Hampshire, New Forest Foraging Courses
We are extremely privileged to be permitted to run our courses in the New Forest. It is a diverse and protected ecosystem and one of the most important sites for fungi in Britain, with over 2,700 different species calling it home. It is also a stunning location full of wildlife, including the renowned New Forest Ponies. There really aren’t many better places around to learn about the wonderful wild foods that are available in the UK throughout the year.
These courses will be held in Linwood near Ringwood and are within easy reach of Salisbury, Southampton, Bournemouth and Poole.
Our Foraging Courses begin with a short introduction to Wild Food UK, what to expect from your day and a brief summary of the general countryside codes, including our Foraging Code.
Heading off at a leisurely pace around the grounds, 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.
The Red Shoot Inn is a lovely country pub in the west of the forest, they serve great food and even have their own microbrewery! If you’re looking to make this course part of a weekend away there is a friendly, well-equipped campsite just behind the pub.
In autumn 2016, the Forestry Commission launched a new campaign to highlight the importance of the New Forest fungi and to appeal to people to support a “no-picking” code on the Site of Special scientific interest (SSSI). They have given us permission to lead educational events only, so as a group we will not be picking anything to take home. We will pick sparingly for identification purposes and the meal at the end only.
Please observe their voluntary ban on picking mushrooms during your time in the forest.
https://www.forestry.gov.uk/newforestfungi