The March talk at the West Lothian History and Amenity Society is on local woman, Isobel Wylie Hutchison (1889-1982), a writer, botanist, film-maker, Arctic traveller and poet.
She grew up at the mansionhouse of Carlowrie near Kirkliston, studied botany and horticulture, spoke seven languages, and enjoyed long walks –100 miles or more.
She began to travel – walked round Iceland on her own, then steadily grew more and more ambitious and adventurous, going to Greenland, Alaska, and the Far East. She travelled alone and was remarkably adaptable, able to withstand rough conditions and very cold temperatures.
She studied and filmed the way of life of the indigenous people, the botany and wildlife, and sent back botanical studies samples to Kew Gardens, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and other learned societies. She published a number of books and many articles, and during the Second World War, was a regular speaker on the BBC.
The speaker is Jo Woolf, writer-in-residence at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society since 2015, and the meeting is at Ecclesmachan Village Hall on Wednesday 15 March at 7pm.
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