At this time of year, the scrabble board is often brought out and ‘battle’ commences.  People often play with ‘variants’ of the rules and sometimes a themed approach can be fun.  Here is a selection of woodland related words, many of which are names of woodlands that owners have purchased from woodlands.co.uk over the years.    Words have been selected via a number of different categories including interesting meanings of the words, good scoring words, common woodland words and short words with good scoring letters.  My daughter, Imogen and I came up with the words and checked them on the dictionary and scrabble checker.

Neither of us is a “scrabble wizard” but we have checked all words are in the Oxford online dictionary and that they are compatible with the scrabble word checker but if you notice anything incorrect ……… please say.  Scrabble is one of those games that people are very passionate about so no doubt if we have made any mistakes, they will be mentioned in the comments section!

Some words are longer than 7 letters,  however, you may be able to connect to other words or letters already on the board.    Feel free to add any other good A – H words in the comments section (below)!

Aconite: A poisonous plant of the buttercup family, bearing hooded pink or purple flowers. Score: 9

Adze – tool for cutting and shaping pieces of wood. Score: 14

Agger – archaeology term for a heap of stones, earthwork etc. Score: 7

Arrish – A stubble field, after growth of grass clover.  Score: 9

Aspen: A poplar tree with small rounded long-stalked leaves that tremble in the breeze. Score 7

Axe (or Ax) – a tool used for chopping wood. Score: 10

Bark - The tough protective outer sheath of the trunk, branches, and twigs of a tree or woody shrub. Score: 10

Beech - A large tree with smooth grey bark, glossy leaves, and hard, pale fine-grained timber.  Score: 12

Bilberry - A small dark blue edible berry. Score: 15

Blackberry - An edible soft fruit consisting of a cluster of soft purple-black drupelets. Score: 23

Bodger: a person who makes or repairs something badly. It is also an historic term for a skilled craftsman that made chair legs and braces. Score: 10

Bough- A main branch of a tree. Score: 11

Branch: Part of the tree Score: 13

Buzzard: A large hawk like bird of prey with broad wings and a rounded tail, often seen soaring in wide circles. Score: 28

Catkin: A downy, hanging flowering spike of trees such as willow and hazel, pollinated by the wind. Score: 12

Charcoal – A porous black solid, consisting of an amorphous form of carbon, obtained as a residue when wood, bone, or other organic matter is heated in the absence of air. Score: 15

Chestnut - A glossy hard brown edible nut which develops within a bristly case and which may be roasted and eaten. Score: 13

Cleave: Split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain. Score: 11

Clough: Northern English; A steep valley or ravine. Score: 12

Collier – Maker of charcoal. Score: 9

Coppice: An area of woodland in which the trees or shrubs are periodically cut back to ground level to stimulate growth and provide firewood or timber. Score: 15

Culvert- A tunnel carrying a stream or open drain under a road. Score: 12

Coney – An historic name for the rabbit. Score: 10

Dew: Tiny drops of water that form on cool surfaces at night, when atmospheric vapour condenses. Score:  7

Ditch – a narrow channel dug to carry water away. Score: 11

Drover – A herd or flock of animals being driven in a body. Often old Drover’s paths run through woodlands.  Score: 10

Elm - A tall deciduous tree that typically has rough serrated leaves and propagates from root suckers. Score: 5

Ermine - A stoat, especially when in its white winter coat. Score: 8

Flume - A deep narrow channel or ravine with a stream running through it. Score: 10

Fox – A carnivorous mammal of the dog family with a pointed muzzle and bushy tail, proverbial for its cunning. Score: 13

Froe - A cleaving tool with a handle at right angles to the blade. Score: 7

Furze – meaning ‘gorse’ or place of gorse. Score: 17

Goshawk - A large, short-winged hawk resembling a large sparrow hawk. Score: 18

Harvest – Cutting of a crop of timber. Score: 13

Hazel - A temperate shrub or small tree with broad leaves, bearing prominent male catkins in spring and round hard-shelled edible nuts in autumn. Score: 17

Hazelnut: -A round brown hard-shelled nut that is the edible fruit of the hazel. Score: 20

Helve - The handle of a weapon or tool. Score: 11

Hew – Chop or cut (something, especially wood or coal) with an axe, pick, or other tool.Score: 9

Holly – A widely distributed evergreen shrub, typically having prickly dark green leaves, small white flowers, and red berries. Score: 11

Howlett – Scottish, an owl or owlet. Score: 12