Join us for a day of discovery on our Late Spring Foraging Course in May. Our highly knowledgeable instructors will take you on a gentle stroll and share with you the history and folklore of a broad range of edible and medicinal plants. As well as practical tips for sustainably harvesting and processing these plants. In the afternoon the group comes together to prepare and cook the foraged plants and enjoy a delightful celebratory meal.
All of our courses are available as 24 month gift vouchers which can be purchased here.
Timings: 9.30am to 5.00pm
Aged: 18 and above.
Location: South London Woods – CR3. Our South Wales Woodland, in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park can also be booked for private courses.
Course Size: 16 maximum
Late Spring Foraging Course in Detail
In the morning our informative instructor will take you on a gentle walk around a range of different habitats, including hedges, edges, woodlands and grassy openings. They’ll show you how to identify a broad range of edible, poisonous and medicinal plants found in the British Countryside. You will also learn about some of the folklore and history surrounding the plants as well as other practical uses they have in bushcraft. Our skilled instructor will draw on their expansive knowledge, including years of personal experience using the plants.
The leisurely walk will give you ample time to ask questions, make notes and take photos, allowing you to fully absorb the information passed on by our knowledgable instructors.
You will be guided how best to collect the plants in a sustainable manner, and prepare each individual ingredient. This will also include the opportunity to taste them in their raw state if you wish.
The guided walk and forage will bring you to our woodland base camp. Where the bustle of activity really starts, as you will be guided by our expert trainers on how best to prepare the ingredients for our group meal. Learn a range of campfire cooking techniques, there will be an (optional) opportunity to prepare and cook your own wild game, this will either be a small mammal or game bird. All dietary requirements can be catered for, please let us know at the time of booking.
At the end of the day it’s time to celebrate, sit down and enjoy the meal you’ve created with new friends. Before heading back home with bellies and brains filled with food and ideas.
No prior experience or specialist kit is needed for this course. A general level of fitness will be required for the foraging walk, as this will be on public footpaths & in our private woodlands. By its nature it will not be a particularly fast walk.
We suggest you bring a light lunch or some snacks, as we will be eating our main meal at around 3pm.
We run a range of Foraging Courses throughout the year, allowing you to discover the range of resources available across the seasons.
Spring Foraging Course, Late Spring Foraging Course, Autumn Foraging Course, Autumn Foraging and Preserving Weekend and Wild Alcohol & Foraging Workshop.
A full kit list can be found here.
Our instructors will talk you though each plant ID features step by step. We also check over EVERY SINGLE leaf/flower/petal or plant part before they are consumed.
Yes, rest assured we have £5million public liability insurance through AIM, Activities Insurance Mutual.
Yes, we don’t presume any experience and will take you through all the key features of each plant we discuss.
The day is mainly teaching and learning and gathering at the start of the day. You’ll be on your feet but not walking far. Then there is a walk across to the woodland site 30-45min, before we cook up our meal.
A full kit list can be found here.
We have a covered area at main camp that keeps off 90% of the rain. Fortunately, unlike animals plants do not hide from the rain so they can still be gathered whatever the weather.
In the unlikely event that the course is postponed due to unsafe weather conditions. You will be issued a 24 month voucher to rebook with us.
We also have a flexi booking option, where you can change your course date up to 24 hours before the course starts. For more info see here.
Yes, two we have a loo at the meeting point where we are based for the first few hours as we gather the plants. And also a cassette toilet in the woods where we are based for the second part of the day.
Yes, well behaved dogs with 100% recall are welcome on our courses as long as all participants are comfortable with this. Otherwise, they will have to be kept in the car or on a lead outside of main camp.
What you get on the day: The highlights
One the day you will get:
Specialist foraging knowledge from two highly trained and skilled instructors with a maximum group number of 16.
Peace of mind that everything you’re eating has been checked over by an expert.
A full two course, seven dish meal bringing out the best of your foraged foods.
All the recipes to take home.
Plenty of time to ask questions and take notes and photos
Recommendations of further reading and recourses to continue your learning jounrey.
An overview of the legalities of foraging and associated laws in the UK.
A many customers after the meal have said: “This food is restaurant quality, I’d pay a lot to eat this out.”
We don’t focus on picking and eating everything that might be edible, but highlight the broad range of tasty edible plants. With a focus of increasing your connection to nature and the world around you.
Nicola T. –
An excellent spring foraging course – it has opened my eyes to the plants all around me, exactly what I was after – and will I ever drink water without sticky weed in it ever again? Really fun day, Lizzy is very knowledgeable. Recommend!
Steve –
Lovely day learning with Lizzy. Identifying what was good to forage and how to differentiate between the good plants and the harmful ones that look similar or grow nearby. The bluebells in the wood made it look special. Couldn’t believe how grand and tasty the final meal was. Excellent day out. I didn’t take any notes which I now realise was a mistake.
Ben V. –
What a fantastic day learning a new skill in stunning surroundings. Lizzy was a brilliant guide who explained things in a way that even a complete novice (like me) meant I could find all the different fauna and florna, we would use to cook in the meal at the end.
The woods were you go to cook and eat are stunning and very well set up. The whole day was good fun and I learnt alot.
Thanks Lizzy, Luna (the dog) and the rest of the team for a fantastic day.