Cameron’s Country
Scotland’s wild forests provide an endless source of inspiration for all who walk beneath their branches
Cameron McNeish celebrates the lore and heritage of Scotland’s ancient woodland
The rowan was sacred to the triple-goddess Brigid, and used as a protection against enchantment.
Hazel was used in the same way. Druids, who have been romanticised in modern times, were a hereditary class of priests who characterised early Indo-european societies. They were the Celtic equivalent of the Indian Brahmins or the Iranian magi, and, like them, specialised in the practices of magic, sacrifice and augury. They were the wise men of the time.
When a tribe cleared a tract of land they always left a tree in the middle. The symbolic power of the tree was very important, and it was here, below the spreading branches, that their chiefs would be inaugurated.
Here was a connection with both heaven and the underworld – the branches reaching to the sky, connecting to the elements and the ever-changing heavens, while the roots extended far below the earth to whatever powers the otherworld could provide.
Today, the importance of trees in Celtic culture has been celebrated by one of Scotland’s finest folk musicians.
Hamish Napier recently released his latest album and he has called it, quite simply, The Woods. It’s the third album in what Hamish refers to as his Strathspey pentalogy. His third record follows on from his critically acclaimed albums The River and The Railway and takes
“Druids tended to meet in woodland groves rowan” and often slept on beds made from
him beyond the midpoint of his 10-year journey to create five albums inspired by his homeland, representing the elements water, fire, earth, wind and aether.
The Woods is a fabulously atmospheric collection of music – a beautiful folk tune cycle that explores the inter-connected flora and fauna, folklore, legends and characters of Scotland’s native wild forests.
In a vivid exploration of woodland and its connection to the past and present, there is a track on the album for every letter of the Scottish Gaelic tree alphabet – related to the Ogham alphabet – which was traditionally taught with reference to native trees and shrubs.
Fascinated by the album’s complexity I arranged, pre-lockdown, to meet Hamish at his home near Grantown-on-spey. I was curious to discover what came first – an appreciation of music or of the natural world.
“They both probably came separately at the same time,” Hamish said with a twinkle in his eye. “Dad