Interested in learning how to forage for plants, mushrooms and berries in the British countryside? Here is our pick of the best foraging courses from across Britain to help you learn the skills you need to get started safely.
Foraging has been popular for some years now, with enthusiasm for gathering food from wild and natural places only increasing as we look to reduce our plastic waste, live more sustainably and rekindle our connection with nature.
Like all activities in the countryside, it is important that those participating in foraging do it safely, sustainably and respectively. That’s where foraging courses come into their own; a chance to get outside with an expert who really knows their stuff, teaching you what to forage, where to find it and how to do it safely and sustainably.
We’ve picked a few of our favourite foraging courses from around the UK, offering you the opportunity to discover all manner of edible treasures, from wild garlic and elderflowers, to blackberries and nettles.
Month-by-month foraging guide
Once you’ve built up an understanding of foraging with the help of an expert, head into the countryside with our monthly foraging guide.
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What is foraging?
Foraging is the activity of finding and gathering wild foods – for free. It’s a great way to stay active and spend time outdoors connecting with nature and learning more about where your food comes from.
There is a wide variety of food you can forage for in Britain, including mushrooms, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and more – read our monthly foraging guide to find out what’s in season each month.
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Best foraging courses in Britain
Robin Harford, various locations
Robin Harford has been in the foraging spotlight for a long time now. He is creator of the UK’s leading wild food site Eatweeds.co.uk. He runs courses countrywide, with varying prices.
The courses teach people how to identify a minimum of 20 edible plants, how to cook and prepare them, how to forage sustainably, as well as learning different plant stories, their nutritional values, their folklore, mystery and history. eatweeds.co.uk/foraging-courses
Spring foraging
- March foraging guide: best plants to find and recipe ideas
- April foraging guide: best plants to find and how to use them
- May foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
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Wild Food UK, various locations
Wild Food UK travel all around the country to hold their foraging courses, and can even tailor trips to suit you. Courses take place in a range of places, including Edinburgh, Cardiff, Kent, Devon, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
Wild Food UK say that their best courses take place in the autumn, as it is then that the biggest variety of species are in season. wildfooduk.com/foraging-trips
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Taste the Wild, Yorkshire
Taste the Wild offers one and two day Coastal Foraging & Fishing Courses that scour the rocky coast of North Yorkshire or the shores of Cumbria.
The courses help foragers to find edible plants, seaweed and shellfish, searching in pools and gullies. They also offer Wild Food, Foraging & Cooking Courses to suit the landlubber. tastethewild.co.uk/courses
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Fat Hen, Cornwall
Professional forager, ecologist and cook Caroline Davey runs cookery courses known for indulgence. Her Fat Hen Wild Food Cycling Days sound particularly exciting, with on and off-road terrain providing the harvesting site and cycle trail.
A three course wild lunch is offered on the beach if the weather is good, or under shelter if not. the-fat-hen.co.uk/courses
Summer foraging
- June foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
- July foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
- August foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
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Fishing and Foraging Wales, Pembrokeshire
Fishing and Foraging Wales offers the opportunity to fish and forage, with guided bass lure angling, foraging and accommodation on the Welsh coast.
You are then given the chance to enjoy what you have foraged by having the goods cooked for you, which are paired with fresh local produce. fishingandforagingwales.co.uk/foraging-food-wales-pembrokeshire
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Truffle hunting, Dorset
This course by The English Truffle Company is a bit more expensive than some, but then its treasures are more highly prized.
Learn about truffles with an introductory talk before hunting with trained truffle-hunting dogs in a secret location in Dorset woodland. Hunters then sample their finds over afternoon tea. englishtruffles.co.uk/product/truffle-hunting-experience-days
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The Secret Sunday Mushroom Club, various locations
The Secret Sunday Mushroom Club, organised by The Wild Side of Life, provides the forager with an organised hunt for mushrooms, over five Sundays during the peak of the autumn mushroom season.
You have to be a member to find out each location, details of which are only released a couple of days beforehand, so that the organisers can determine which ground has the richest pickings. thewildsideoflife.co.uk/diary
Autumn foraging
- September foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
- October foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
- November foraging guide: best foods to find and cooking ideas
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Healing Weeds, Bristol and Somerset
Based in Bristol, Healing Weeds‘ walks and workshops provide a practical opportunity to learn how to identify and use local flora and fauna.
Although there is a focus on the medicinal properties of plants, professional forager Maria Fernandez Garcia shares edible (and non-edible) plant, fungi and lichen species with you on these seasonal walks through the city’s green spaces. healingweeds.co.uk/foraging-courses-bristol
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Woodland Ways Bushcraft & Survival, Oxfordshire
Held near Appleton in Oxford, Woodland Ways‘ seasonal hands-on courses teach flora identification, how to harvest sustainably and then how to prepare the ingredients.
There are regular tasting sessions and the opportunity to cook the ingredients yourself – including cooking game around the camp fire – a choice usually from rabbit, pigeon, partridge, pheasant and trout. courses.woodland-ways.co.uk/1day
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Original Outdoors, North Wales
Original Outdoors run foraging courses as well as food walks, which follows a walk through fields, woodlands and along tracks, depending on what’s in season.
Most courses will consist of a short walk with an instructor, who will point out interesting plants along the way. You will also be shown how to prepare the food that you gather, and how to spot the same foods near your home. originaloutdoors.co.uk/foraging-course-north-wales
Winter foraging
- December foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
- January foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
- January foraging guide: best foods to find and recipe ideas
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