Wild Writing, Nature Connection & Creative Magic with Clare Shaw and Miriam Darlington

Wild Writing, Nature Connection & Creative Magic with Clare Shaw and Miriam Darlington

What an amazing special episode for June! I am so grateful for Clare and Miriam two dieties of the nature writing world for taking time to speak to me with such insight and kindness. We spoke of many magical things, here are the links to them!

Firstly WILD WRITING 2026 dont miss it! sign up now for a day, week or a full month of magical inspiration!

https://thewritingschool.co.uk/writing-

  • The Book of Bogs edited by Clare

https://www.littletoller.co.uk/shop/books/little-toller/the-book-of-bogs-edited-by-anna-chilvers-and-clare-shaw/

  • Miriam Darlington and her wonderful work:

https://mimdarlington.wixsite.com/mysite

  • Clare Shaw on Substack

https://shawandmoore.substack.com

  • The Writing School

https://thewritingschool.co.uk

  • I mention Arvon, where I first met Miriam and where Miriam and Clare often teach - you can read more about Arvon here https://www.arvon.org

and

A luscious extended version of the June pod (featuring a magical bog witch from 1800) is available for all patrons, well worth checking out!

https://www.patreon.com/cw/witchcountry

Happy June! xxx

Birds in Folklore, Witchcraft & Magic: Omens, Spirits and Winged Messengers

Birds in Folklore, Witchcraft & Magic: Omens, Spirits and Winged Messengers

Links & Details as promised!

Our Stories

  • The Tale of the White Dove, written by Carl Carmer, read by Vincent Price (recorded in the 1970's, hence the static!)

  • Storm Magic, a tale from The Norwegian Fairy Book by Klara Stroebe

Join me via:

Newsletter >> Link

Patreon >> Link

Insight Timer >> Link

Instagram >> Link

Witch Country: Seeking the Witch in the British Landscape

Buy the Paperback >> Link or Listen to the Audiobook >> Link

Belladonna, Poison Gardens & Poisonous Plants in Witchcraft Folklore

Belladonna, Poison Gardens & Poisonous Plants in Witchcraft Folklore

Books Read from:

Extract from ‘April’ from Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life by Pauline Campanelli

‘Cunning Belladonna’ from Kitchen Witch: Food Folklore & Fairy Tale by me! Sarah Robinson

‘Belladonna’ from Unprofessional Tales by Norman Douglas, 1901

Sarah

XXX

(I have changed the sound settings for the pod episode this month, do let me know if it's better or worse! or indeed if you can't tell the difference!)

Wuthering Heights, Yorkshire Witches & Moorland Folklore

Wuthering Heights, Yorkshire Witches & Moorland Folklore

The Witches of Wuthering Heights: Folklore and Wild Things of Yorkshire

In today’s journey, we touch on the lives of:

  • Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) – Jane Eyre (1847), Shirley (1849), Villette (1853)

  • Emily Brontë (1818–1848) – Wuthering Heights (1847)

  • Anne Brontë (1820–1849) – Agnes Grey (1847), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)

    In their own way, all three embraced a gothic vibe, drawing on Yorkshire folklore and the mists of the moors that permeate their work. And I've had fun exploring the ways witches and folkloric figures appear in their writing. And we’ll meet witches, goblins, ghouls and gytrash on the moors, oh my!

The Two Folktales I share are both from Legends of the North York Moors: traditions, beliefs, folklore, customs by Marion Atkinson, 1981

Witch Country Midwinter Special: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Witch Country Midwinter Special: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Ok, just one more pod to end the year! Two extraordinary tales to see in Christmas with, retold in my own words.

  • The Christmas Masquerade - Published by Mary E. Wilkins, 1892

  • The Sparrow and the Winter Fairy - Published by Georgianna M. Bishop, 1859

Thank you for joining me this year in Witch Country.

May these old stories bring warmth to your hearth and a spark of wonder to your winter days. We’ll meet again in the new year for more tales, folklore, and seasonal reflections.

