Top 10 Best Foraging classes, courses, learnings kits and gifts in the UK

Foraging expert John Wright, author of three River Cottage Handbooks about foraging, will take you on three, real, forays: along the hedgerow, beside the seashore, and to the fields and woods hunting for mushrooms. These are, indeed, real forays, with all the hopes, disappointments, limitations of season and joys that we must expect when venturing into the wild for our dinner. They all take place in an autumnal Dorset, but the lessons learned here can be applied to other places and other times. In John’s trusted and experienced hands, you will learn the basics of identification and understand how to forage successfully, responsibly and safely.

Foraging expert John Wright, author of three River Cottage Handbooks about foraging, will take you on three, real, forays: along the hedgerow, beside the seashore, and to the fields and woods hunting for mushrooms. These are, indeed, real forays, with all the hopes, disappointments, limitations of season and joys that we must expect when venturing into the wild for our dinner. They all take place in an autumnal Dorset, but the lessons learned here can be applied to other places and other times. In John’s trusted and experienced hands, you will learn the basics of identification and understand how to forage successfully, responsibly and safely. John Wright has foraged for food all his life. From cockle-hunting and blackberry picking in the 1960’s, via wild mushrooms and seaweeds many years, to collecting flying ants with a butterfly net today, he has seen and eaten most wild foods. He has written four books on foraging, one on home-brewing and two on natural history. His most recent book, The Forager’s Calendar, won the Guild of Food Writers award for ‘Food Book of the Year 2020’. John has written numerous magazine articles, most of them on the countryside or countryside pursuits.

Based on the season, you will be gently introduce into the magical world of plants, using our senses to identify around 15 wild edible plants and flowers that provide us with both food and medicine. Packed with vitamins and minerals they are a true superfood, and a magical addition to the stew pot of salad both. We will also be shown any poisonous plants that we encounter, making sure we learn how to recognise and understand them so we can safely avoid them. This is a mindful foraging walk that will ensure everyone feels confident in naming and identifying each of the plants, along with how best to prepare them. This herbal knowledge has long been our heritage, and reconnecting with the landscape in this way is both very simple and often quite profound. It is a lesson that will last a lifetime! We will then have tea and cakes on the Heath with some of the plants we've collected together. Meet our host! Tamara Colchester is a wild food teacher and writer who guides people in the old ways of foraging as a route to a simpler, more connected way of life. Trained by renowned wild food teacher and author Ffyona Campbell, she now travels the UK reintroducing people to our wild heritage. Incorporating her interest in psychotherapy and healing (she trained at Tavistock & Portman), she specialises in using foraging and tracking techniques as a means of helping those suffering from PTSD, Depression and Anxiety, as well as those who are simply interested in deepening their relationship with their environment and the food we eat.

Are you looking to reconnect with nature? Are you having a rethink about your impact on the natural world? Or are you just a food-lover who wants to try new and unique flavours? This is your chance! Find out what delicious wild food grows in typical UK countryside and learn how to forage for yourself. This is a 4-hour workshop with a foraging expert, including ID guidance, finding and tasting wild ingredients and a walk at Alderley Edge National Trust. This course is designed to get you as involved as possible - this includes identifying, picking and tasting a range of wild plants that will be found on the day. There will also be lots of food and drink for everyone to get stuck into! What you can expect from your Foraging Workshop: a short introduction outlining foraging tips, ethics, etiquette and law a circular walking route taking in different growing environments around the beautiful National Trust site at Alderley Edge. a closer look at edible wild plants and any poisonous lookalikes by a professional forager with a focus on Spring species. small tasters of wild food, drink and preserves. These may include syrups, salts, jams, soup and even freshly-picked items straight from the hedgerow! the opportunity to hand-pick seasonal wild ingredients