Hampshire, South Downs Foraging Courses
This impressive 1,400 acre Country Park sits in the midst of the South Downs and includes a mixture of open grassland, dramatic downland and vast woodlands. This provides a diverse habitat for a wide range of wild plants and mushrooms to flourish throughout the year. Opened by The Queen in 1976, the park was once called Buriton Forest and hosts the highest point on the South Downs National Park at Butser Hill.
Queen Elizabeth Country Park is situated just north of Waterlooville, with the A272 to the North and the A27 to the South. It is within easy reach of Portsmouth, Winchester, Chichester, Fareham and Eastleigh.
Our courses begin with a short introduction to Wild Food UK, what to expect from your day and a brief of the general countryside codes, including our Foraging Code.
Heading off at a leisurely pace around the park, your instructor will teach you how to safely identify the different species of edible and poisonous plants and mushrooms that you discover.
This exploration will take about 2.5hrs, during which we’ll take a break for a homemade refreshment, such as our warming Hogweed & Wild Garlic soup or Elderflower Champagne!
After the walk we will end the day with a tasty Wild Food meal. This will include a selection of foraged homemade treats created by your instructor, and a dish made with what we have collected during the walk.
All of our food is seasonal, so what you are served depends on what is growing at that time of year. In Spring we will be making use of the fresh wild greens and in Autumn, the array of tasty wild mushrooms that the area has to offer.
You will receive a comprehensive set of Wild Food UK ‘course notes’ a few days after your course. This email will contain links and articles relating to the plants and mushrooms we discovered, or discussed during the day.
We will meet in the car park outside the Visitor Centre, or at the Bottom Field depending on the time of year. Please check below and on the individual course page to find your meeting point.