13/06/2026
This place is like Hogwarts.
The paths keep changing.
Every time I walk through Wishawhill Woods and the woods around Craigneuk, there seems to be a new track, a different route, or a path that wasn’t there the week before.
A lot of that comes from local youngsters riding motorbikes through the woods and creating new trails. Some folk get quite frustrated by it, but I’ve never been too bothered. People need places to spend time, explore, and have a bit of freedom.
Maybe that’s because I grew up in Craigneuk myself.
Years ago, during one of the most difficult periods of my life, these woods became a refuge. I spent countless hours here, sitting, learning, and trying to make sense of things. I basically lived here. In many ways, these woods helped shape the person I became.
The journey from the lad I was back then to the person many of you now know as Ginger Nettle happened, in no small part, amongst these trees.
What fascinates me is that despite all these changes, this remains one of the most biodiverse places I know.
There are plants here that I rarely find elsewhere. Red-listed bird species. Countless insects and fungi. It’s absolutely hoaching with deer. Every season brings something new to discover.
One of the principles of permaculture is that diversity thrives at the edges. Where habitats meet and where change is taking place, life often becomes richer and more abundant. Nature isn’t always tidy. Sometimes you’ll even find temporary monocultures in the wild, but diversity has an incredible ability to return.
So when I see a new path through the woods, I don’t just see the track. I see another part of a living landscape that is constantly changing and adapting.
Maybe that’s why I keep coming back.
These woods changed my life. Perhaps that’s why I still see magic in them.
