Nature & Landscape · The Borderlands
Sacred Scottish Yews: A Film Trailer
An atmospheric short trailer inviting a closer look at Scotland’s ancient yew trees and the stories that gather around them.
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Watch Mark Nicol’s original film, first published on YouTube on 13 September 2018. Load the film below to play it here.
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Privacy & cookiesAn old yew can make a visitor stop speaking for a moment. Its trunk may twist and hollow while living branches continue to grow, so the tree seems to hold several ages at once. This short trailer opens Mark's exploration of the yews and the memories attached to them.
The word sacred belongs to the human stories surrounding such trees. It should not be taken as a precise date for an individual yew or proof that every old tree was a ritual site. The trees are remarkable enough without forcing certainty where the evidence is thin.
Living landmarks
In the Borders, ancient trees stand close to houses, churches, old routes and places of local memory. They connect natural history to generations of people who have sheltered beneath or simply noticed them.
Continue with the Dancing Yews of Traquair and the old yews of Melrose.
Watch the film
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More from the archive.
Follow another thread through the places, people and periods of the Borderlands.
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