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Once upon a time, most of Britain and Ireland was covered in woodland. Many of the trees have been cleared, but our connection with the wildwood remains. It is a place of danger, adventure and transformation, where anything could happen. Here is a collection of traditional folk tales of oak, ash and thorn; of hunting forests and rebellion, timber and triumph in battle, wild ghosts and woodwoses. Lisa Schneidau retells some of the old stories and relates them to the trees and forests in the landscape of our islands today.
"Engrossing and enchanting and sometimes very entertaining."
13th February, 2023 in Folklore, Natural World
Martin Maudsley author of Telling the Seasons declares his love for the month of February and the folklore behind it. Sensing the seasons Perceptibly, there seem to be more than just four seasons, as we experience the gradual changes of the natural world through the cy…
9th June, 2022 in Folklore, Natural World
As River Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland is being published Lisa Schneidau reflects on the folk tales of Britain and Ireland’s freshwaters, and what these stories have to tell us about our relationship with rivers – past, present and future. What is a river? Is it a channel of…
30th September, 2020 in Folklore, Natural World
Listen to any good traditional storyteller and, sooner or later, you will find yourself walking into the woods. Woodlands are full of immediate life, colour, sound, scent, and danger, no matter what the season. They are worlds away from the barren, unforgiving desert, or farmland…
2nd October, 2019 in Folklore
What makes a good story? In many collected folk stories, for example ghost stories, the story is that something simply happens somewhere… and that is it. An event is described. A white figure appeared. It might happen again. It has a beginning and middle and a full stop. But ther…
5th June, 2019 in Folklore, Natural World
“Beware the deep dark wood” they say, “stay on the path, do not wonder or you shall be lost forever.” The forests and woodlands of this world have forever held a special place in our hearts. When we were but cavemen, these mysterious and dangerous places stretched across the land…
21st March, 2018 in Folklore
In a place called Mathavarn, in Llanwrin, there was a wood called Ffridd yr Ywen, the Forest of the Yew. It was said the Tylwyth Teg lived there….. When I first started out as a storyteller, I wanted to find stories that spoke of the plants and animals and character of the landsc…
