7of the best PLACES

To Go Foraging In The Uk And Beyond

Joining a foraging course is a great way to learn about the abundance of nature’s free larder while spending time in the great outdoors. Adhering to the foraging code, you’ll learn how to recognise, gather and sustainably harvest wild foods with confidence, including those found along the coast, such as seaweed and shellfish, and those in forests, such as edible plants, berries, seeds, mushrooms and truffles – all depending on what’s in season.

The duration of these courses varies from just a few hours to a weekend, or multi-day residential courses where you can also learn how to prepare and cook the delicacies you find in the wild.

COASTAL FORAGING, WALES

Craig Evan’s Coastal Foraging courses explore the coastline of south-west Wales, from Pembrey in Carmarthenshire to St Davids in North Pembrokeshire, covering three habitats: beach, rock pool and rocky shore; tidal mudflats and estuaries; and sand dunes. The courses focus on where to find and catch edible seafood, including clams, mussels, oysters, plants, marsh samphire and sea vegetables –with a bit of local history thrown in too.

DETAILS Courses start from £85 per person. coastalforaging.co.uk

FORAGE FINE FOODS, WALES

This company is run by Liz Knight at Nant y Bedd Gardens, a beautiful wild forest garden high up in the Grwyne Fawr valley near Abergavenny. Her day courses run from 10.30am–3pm, but you can also book her for two-hour foraging walks (for up to five people) or combine with one of the workshops on topics such as making wild drinks, seasonings and beauty products.

Liz is also the wild food tutor at Humble By Nature in Monmouth, Eckington Manor in Worcestershire, and Brompton Cookery School in Shrewsbury.

DETAILS Details Courses start from £45 per person. foragefinefoods.com

TASTE THE WILD, ENGLAND

Chris and Rose Bax set up their company to promote wild foods as exciting ingredients to use in innovative ways. Their courses are held in the north of England and cover a variety of subjects, including foraging for flowers, herbs and wild berries, picking hedgerow fruit and preparing wild game, as well as a day’s foraging for edible mushrooms in autumn, and a day’s foraging for edible seaweeds and plants in pools and gullies and around the pretty village of Robin Hood’s Bay on the Yorkshire coast.

DETAILS Courses start from £75 per person. tastethewild.co.uk

GALLOWAY WILD FOODS, SCOTLAND

Mark Williams has been teaching foraging for 30 years across a range of Scottish habitats, from high mountains and forests to hedgerows, urban settings and at the coast. While out and about, he introduces aspects of health and nutrition, traditional and modern medicinal uses, survival and bushcraft. Mark also runs online one-to-one courses and webinars as well as outdoor adventure trips, such as a three-day kayaking, wild camping and shore-based foraging trip along the coast of Galloway.

DETAILS Foraging walks are £80 for adults, £40 for children aged 12-16. gallowaywildfoods.com

TRUFFLE HUNTING, PRESPA NATIONAL PARK, GREECE

Finding precious truffles in Prespa National Park is easy in the company of Nikos Tsilis and his expertly trained dog – the boundlessly enthusiastic Avra – on foraging walks in the region’s oak, beech and ancient juniper forests. The precise locations will vary depending on time and season – whether you’re searching for black summer truffles or the more greatly prized white winter variety, or perhaps wild mushrooms as well. Nikos is young and self-taught but has accrued a wealth of knowledge about these pungent fruiting fungi; he’s even discovered a few new species. DETAILS Message Nikos for the latest info. instagram.com/nick_tsilis

LE MANOIR DU LYS, FRANCE

Spend an autumnal weekend mushroom foraging at Le Manoir du Lys, a smart country inn near the spa town of Bagnoles-de-l’Orne in Normandy. After an afternoon’s foraging in the nearby forest, a mycologist will help you identify what you’ve found over a refreshing glass of pear cider, and Michelin-starred chef Franck Quinton will give you a masterclass in how to make delicious mushroom-based dishes. If you go in late September, head east to the town of Bellême for the annual four-day International Wild Mushroom Festival.

DETAILS Prices start from €165 per person. manoir-du-lys.com

EAT WEEDS, ENGLAND

These plant-based foraging courses held in Devon, Dorset, Kent, Sussex and London are run by author Robin Harford, who will teach you how to identify wild edible plants as well as tell you the stories of wild plants, their uses as food and medicine, and their folklore and history.

DETAILS Courses start from £245 per person. eatweeds.co.uk