yew of Easragan

May 20, 2019
The quiet shores of Loch Etive have an age-old connection with bow-makers and Bannockburn
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

The island of Gigha

May 12, 2019
Memories of Viking longships haunt this tiny island of windswept sandy bays and cryptic stones
  • British trees , Wildlife & Nature

Wild cherry: the last snow of spring

April 19, 2019
One of our most beautiful flowering trees is "wearing white for Eastertide"...
  • Wildlife & Nature

An exciting new project: a book about Britain’s trees

January 21, 2019
I'm delving into the traditions associated with Britain's trees for this new book to be published by the National Trust
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

Saddell Abbey – in the footsteps of Somerled

January 08, 2019
History? Gravestones? Mysterious phenomena? Appalling weather? Time to go squelching around another ancient ruin!
1 2 3 4 … 30
  • Wildlife & Nature

The Fortingall Yew: symbol of eternity

March 26, 2014
This yew tree in a Perthshire churchyard may be 5,000 years old: it's astounding to think how much human …
  • History , Megalithic sites

Croft Moraig: circle of light

January 08, 2015
Right by the roadside near Kenmore in Perthshire is this wonderful stone circle - and some of its best friends …
  • History , Megalithic sites

Dunchraigaig: the darkness of time

October 18, 2013
Set within a copse of trees, this 4,000-year-old burial chamber once lay at the heart of the people who lived …
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

Cambuskenneth Abbey

May 20, 2015
Sitting in a loop of the River Forth within sight of Stirling Castle, this quiet place has witnessed some key …
  • Uncategorized

About me and The Hazel Tree

July 29, 2011
About me and The Hazel Tree
  • British trees , Wildlife & Nature

The spirit of the alder

August 23, 2015
Lover of riverbanks and boggy places, the alder forms a close bond between earth and water. No wonder …
  • Latest Feature

Welcome to my new website!

April 02, 2018
I'm proud to present a new look and a new logo for The Hazel Tree
  • History , Megalithic sites

Camas nan Geall: ‘the Bay of the Strangers’

July 20, 2015
A chambered cairn, a standing stone and an ancient graveyard… this beautiful bay on the coast of Ardnamurchan holds some …
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

St Andrews: the glorious Cathedral

March 20, 2014
Continuing my exploration of St Andrews, I'm now looking at the ruins of its spectacular medieval Cathedral...
  • History

The Butter Bridge, Glen Kinglas

March 21, 2015
There's something about old bridges, especially when they are left marooned in the past, like this one in Glen Kinglas. …
  • History , Megalithic sites

The Tuilyies stones

October 25, 2015
A windswept shore, standing stones and a blasted oak… it sounds like one of Emily Bronte's dreams!
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

Rosslyn Chapel: catching the light

March 09, 2016
This extraordinary church was the vision of one man - William St Clair - and mystery seems to ooze out …
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

Dunkeld Cathedral: Scotland’s sacred heart

January 10, 2014
Can 1200 years of worship leave a lasting trace? Dunkeld Cathedral has witnessed warfare and destruction, but its …
  • History , Scottish castles

Castle Coeffin: guarding a broken heart

May 24, 2014
An ancient stronghold overlooking the Sound of Mull... infused in its ivy-clad walls is an irresistible legend.
  • Wildlife & Nature

The ancient oak woods of Taynish

July 02, 2015
A landscape that is a living piece of Scotland's heritage: these oak woods have been growing in Knapdale for …
  • Uncategorized

Nacreous clouds

February 02, 2016
Over the last couple of days, towards sunrise and sunset, our skies have contained something that I never really hoped …
1 2 3 4 … 30
MORE INFORMATION
  • About The Hazel Tree
  • ‘Britain’s Trees’ – new book
  • Contact
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New book - 'Britain's Trees'
Greetings cards
I'm honoured to be Writer in Residence at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. This book celebrates the lives of 50 great explorers......
BRITISH TREES
  • The Scots pine: keeper of the forest
  • Hawthorn – bride of the hedgerow
  • The fire of the ash
  • The fragrance of juniper
SCOTTISH CASTLES
  • Linlithgow Palace
  • Falkland Palace: power and glory
  • Castle Sween: still watching for the sails
  • Carnbane Castle and a banquet for a bard
MEGALITHIC
  • Greadal Fhinn – a chambered cairn and a Norse burial
  • Loch Nell: the Tomb of the Giants and a Serpent Mound
  • Standing stone near Loch Ederline
  • A folk tale, a battlefield, and a witch’s leap
CHURCHES, CHAPELS & ABBEYS
  • Muthill Old Church and Tower
  • The secrets of St Cormac
  • Holyrood Abbey
  • The Garvellachs: just below the surface
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Copyright Jo Woolf 2021