• 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
  • Wild flowers , Wildlife & Nature

Golden saxifrage

April 06, 2018
A pretty wayside plant that loves to have its feet in water
  • History , Scottish castles

Carnassarie Castle in Kilmartin Glen

April 06, 2018
This imposing ruin was once a fine example of Renaissance architecture - home of the 1st Protestant Bishop of Argyll …
  • Catkins

The winner of Purdey’s PAWS Awards… and introducing Clyde!

April 04, 2018
The much-anticipated result may be a shock for some! And I'd like you to meet a new friend...
  • 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

A morning in Kilmartin Glen

March 17, 2018
A quiet walk around some of my favourite places - Nether Largie and Temple Wood
  • History

Caisteal nan Coin Duibh – ‘the Castle of the Black Dogs’

February 11, 2018
With sweeping views across the sea from the Craignish peninsula, this hill fort seems to be half-immersed in legend
  • Wildlife & Nature

Trespassing

February 06, 2018
Renewing my love of hazels, and the spells that they weave...
  • Catkins

Purdey’s PAWS Awards 2018

February 01, 2018
It's that time of year again! Polish your whiskers and get ready to cast your votes in Purdey's PAWS …
  • Latest Feature

The Hazel Tree – now on the west coast!

January 31, 2018
A new home for us, and for The Hazel Tree, on the coast of Argyll
  • Poetry

‘Song of the trees’

December 14, 2017
An evocative and heartwarming poem by Joy Mead
  • British trees , Wildlife & Nature

Sycamore: colonist or custodian?

October 06, 2017
Often seen as an intruder in old woodlands, the sycamore still deserves a second glance for its beauty - and …
  • Wildlife & Nature

12 Trees in Autumn

October 01, 2017
Celebrating the variety of seasonal colour in our best-loved deciduous trees
  • Wildlife & Nature

Three favourite woodlands for autumn colour

September 17, 2017
Looking forward to the glorious colours of these woodlands in Argyll and Perthshire
  • Wildlife & Nature

Rosebay willowherb

August 25, 2017
'Fireweed' or 'bombweed' lights up roadside verges and waste ground with a blaze of late summer colour
  • Photography

Windows: Culross Palace

July 31, 2017
Distinctive dormer windows in the roof of Culross Palace
  • History , Megalithic sites

Standing stone near Loch Ederline

July 27, 2017
Checking fields at random around Kilmartin Glen will reveal any number of cairns and standing stones. This one, right …
1 2 3 4 5 6 … 30
  • Poetry

‘Song of the trees’

December 14, 2017
An evocative and heartwarming poem by Joy Mead
  • History , Megalithic sites

Callanish: a ring to rule them all

January 06, 2012
On a wind-scoured hillside in the west of Lewis, nothing prepares you for the stark magnificence of Callanish...
  • Wildlife & Nature

A festival of fungi

November 02, 2013
Encouraged by the damp autumn, these weird and wonderful fungi are having a ball in the woodlands at the moment! …
  • Uncategorized

What’s this?

August 12, 2013
This time my quiz is short and sweet – tell me what this is! Extra clues:   it measures about 5 …
  • Wildlife & Nature

Ballachuan hazel wood

May 11, 2016
I've never walked through a woodland quite like this one: the ancient hazel wood of Ballachuan on the island …
  • History , Scottish castles

Old Castle Lachlan: loyalty and loss

October 23, 2016
Ghosts of horses tend to come in different guises, some of them benevolent and some of them more inclined towards …
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

Kilbride Kirk, Lerags

July 04, 2017
In this mossy graveyard close to Loch Feochan, many generations of MacDougalls have been laid to rest
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

Dryburgh Abbey

September 11, 2015
The pink sandstone ruins of Dryburgh Abbey stand in their own little pool of time, listening for the gentle chant …
  • British trees , Wildlife & Nature

The holly bears the crown

November 26, 2013
Glowing with colour when the year is at its darkest, holly was once thought to symbolise immortality
  • History , Latest Feature

Rock art at Cairnbaan

June 28, 2020
Enigmatic cup-and-ring markings can be found on this hillside above Crinan in Argyll
  • Wildlife & Nature

Trees of winter

January 02, 2016
On a New Year's Day walk, the sound of the wind in the trees reminded me of these words by …
  • British trees , Wildlife & Nature

A wand of hazel

February 20, 2015
For their valuable source of food and their versatile building material, hazel trees have been prized since the dawn of …
  • History , Megalithic sites

The Devil’s Arrows: shafts of darkness

August 12, 2015
The people who put up these standing stones in North Yorkshire were obviously thinking big - but what on earth …
  • Churches, abbeys and chapels , History

St Brendan and the Garvellachs

February 24, 2012
St Brendan and the Garvellachs sounds like an Irish folk group… and in a way, that's what they were! …
  • History

Mons Meg: a damsel of destruction

December 08, 2015
No one could ever accuse James II of being under-equipped. Take a look at the ultimate in big boys' …
  • Latest Feature

Midwinter wishes

December 24, 2020
Warm wishes and some inspiring books for winter reading
1 2 3 4 5 6 … 30
MORE INFORMATION
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  • ‘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
  • Wild cherry: the last snow of spring
  • The spirit of the alder
  • The power of the elder
  • Sycamore: colonist or custodian?
SCOTTISH CASTLES
  • The value of Stirling
  • Castle Sween: still watching for the sails
  • Loch Dochart Castle
  • Carnbane Castle and a banquet for a bard
MEGALITHIC
  • Temple Wood stone circles, Kilmartin Glen
  • Clach na Carraig or Diarmid’s Pillar
  • The stone circles of Fortingall
  • Greadal Fhinn – a chambered cairn and a Norse burial
CHURCHES, CHAPELS & ABBEYS
  • An old graveyard near Callander
  • Kilmory Knap Chapel – part two
  • St Margaret’s Chapel in Edinburgh Castle
  • The Garvellachs: just below the surface
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Copyright Jo Woolf 2021