West Highland Herbal

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West Highland Herbal

Herbal Medicine, Massage and Foraging in Lochaline, Fort William and Lochaber. Online appointments. We must also keep up to date with current research.

Clare Holohan is a qualified medical herbalist, massage therapist and clinical aromatherapist. She practices remotely or face to face in Lochaline, and at Lochaber Complementary Health Clinic in Fort William. Clare is a member of The National Institute of Medical Herbalists and is fully professionally insured. Herbal medicine is one of the oldest forms of medicine in the world and is still the mos

t widely used form of healthcare globally. It is a natural system of medicine using plant based preparations to help in the treatment of a variety of health complaints. In the UK, Western herbalists are trained in the same diagnostic skills as GPs as well as studying traditional use of medicinal plants and diet and lifestyle management. Importantly, herbal medicine is green medicine and so is environmentally friendly and sustainable. Everyone is different, so herbal medicine takes a patient centred approach, with the treatment and advice tailored to the individual. It can work to complement orthodox medications and can be used as a supportive treatment to many conditions. In clinic, Herbalists commonly see conditions for which patients consult their GPs. This includes management of chronic conditions, pain and minor acute problems. Herbalists can treat all groups of people including children, elders and pregnant women. Some conditions herbalists see include:

Digestive disorders
Joint and muscular problems
Asthma, allergies and hayfever
heart, lung and circulatory problems
skin conditions
stress and anxiety
low energy
sleep problems
women's health
children's health

A first consultation will last around an hour with subsequent visits around half an hour. The herbalist will ask lots of questions about your general health, past health, diet and lifestyle. A short physical examination may also be necessary, with your consent. The information provided during this is confidential. Treatment can be in the form of tincture, a liquid whole plant extract in alcohol; herbal teas; capsules or powders; creams, ointments or other topical applications, depending on the condition. This is combined with appropriate diet and lifestyle advice on an individual basis. West Highland Herbal strives to use local plants and make most medicines by hand. Others are sourced from reputable UK based suppliers. Clare is available for consultations, by appointment remotely by video call or face to face in Fort William or at the Manse in Lochaline with flexible appointment times to suit the patient.

10/06/2025

Herbal learning 🌿
Lovely to be back with herbal students at over the weekend teaching all things seaweed, practicing case history taking, learning herbal therapeutics and connecting with the element of water (yes…we brought the rain! 💧)
It’s always great to be teaching alongside the epic folk whose courses are in depth fun and affordable. Check them out if you are thinking of deepening your herbal knowledge.

30/05/2025

🌿 I’ll be teaching Scotland's Wild Medicine online at the 17th International Herb Symposium (IHS) this September, and I’d love to see you there! 🌿

The IHS was founded more than 25 years ago with a powerful vision: to create a welcoming space where herbalists from across the globe could gather and share information about the healing power of plants. This beloved biennial event remains a place of connection, learning, and global herbal community.

If you’re interested in learning from esteemed herbalists and connecting with kindred plant people, now's the time to get your tickets…you can save $45 if you buy before 15th June with my special discount code: SAVE45

(They’re also discounting virtual tickets if you’re unable to attend in person with the same code: SAVE45)

To buy visit: https://www.internationalherbsymposium.com/ and enter code SAVE45 at checkout.

Hope to see you there!

29/05/2025

Bugle
Ajuga reptans, not to be confused with bugleweed (lycopus virginicus)

I’ve been working with this gorgeous wee plant as Medicine ever since it started calling to me a good few years ago. That blue… 💙
This post has been a few weeks coming but this year has provided an amazing display of bugle and a couple of massive patches of it have appeared around my local stomping grounds.

I use bugle in my practice to treat joint and muscle pain, and to help people ‘stand straighter’ or recover from lying down due to pain, which is reflected in its growing habit, the leaves creeping along the ground only to rise straight up into beautiful flower spikes.

There’s loads of really useful info on bugle in Wayside Medicine by Julie Bruton Seal and Matthew Seal. Their books are most excellent if you want to learn more about our local medicinal plants 💚🌿

15/05/2025

Herbal learning 🤓🌿

A few snaps from the last couple of sessions I’ve had with herbal medicine students here at WHH on placement from and

We have been busy seeing patients in clinic, making tinctures to stock the dispensary, practicing clinical examination skills, dispensing medicine and observing the day to day running of a herbal medicine practice.

I remember so well the love of learning and happiness I felt as a student finding my herbal tribe. It’s great to be able to share the knowledge that was passed to me as a student, and the things I’ve learned since, with the upcoming generation of herbalists. Keeping this wonderful life changing art and practice alive….

09/05/2025

Hawthorn 🌸
…and musings on death, dying and the cycles of life.
Today I’ve been harvesting Hawthorn flowers to make a start on my annual combined flower and fruit Hawthorn tincture. I use this medicine in my practice as a herbalist, prescribed for my patients.

My maternal grandmother died peacefully at the age of 92 with family around her this week, the last of my grandparents to pass. I think a lot about death and dying, it’s the one thing that is certain in life, we will all some day die. In my herbal practice I am often working with people who are facing this inevitable but often unspoken reality. It’s an honour and blessing to support people on this journey. I always wonder why in our modern culture, we often fail to give or avoid giving death its proper celebration and the care, ceremony and attention it deserves. Why do we often find it so hard to have those conversations around this absolute fact of life?

In the Celtic tradition, death was viewed as a moment in the cycle of life, and grieved but accepted as part of the wheel turning. Hawthorn is associated with death, rebirth and the cycles of life. It is true heart medicine and can be relied upon to support and move through the grieving process. Allowing those emotions to be let out into the open, and not smothered or bottled up inside.

With every death there comes a re-birth and I find that working closely with nature helps us to experience this reality and find comfort in the knowing of those cycles. Because we are part of it, not something separate from it. For me, sadness and grieving is made easier by finding beauty and calm in the cycles of nature. This is my medicine.

06/05/2025

Courses at Kilmallie 🌸🌿
It’s always a pleasure to be teaching at and this year we have a whole series of foraging courses as we journey through the year. We kicked off with wild food in April, our next course is wild medicine in July.

Booking details on the poster. Hope to see you at one of these courses this year!

30/04/2025

Periwinkle 🌸
Vinca minor
I’ve recently been tincturing this beloved garden plant for use in my herbal dispensary.

This enchanting flower of early spring has been traditionally used medicinally to improve cerebral circulation, address heavy menstrual periods and as part of a wider protocol in oncology support. I always feel that those flowers are so deep, I could sit and get lost gazing at them…

I make a lot of my own tinctures, from home grown and foraged plants. I don’t sell over the counter, these are only for use in my dispensary for my herbal medicine patients.

25/04/2025

🌿Knoydart forage 🌿
I’ll be back in Knoydart in a couple of weeks time to run another Scotlands Wild Medicine workshop! Come along to learn more about the wild plants of the west coast and how to turn them into simple but effective medicines. Delicious organic lunch included!

31/01/2025

I’m back! ☀️👋
…and just in time to celebrate Imbolc, the return of the first light. How are you all doing with coming out of hibernation?

I’ve been off adventuring in Morocco these last couple of weeks, topping up my vitamin D levels, and seeking out cold water, beautiful beaches, nomadic goat herds, high mountains, sunshine, sea, sand and even snow and of course…wilder places.

Looking forward to getting properly stuck back into my herbal and foraging work, and the upcoming annual gathering next weekend.

My co-author of and I will be doing a live on Sunday, so be sure to check that out, and you can listen to me chatting all about rosehips on the recent podcast with

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