Until next time, keep the witch lights burning, may the glow of the season always guide you into safe harbour and may a little winter magic find its way to your door.

Merry Christmas and Bright Yuletide, one and all xxx

Yuletide Frosted Festive Folklore - Winter Fairy Tales & Christmas Traditions

Yuletide Frosted Festive Folklore - Winter Fairy Tales & Christmas Traditions

For your festive nights, enjoy this gathering of tales!

  1. The Frozen Hearth Fairy (From the Old-Fashioned Fairy Book Constance Cary Harrison, 1843 - 1920

  2. Extracts from Christmas and Christmas lore by Thomas G. Crippen, published in 1923

  3. The Story of the Year by Hans Christian Anderson, 1805 - 1875

  4. And I close with the poem Under the Holly Bough by Charles Mackay, published in 1857

Thank you for joining me through 2025. Here's to a merry and magical winter and bright 2026! 

Sarah xxx

The Rollright Stones, Stone Circles & Witch Legends

The Rollright Stones, Stone Circles & Witch Legends

Welcome, friends, to the November episode of Witch Country. As the nights draw in and the air grows sharp with autumn’s edge, I’ve been walking among the Rollright Stones — a circle steeped in story. Kings turned to stone, witches weaving fate, and whispers carried on the wind linger here. In this episode, I share my own walk among the stones, along with the folklore, legends, and uncanny tales that have gathered around them for centuries. And to close, a delectable and chilling treat: the tale of the Stone King, another version of the Rollright story, read by the incomparable Vincent Price from the 1973 archive A Coven of Witches’ Tales.

Ghost Story: The Bean Nighe – Scottish Folklore & Death Omens

Ghost Story: The Bean Nighe – Scottish Folklore & Death Omens

I’ve left the most chilling of our tales until the edge of Halloween…Set in Scotland. In this haunting tale of fear, death, hardship and superstition, Mary has the misfortune of meeting a Bean Nighe. This story is from a book called Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch. Written by Dorothy K. Haynes, it's a collection of eerie tales published in 1949.

Sarah xxx

Witch Country: Seeking the Witch in the British Landscape

Witch Country: Seeking the Witch in the British Landscape

Witch Country Arrives!!

This October, Witch Country the podcast and Witch Country the book finally meet! In this episode I read a large section from the October chapter. (I do say in the recording that it’s the full chapter—but in the end I trimmed it slightly for brevity, and to whet your appetite for more!)

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this journey so far. And fear not—the path of Witch Country is far from over!

Sarah xxx

As of Halloween, you can buy Witch Country in paperback from all the usual online booksellers, direct from Womancraft Publishing and Red Wheel (our US distributors) or ask your local indie to order in! It's also available in ebook and audiobook form!

Black Shuck, Barghests & Shadow Hounds: British Black Dog Folklore

Black Shuck, Barghests & Shadow Hounds: British Black Dog Folklore

As autumn descends, I wanted to face a classic symbol in British and European folklore - the black dog

We start in East Anglia, England, with perhaps the most famous of all shadow hounds: Black Shuck, who makes an appearance in St Mary's church of Bungay in 1577, storms to raise havoc. And a reading drawn from Ghosts and Witches by Wentworth + Ayrton, 1991, on the Galleytrot and Shuck.

Before facing:

  • The Barghest of Yorkshire, accompanied by rattling chains, may have inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula's transformation into an enormous black dog in Whitby.

  • Yeth Hounds (Devon)

  • Whisht Hounds (Devon/Dartmoor)

  • Richard Cabell's Hounds (Dartmoor) widely considered a major inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles.

  • The Devil's Dandy Dogs (Cornwall): A terrifying hunt led by Satan himself.

  • The Wish Hounds or Witch Hounds of Sussex

  • The Church Grim, a guardian spirit that appears as a large black dog

  • And The Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man: Meaning "black dog" in Manx, this giant shaggy-haired dog that haunted Peel Castle 

And we finish with readings of The Moddey Doo or the Black Dog of Peel Castle from Manx Fairy Tales by Sophia Morrison, 1911 and The Book of Were-Wolves by Sabine Baring-Gould, 1865. And accounts of witch wolves from Estonia.

