EP59: Storytelling, Plants and the Feminine - with Clare Viner

EP59: Storytelling, Plants and the Feminine - with Clare Viner

Author: Robin Harford May 5, 2026 Duration: 49:01

Robin Harford meets storyteller Clare Viner beneath a flowering hawthorn tree in Devon to explore the living tradition of oral storytelling.

Clare shares how stories belong to everyone - not fixed texts handed down by celibate monks, but breathing, evolving things shaped by the teller's felt sense and relationship with land.

They discuss how patriarchy silenced women's stories, how rivers and plants carry their own narratives, and why giving yourself permission to tell an imperfect story is a radical act.

The episode closes with Clare's spellbinding retelling of Merlin and the Lady Nimue - a love story rooted in hawthorn, heart medicine, and the dreaming earth.

About Clare Viner

Clare Viner has been a storyteller for 26 years.

Her roots are personal. As a child, her grandfather wove fairy tales for her. That inheritance stuck, and eventually became a vocation.

She has told to audiences of every age and disposition: toddlers, teenagers, the elderly, festival goers. Clare has performed in the children’s tent at WOMAD for the last 15 years. She works without books or props, and no two tellings of a story are ever the same.

Her book, The Emerald Dragon and Other Magical Tales of the Blackdown and Quantock Hills, reimagines the folklore of two beloved British landscapes from the perspective of someone who trusts and loves the earth. It was funded by a DEFRA grant.

She was writer in residence for Connecting the Culm, a river conservation project that culminated in a four-day River Story Pilgrimage, walking and camping along the water's edge.

She runs workshops exploring the folklore of British wild animals and trees, including Spirit of Hare, Spirit of Deer, and others. Having once been terrified herself, she takes particular pleasure in guiding the terrified through the process of finding their own storytelling voice.

She takes old stories and dreams them new, again and again.

This Episode Is Brought To You By

- Robin Harford

Transcript

Connect with Clare Viner, Storyteller

Website | Email | Facebook | Instagram

Things Mentioned On The Show

Related Resources


There's a quiet revolution happening just outside our doors, in the hedgerows, parks, and forgotten corners of the landscape. Eatweeds Podcast: For People Who Love Plants is your guide to that green world, hosted by forager and ethnobotanist Robin Harford. This isn't just a list of what's edible; it's a deep, sensory dive into our relationship with the flora around us. Each episode feels like a walk with a knowledgeable friend, one who points out not just the names of plants, but their stories, their historical uses, and their place in both ancient traditions and modern kitchens. You'll hear conversations that weave together practical foraging tips with cultural anthropology, exploring how plants have sustained human life for millennia as food, medicine, and material. Robin brings on experts and practitioners who share their hands-on experiences, from turning acorns into flour to understanding the medicinal compounds in a common weed. The podcast moves seamlessly from the science of plant identification to the folklore buried in their old names, creating a rich tapestry that connects listeners directly to their environment. It’s for anyone who has ever looked at a plant and wondered, "What's your story?" This series provides those answers, fostering a deeper appreciation for the wild, often overlooked bounty that grows all around us, making every walk an opportunity for discovery and connection.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Eatweeds Podcast: For People Who Love Plants
Podcast Episodes
EP20: Discovering New Wild Edible Plants With Łukasz Łuczaj [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:22
A poisonous plant in one culture can be a food plant in another. In this rare interview, one of Europe’s leading ethnobotanists, Łukasz Łuczaj shares his passion for wild food plants. Prolific in his research, Łukasz rev…
EP19: The Future of Farming is Foraging [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:57
Hilltown Organics are revolutionising how we farm. Incorporating wild edible plants into their polyculture farming systems, they grow high-nutrient food plants that are sold at farmer’s markets. According to soil scienti…
EP18: The Wild Art of Fermentation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:43
Fermented foods are a delicious and rich source of nourishment. The fermentation process can transform the flavour of food from the plain and mundane in to delicious flavours enlivened by colonies of beneficial bacteria…
EP17: New York's Notorious Vegan Forager [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:56
Notorious New York vegan forager Steve Brill was busted by the cops for picking a dandelion. In this interview the father and daughter double-act discuss their foraging antics around New York. While revealing how to craf…
EW16: Herbalists Without Borders [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:54
An interview with Becs Griffiths and Annwen Jones from Herbalists Without Borders (Bristol) - talking about social justice, radical herbalism and providing free healthcare to people fleeing conflict, persecution, and int…
EP15: The Handmade Apothecary [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:37
In this episode I talk with two amazing herbalists about why we need to build ‘health resilience’ using herbal medicine, in an age of NHS cuts and a national health crisis. When is the best time to self-medicate, and whe…