English lad going around northern wood (5)
I believe the answer is:
ebony
'wood' is the definition.
(I know that ebony is a type of wood)
'english lad going around northern' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'lad' becomes 'boy' (I've seen this in another clue).
'going around' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'northern' becomes 'n' (abbreviation e.g. N. Ireland).
'boy' enclosing 'n' is 'bony'.
'e'+'bony'='EBONY'
(Other definitions for ebony that I've seen before include "Tree having black wood" , "Very dark black" , "Wood - Boyne (anag)" , "hard stuff" , "Material for key" .)