Foraging Courses for Plants, Mushrooms and other Wild Foods – all over the UK
We have a genuine love of wild British food. There is an abundance of edible plants and mushrooms that grow in the UK, and knowing what you can and cannot eat from your local woods will enhance your walks as well as your diet. Much of what you can pick in the UK whilst foraging would be considered food for fine dining, and often beyond a normal household budget. So why not learn how to find it for free?
Foraging Courses
We run a range of foraging courses and trips, from days out near London, to camping and wild food weekends and trips away to hotels with gourmet chefs.
Private Foraging Events
Tailor-made packages for stag or hen parties, work events, for chefs, or for groups wishing to find out more about nature’s bountiful larder.
Foraging Alerts
Join our mailing list and you’ll be kept up to date on any new wild food recipes, and also the latest on courses, trips and events around the UK.
Wild Mushroom Guide
The more common edible – and poisonous – British mushrooms. Always use multiple sources of identification before picking and eating any wild mushrooms.
Hedgerow Guide
There’s more to foraging than mushrooms. Our hedgerow guide lists some of the more common edible wild plants – you’ll find many in fields and woods too.
Wild Food Recipes
It’s sometimes difficult to know what to do with foraged food in the kitchen. Try these ideas for snacks, drinks, main courses and even condiments.
UPCOMING FORAGING COURSES
LATEST FORAGING ARTICLES
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
Emma, North Yorkshire
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the course on 20th June near Ripon. Jordan was brilliant. He was so good at teaching, but it wasn't just that he knew a script - he was also ready to answer any questions and wasn't put off by going off on a tangent - he knew anything we asked him! He was approachable and friendly and we both really benefited from the day, and loved the food he prepared.
Please let him know that we appreciated his teaching.
Thanks, Emma
Lisa Welling, Wild With Nature
Private Foraging Course arranged for Wild With Nature
'I just wanted to say that we all had the most wonderful walk with Phil, he was so passionate and knowledgeable, it was a fascinating afternoon.
The Mushroom Soup was a particular highlight - please pass on our massive thanks to Phil. I'm so glad it came together and big thanks to you for making it happen.
Thank you for sharing the recipes, I will be sure to share them!
Thanks again, Lisa'
Gunter Morson, Cambridgeshire
'Thank you so much for the follow-up notes, this is really much appreciated.
I wanted to thank you Phil, for all of the time and dedication you took to share your knowledge. I learnt so much and had such a wonderful experience. I will certainly put these skills into action so that I can learn from them.
I do like the point in which you stated that foraging is good for our minds, as it gets us into nature. It really struck a chord with me.
Best wishes, Gunter'
Helen, Yorkshire Dales
Thank you so much for sending the course notes through. We both had a wonderful day and learnt so much and this crib sheet will help us remember everything! We were surprised to see so much in such a short walk, I was prepared to be walking miles.
Jordan was great and had so much knowledge and was very good company. His Hogweed & Cheese Tart was great too. I have been recommending the course to everyone I meet.
Best wishes for the future and kind regards, Helen.
Acorn Bank – Cumbria
My husband and I attended the above course with Jordan. I just wanted to email you to say how much we enjoyed it! Jordan was lovely, welcoming, patient, funny, confident, informative and, very well organised. It was a real pleasure learning from him.
We will definitely look to book further courses around the country with wildfooduk.
Yorkshire Dales with Jordan
I just finished the foraging course in Linton, Yorkshire. I could not wait to express my admiration for the content of the course and Jordan McKeating. Jordan was excellent, a great public speaker, and always kept our interest; he was very knowledgeable. His teaching was full of anecdotes about plants, which are always interesting.
The food was brilliant.
We will definitely be recommending this course to our friends. We will book a mushroom one.
Thank you.
Private course: Frome
Thanks Steph this is fabulous information.
Dave was great and everyone enjoyed it.
I am looking forward to the next one.
Anthony and Erica, The Chicken Tree
"Hi. We just wanted to send you a message thanking you for all your videos on YouTube. The knowledge we have gained from you has given us a new way of appreciating fungi. Since finding your videos we have gone down a five year rabbit hole in to understanding our surroundings and are now in the process of going off grid and living a self sufficient life. Your videos were one of the initial things that gave us confidence and motivation. Thanks you. Anthony and Erica"
Stacey, Google
"On behalf of the Google team, I wanted to say a big thank you for leading such a fun and educational course. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the mushrooms we ate for lunch were so tasty. We all learnt a lot and have been talking about the various mushroom types we encountered (luckily these notes will help refresh our memory!)."