These are just a few of the countless legends of black dogs, wolves and hounds. Do drop me a message if you would like to share your own favourites! 

Happy September

Sarah X



Ghost Story: The Changeling – Witches, Fairies & Folklore Horror

Ghost Story: The Changeling – Witches, Fairies & Folklore Horror

Something new for you, my Witch Country Wayfarers! After all, Ghost Stories needn’t just be for Christmas! (In truth, I fell down a rabbit hole after recording my Christmas Witch Country Ghost Story and found so many wonderful spooky tales that I wanted to share more throughout the year!)

Welcome to Witch Country Ghost Stories, the first of a little series I am creating. Showcasing Ghost Stories written over the last few centuries.

We are starting with a relatively modern one: The Changeling by Dorothy K. Haynes, published in 1949. It is, maybe, not quite a ghost story, but it is filled with witches, fae folk, and the eerie and uncanny. And as Haynes was a master of horror writing, this tale will haunt you for some time…

I would love to know what you think!

Sarah XXX

Avebury, Standing Stones & Lost Songs of Ancient Britain

Avebury, Standing Stones & Lost Songs of Ancient Britain

For 2025, Our podcast journey starts with a wander to Avebury. My friend and I took a walk amongst these stones last year, about this time, as the equinox sun shone.

Links Mentioned:

Thank you for joining me this month for Magic and Myth! See you next month for more Witch Country Wanders!

XXX

A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Wise Wife and The Witch King

A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Wise Wife and The Witch King

I am thrilled to present, in what I plan to be a festive tradition for Witch Country: A Ghost Story for Christmas!

Since the days of Charles Dickens and a Christmas Carol (1843), and, I'm sure, long before, we have huddled around fires to tell tales of spirits and ghosts during the cold yuletide nights.

So here is a tale where witches raise storms and become ghosts themselves, seeking a little retribution, perhaps.

Merry Christmas One and All! Xx

✨A journey to the Summer Solstice ✨ Each day, a little magic from Witch Country; images, themes, and book extracts to inspire a little wonder, reflection, and celebration ☀️🌿 #SummerSolstice #WitchCountry #june #june12
✨A journey to the Summer Solstice ✨ Each day, a little magic from Witch Country; images, themes, and book extracts to inspire a little wonder, reflection, and celebration ☀️🌿 #SummerSolstice #WitchCountry #SeasonOfLight #june #june11
✨A journey to the Summer Solstice ✨ Each day, a little magic from Witch Country; images, themes, and book extracts to inspire a little wonder, reflection, and celebration ☀️🌿 #SummerSolstice #WitchCountry #SeasonOfLight #june #june10
✨A journey to the Summer Solstice ✨ Each day, a little magic from Witch Country; images, themes, and book extracts to inspire a little wonder, reflection, and celebration ☀️🌿 #SummerSolstice #WitchCountry #SeasonOfLight #june #june9
✨A journey to the Summer Solstice ✨ Each day, a little magic from Witch Country; images, themes, and book extracts to inspire a little wonder, reflection, and celebration ☀️🌿 #SummerSolstice #WitchCountry #SeasonOfLight #june #june8
✨A journey to the Summer Solstice ✨ Each day, a little magic from Witch Country; images, themes, and book extracts to inspire a little wonder, reflection, and celebration ☀️🌿 #SummerSolstice #WitchCountry #SeasonOfLight #june7 #june
✨A journey to the Summer Solstice ✨ Each day, a little magic from Witch Country; images, themes, and book extracts to inspire a little wonder, reflection, and celebration ☀️🌿 #SummerSolstice #WitchCountry #SeasonOfLight #june6 #june
✨A journey to the Summer Solstice ✨ Each day, a little magic from Witch Country; images, themes, and book extracts to inspire a little wonder, reflection, and celebration ☀️🌿 #SummerSolstice #WitchCountry #SeasonOfLight #june5 #june