As featured in BBC Countryfile Magazine Best UK Foraging Courses 
& The Sunday Telegraph Top 5!

A small number of places are likely to become available for the 2026-27 mushroom season. Prompt action is advised as they tend to go very quickly!
Alternatively, please email fred@thewildsideoflife.co.uk to join the waiting list. Thank you.

The Secret Sunday Mushroom Club has featured in the BBC Countryfile Magazine’s ‘Best Foraging Courses in the UK’ for more than 10 years now, but it is more than just another foodie course! If you want to discover more about the fascinating world of fungi than just whether you can eat them, then look no further; let us guide you on a journey into all the depths and complexities of their fascinating world!

Led by Fred Gillam in Wiltshire, the New Forest, Bucks & Berks, a year’s membership of the Secret Sunday Mushroom Club brings you 12 months support via the Wiltshire Fungus Group forum and up to 17-18 hours of field tuition (if you attend all the field trips), taking you through the entire mushroom season and a wide variety of habitats and species:

• 4 exclusive club meetings (scroll to the bottom for this year’s dates) where you will receive expert field tuition from Fred Gillam, with more than 4 decades of experience of identifying mushrooms and other fungi. Members have the opportunity to receive hands-on tuition in both mushroom identification and fungal ecology included with their membership.
• 12 months membership of the lively Wiltshire Fungus Group ID forum where all members can share pictures of their mushroom finds and learn from expert opinion. Members will be offered the opportunity to renew this membership after the 12 month period to further their studies. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of fungi, fungal habitats, their role in ecology and where to search for the different species of fungi. They are fascinating!
• Our exclusive guide “Demystifying Mushroom Identification” de-mystifies the information in the mushroom ID books – teaching you what to look for and how to break mushroom identification down into simple steps, as well as decoding the scientific language that is often used.
• You will learn to identify and record with confidence a wide variety of common species, gaining an understanding of how to avoid poisoning yourself and how to protect fungi populations for future generations to enjoy in the process. Secret Sunday Mushroom Club / Wiltshire Fungus Group members have contributed many important finds to the National Biological Records Centre / NBN Atlas, increasing our knowledge of fungi populations and how they are responding to pressures like climate change.
• There’ll be a fabulous mushroom picnic in the woods to celebrate our last field meeting at the tail end of the autumn mushroom season, with a quiz to see how your learning is coming along and a coveted book prize for the winner.
• You can bring a special guest with you on any one of the regular club field day meetings! So what is the secret?

Locations of club meetings will be given out to members only and exact coordinates and location maps will be released to members 48 hours before each foray takes place. Reconnaissance will normally be carried out beforehand in the woods to ensure a high chance of interesting finds, and also because some of the sites are best kept secret due to their environmental sensitivity… that’s the SECRET part!.

“Your forays will be led by myself, Fred Gillam (sometimes known as Fred the Forager): You will benefit both from my fascination with field mycology and from my local knowledge… if you care about the conservation of fungi then this course is for you. Mushrooms are almost always on the menu, but their conservation always comes first!”

Membership is limited to 16 places on a first come first served basis.
If you would like to join the waiting list, please email fred@thewildsideoflife.co.uk.

Please note that early application is recommended to avoid disappointment!
Many of our members choose to return year after year.

---

2026 GROUP A – DATES & TIMES:

• • •  Sunday 20th September, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    •  Sunday 4th October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    •  Sunday 25th October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    •  Sunday 8th November (feast), 11.30 AM to 4.30 PM (longer day)

Cost of membership for 2026-27:
(includes all tuition, online members’ area with exclusive content, a guest day where you can bring a friend and 12 months exclusive ID support): 
New Members: £250.00
Existing members: £200.00
Existing or previous members, ID forum only: £30.00

---

2026 GROUP B – DATES & TIMES:

• • • Sunday 27th September, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    • Sunday 18th October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    • Sunday 1st November, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    • Sunday 15th November (feast), 11.30 AM to 4.30 PM (longer day)

Cost of membership for 2026-27:
(includes all tuition, online members’ area with exclusive content, a guest day where you can bring a friend and 12 months exclusive ID support): 
New Members: £250.00
Existing members: £200.00
Existing or previous members, ID forum only: £30.00

---

2026 GROUP C (THURSDAY FIELD TRIPS) – DATES & TIMES:

• • • Thursday 24th September, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    • Thursday 1st October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    • Thursday 22nd October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
    • Thursday 12th November (feast), 11.30 AM to 4.30 PM (longer day)

Cost of membership for 2026-27:
(includes all tuition, online members’ area with exclusive content, a guest day where you can bring a friend and 12 months exclusive ID support): 
New Members: £250.00
Existing members: £200.00
Existing or previous members, ID forum only: £30.00

---

TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST: If there are no spaces currently available…

Send an email to Fred@thewildsideoflife.co.uk (please put ‘SECRET SUNDAY’ or ‘SECRET THURSDAY’ in the subject line). You will either be offered a vacancy or added to the waiting list. When it is your turn to be offered a place, your place will be secured once we have received full payment by direct transfer (preferred) or PayPal.

HAPPY MUSHROOM HUNTING!

See you in the woods!