David Tonkinson
"I did the course with Phil yesterday at Cannock chase and I wanted to say how good it was. Learnt so much about mushroom foraging and am now confident on picking certain types. Exactly what I wanted to achieve.
Thank you"
Steve Charters
"I just wanted to add how much the three of us enjoyed this course. Informative and fun - so thanks very much for providing it, and the friendly and inclusive way it was delivered. Love to come back again in the future, in another part of the UK."
Carol Hopkins
"We had a fantastic afternoon with Phil in Thetford forest. He was very knowledgeable, but also very good at communication with us. We had great fun and learned many new things. The food was fantastic and the it was so kind of Phil to go to all that trouble. We would love to come to another event and it has encouraged us to keep going with the foraging. Thank you for a splendid afternoon."
Greg, North Devon
"This was a very enjoyable course and would recommend to anyone. Excellent value for money."
Alan and Angela Colbridge
"Thank you so much for a really brilliant day. It exceeded all expectations. Thank you also for the very informative and useful email, which we will be using. Hope to see you at another foraging event and hoping to bring a friend with us who we know will love this."
Jess Moore
"A huge thanks for the foraging experience last week, we had such a great afternoon and learnt so much. Couldn’t recommend it enough. We all enjoyed a lovely weekend, and will be planning an annual foraging trip in the future. New Forest or Scotland next year!"
Andrew Ledger
"Dear Marlow & Eric,
Thanks guys for a really insightful afternoon. We've just fried up our bag - delicious!!"
Antony Sargerson
"Brilliant, delighted to have found this site...Found my first edible mushrooms tonight! Thanks."
Cara Roberts
"My Dad and I thoroughly enjoyed Sundays course!! See you on the Spring Walk x"
Cheskie Baker
"We had such a fantastic day learning about the mushrooms and plants that grew near us - we are eating our giant puff ball tonight!
Thank you x"
Elliot Stroud
"Hi Wild Foods.
Had a great time with Eric in Mortimer woods today. Easy to remember rules on what to do, can't wait to take the family out foraging.
Cheers for the experience and food at the end. Will be recommending this course to friends.
Thanx, Elliot Stroud"
Jo Smyth
"Hi thanks for a fabulous course today. I learnt so much and I am amazed at the plant knowledge you guys have. I will never look at a hedgerow in the same way again :). We were so blessed with the weather too. xx"
Ben Dawlatly
"Alba and I were on the forage on the 28th. I went out the next day and picked some field blewits.
Just wanted to say thanks again for an amazing day and for sharing your passion and knowledge."
Nikita Devoy
"Thank you for a great course today, and sharing your passion for what you do.
It's improved our confidence no end. And he didn't take much convincing to explore fungi foraging next.....many thanks."
Mike Fell
"Hi!
Had a great time at the session today -- thanks again! If you could sign me up to your mailing list that would be great. Hope to see you again in autumn.
Cheers, Mike"
Anne Foster
"Thanks for a fascinating walk in Warlingham on Saturday, we learned a lot! Had the St George's mushrooms for breakfast, lovely! Looking forward to another trip soon. Cheers Anne and Gary."
Fran Hale
"Thank you so much Eric and Marlow for a great afternoon foraging in Exeter. We learned so much and enjoyed tasting the different flowers and leaves we found. Most educational and also good fun. And the soup was delicious! Thanks again, see you on another one :)"
Wendy Reid
"I found some shrooms growing in my garden and thought of them to be a nice tasty treat, low and behold after using your website I found them to be poisonous and can be deadly if eaten! Luckily I did not use them before checking. Thank you for probably saving 2 lives, at least!! They were the brown roll rim. Thanks again."
Ana Vidal-Guardia
"Just wanted to thank you for a fantastic day of discovering and good company. You both are a bundle of knowledge. Hope to repeat the experience sometime in the future."
Tanya Pemberton
"Benjy and I really enjoyed the walk. It's amazing that if I put anything green on his plate he usually pokes it suspiciously before declaring he won't eat it, but when we went round on the walk he was keen to eat everything you showed him! If I want him to eat salad I obviously have to go foraging with him beforehand... Thank you!"
Nici Richter
"Thank you for this wonderful website! Inspiring!"
Liz Brewer
"Ken & I really enjoyed the course today - definitely one of the best presents we've had. We hope to make it to an autumn forage and thanks for a brilliant day - Alfie was the icing on the cake!"
