Secret Sunday Mushroom Club – now Thursdays too!

Voted Food & Drink Awards Best Foraging Education Provider – England South.
As featured in BBC Countryfile Magazine Best UK Foraging Courses 
& The Sunday Telegraph Top 5!

AS WELL AS THE USUAL SUNDAY CLUB WE HAVE A GROUP THAT MEETS ON THURSDAYS TOO! – THERE ARE CURRENTLY A SMALL NUMBER OF VACANCIES IN BOTH SUNDAY GROUP B & THE THURSDAY GROUP, OR YOU COULD JOIN OUR WAITING LIST FOR 2025?

If you are already on the waiting list for 2024, you will be contacted in the winter once it is clear how many places we will have available. Many members stay with us for years, so it is very much a case of waiting for someone to leave before we can offer you a place.
I recommend you pop back every few weeks though in case any of the current members decide to relinquish their places.
Please email fred@thewildsideoflife.co.uk to join the waiting list. Thank you!

Welcome to the Secret Sunday Mushroom Club Home Page. The Secret Sunday Mushroom Club has featured in the BBC Countryfile Magazine’s ‘Best Foraging Courses in the UK’ for more than 9 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 take you on a journey into the depths of their fascinating world!

Dryad’s saddle, Cerioporus squamosus; a beautiful picture taken by Bobby Keegan – Secret Sunday Mushroom Club / Wiltshire Fungus Group

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 18 hours of field tuition (if you attend all 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 up to 18 hours of 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?

Fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, frequently occurs side-by-side with the peppery bolete, Chalciporus piperatus

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 (also 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!”

Wood blewit

Wood blewit Clitocybe nuda

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.

2024 GROUP A – DATES & TIMES: (CURRENTLY NO SPACES)

      •  Sunday 22nd September, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      •  Sunday 6th October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      •  Sunday 27th October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      •  Sunday 17th November (feast), 11.00 AM to 4.30 PM (longer day)

Cost of membership for 2024-25: tbc
(includes up to 18 hours of tuition, online members’ area with exclusive content, a guest day where you can bring a friend and 12 months exclusive ID support): 
Existing members: tbc
Existing or previous members, ID forum only: £30.00

2024 GROUP B – DATES & TIMES: (CURRENTLY THREE SPACES)

      • Sunday 29th September, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      • Sunday 13th October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      • Sunday 10th November, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      • Sunday 24th November (feast), 11.00 AM to 4.30 PM (longer day)

Cost of membership for 2024-25: tbc
(includes up to 18 hours of tuition, online members’ area with exclusive content, a guest day where you can bring a friend and 12 months exclusive ID support): 
Existing members: tbc
Existing or previous members, ID forum only: £30.00

2024 GROUP C (THURSDAY FIELD TRIPS) – DATES & TIMES: (CURRENTLY ONE SPACE AVAILABLE)

      • Thursday 26th September, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      • Thursday 10th October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      • Thursday 31st October, 12.30 PM to 4.30 PM
      • Thursday 14th November (feast), 11.00 AM to 4.30 PM (longer day)

Cost of membership for 2024-25: £250.00
(includes up to 18 hours of tuition, online members’ area with exclusive content, a guest day where you can bring a friend and 12 months exclusive ID support): 
Existing members renewal of membership: £200.00
Existing or previous members, ID forum only: £30.00

TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST:

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!