Dave Meldrum
"Hello Marlow,
Both myself and my wife would like to thank you for the foraging course which we thought was perfect for beginners and gave us a taste of what could be a great pastime."
Peter Falconer
"I was on your course in Woking today and had a tremendous time. Not only did I learn lots, but your enthusiasm was incredibly infectious and I'm already excited about my next trip! Great day- thank you both!"
Dave Whitmore
"Thanks for a great day in Little Hereford on the 18th. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lovely location, great walk with really useful information and some surprising flavours. Hope to see you later in the year for another forage.
All the best
Dave"
Michael Ackerman
"Thank you for a delicious, well-organised and inspirational introduction to foraging. My £2.50 blewitts which I ate on Saturday evening were all the more tasty with the thought that I'll never be buying them again.
Best wishes."
Alex Stevenson
"Hi Guys, just wanted to say thank you for a brilliant afternoon foraging on Friday. Rachel and I really enjoyed it. We've definitly got the foraging bug now and hope to come back for another session in the summer.
Best wishes,
Alex"
Eloise
"Thank you Marlow
It was a lovely day - great to learn so much. Cooked the mushrooms with olive oil in the oven and had them with the wild salad for a starter.
I'm going to print all the links and go walking with my Dad this weekend in and around Shrewsbury. I'm going to book more courses - great presents.
Thank you!"
Simon
"Dear Marlow and Eric,
That was just the most wonderful trip for me today. I was running-in-the-head to remember it all. Child's play for you. But for me....it was just brilliant.
Thank you for your generosity. The soup and pasta : everything.
I am gonna try to learn what I can from you, as often as I'm able.
All the very best."
The Ritchie Family
"Hi Marlow
Thanks for this which ices a very special cake. The whole family had a great day, learnt a lot and enjoyed your food, wisdom and excellent manner with adults and kids alike.
I am grazing the Hawthorn with gusto and your sorrelled version of wild garlic pesto is going down a storm.
Hope to see you again soon.
Best wishes"
Chris & Steve Hiller
"Hi Guys,
Thanks so much for the info, the forage in Lustleigh was a great experience. The mushroom soup tasted so intense we are still talking about it, we are recommending the experience to all family and friends,
thanks again."
John Denton
Hi Marlow and Eric
"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the foraging course last week at Ashton-under-Hill. I must admit my grandson Alex enjoyed it as much as I did and thank you for including him in so well."
Pam Harper and Mike Barnes
"Thanks ever so much for this. We had a really great time, learnt so much and the foraged meal at the end was very tasty. Fabio was so engaging and so knowledgeable. We shall certainly keep on recommending the company very highly to others."
Andrew Higgs
"The walk today on Farleigh Common was very enjoyable and informative. I was especially excited to find the pignut, as I've never had enough knowledge (nor courage!) to identify this member of the umbelifer family. Fabio was very friendly and hugely knowledgeable about the subject, and the surprise hogweed soup enroute was delicious! Recommended!"
Vanessa Brown, Quinine Design
"We just wanted to say a massive thank you for our forage yesterday – we all have nothing but praise for the day and all our new knowledge, the food and treats were awesome. Thank you so much and we are looking forward to our course notes ☺"
Steve Hemmings
"Many thanks Marlow for an excellent foraging course last Sunday in Ashton Under Hill, and a lovely lunch as well. A great day out and I enjoyed every minute of it (especially in that lovely weather)."
Paul Haywood
"Hi, could you pass on my Thanks to Eric for Saturdays course, I found it incredible the amount of knowledge he was able to pass on and I learned a lot about wild food and will find it very useful in my cooking. Also the information on plantain was invaluable as my little boy fell in stingers and rubbing the plantain on them really helped. I will definitely be booking a spring course next year."
Helen Buttery
"Thank you all for the fabulous day, I really enjoyed it as did, I am sure, everyone. I'll be keeping an eye out for another day with you! Wishing you all great things in your venture."
Mark & Rosalind Butterworth
"We just wanted to write a quick email to say thank you for the course. Roz and I had a great time and we are already looking to see if we can "up" our skills and put them to practical use. The day was interesting and fun and Eric was a great guide. Thanks and hope to see you again in the future."
Sam Haydon, Shukers Land Rover Ludlow
"We worked with Wildfood UK on a recent event for Land Rover and they were wonderful. Our guests had a great day and found the team to be passionate, knowledgeable and fun! A brilliant day was had by all, I would highly recommend them."
Peter Randall
"Just wanted to thank you for a really enjoyable day out. Whether the family will believe my new found knowledge on edible mushrooms remains to be seen but they will at least be forced to eat a ‘hedgerow salad’. Lunch at the end was great – certainly need to sniff out a few Boletes of some sort and try them out."
Sheila Sargeant
"Absolutely LOVED the hours we spent in our group. Your knowledge is immense. Your foraged food was absolutely delicious. Thank you."
Isabelle Hanlon
"Thank you so much for a wonderful afternoon on Sunday. I'm amazed at how informative the course was, opening up an old world I used to inhabit before getting bogged down with career stuff!"
Andy Harnell
"Many thanks for the email with all the details and reference material. Very comprehensive and helpful. I thoroughly enjoyed the foraging event. It was really interesting and informative. This is another aspect of nature in which I can try to expand my knowledge during walks! Thank you to all involved. Keep up the good work!"
Kate Gallagher
"We really enjoyed the foraging session at the hen do; a few of us have already been out there, spotting mushrooms, yarrow, pineapple weed, and more. It's really inspired us. Please thank the guys."
James Taylor
"Thanks to both Marlow and Eric for a great day foraging in Cardiff, both my daughter Aimee and myself enjoyed and learned loads, we hope to attend the next course later in the year."
Tim Edwards
"Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us on yesterdays forage at Ashton under hill, I really enjoyed the experience, and the treats on the way round and the excellent foragers lunch at the end. Looking foward to receiving the notes. I learned so much in such a short period it was quite a surprise how much you can gain from real experts in a short period."
Dawn Assefa
"Thank you Marlow and Eric for your warm welcome on yesterday's foraging day, my daughter and I had a wonderful time, your tutorial on edible wildlife and safety tips has left us confident that we can enjoy picking a veritable feast on our walks in local woodland and parks for now on, we look forward to coming on another course."
LATEST FROM FACEBOOK
What's this mushroom 35?
For each of these we will give you a couple of days of guessing then provide you with the answer plus any key identifying features and whether it is edible or not.
#wildfood #mycology #fungifun #wildfooduk #foraging #wildmushrooms #foragingcourses
... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
No idea but it's beautiful
Russula virescens
What's This Plant 22?
For each of these we'll give you a couple of days of guessing, then provide the answer, plus any interesting details about the plant and whether it's edible or not.
#foraging #foragingcourses #wildplants #wildfooduk #hedgerowguide #foragedfood
... See MoreSee Less
6 CommentsComment on Facebook
What's this mushroom 34?
For each of these we will give you a couple of days of guessing then provide you with the answer plus any key identifying features and whether it is edible or not.
#wildfood #mycology #fungifun #wildfooduk #foraging #wildmushrooms #foragingcourses
... See MoreSee Less
20 CommentsComment on Facebook
Good Morning All, These beauties are Panthercaps (Amanita pantherina). The giveaway (key) ID features are: white warts (remnants of the universal veil) on the cap, grooved cap margin, obvious, bulbous, marginate stem base (with a ‘gutter’ running around the top edge). You can rule out Amanita regalis, because it should have somewhat yellowish warts on the cap, and multiple rings close to the stem base. Amanita excelsa has a different kind of stem base (no 'gutter' running around the top edge), also you often see some kind of horizontal 'stretchmarks' on the stem. You can read more about it on the following link: www.wildfooduk.com/mushroom-guide/panther-cap/
You can't see the skirt, so it's not possible to see the striations or smooth flesh that would distinguish between A. excelsa and A. pantherina. However, from the size of the specimen and the brightness of the veil remnants I would be leaning towards pantherina initially.
Agreed. A. Pantherina. Panther cap. Possible confusion with blusher, A. Rubescens, except there's no blushing where the mushroom is damaged.
What's This Plant 21?
For each of these we'll give you a couple of days of guessing, then provide the answer, plus any interesting details about the plant and whether it's edible or not.
#foraging #foragingcourses #wildplants #wildfooduk #hedgerowguide #foragedfood
... See MoreSee Less
8 CommentsComment on Facebook
Himalayan Balsam. All parts edible. Looks lovely, smells great, and it's exploding seeds everywhere. Invasive and problematic, alas.
Himalayan balsam - seeds make a tasty wayside snack
Himalayan balsam
3 CommentsComment on Facebook
Brilliant reference book, I use it regularly 👍
Beer Teasdale
LATEST FROM YOUTUBE
LATEST FROM INSTAGRAM