Exploring wild food from the seashore, river valleys, woods and hedgerows
Voted Food & Drink Awards Best Foraging Education Provider – England South.
Our courses feature in the BBC Countryfile Magazine Best UK Foraging Courses
& The Wild Side of Life is among The Sunday Telegraph’s Top 5 Foraging Course Providers.
Come and join us for exciting Saturdays in stunning locations for the gourmet, photographer or naturalist alike… discover the astonishing variety of tasty and healthy wild foods, how to identify them, harvest them sustainably and use them successfully,

Black morels, wild garlic and St. George’s mushrooms are in season early… no guarantee what we will find of course as every day is a surprise!
Next Course Dates:
March 23rd 2023, Woolacombe, north Devon (SEASHORE)
May 13th 2023, By Brook Valley, West Wiltshire
May 27th 2023, ancient pastureland, East Wiltshire
June 10th 2023, Hazeland Wood, near Calne, Wiltshire
March 28th 2024, Woolacombe, north Devon (SEASHORE – click for details)
Gift certificates are available for the 2023 season
All days run from 11.00 AM to approximately 4.30 PM
and cost: £85:00 per person
To book email fred@thewildsideoflife.co.uk
Magnificent St. George’s Mushrooms traditionally fruit around the feast of St. George (23rd April) but often they appear much earlier, and continue to appear for a month or so afterwards, sometimes up to mid-June. They are increasingly being recorded in the autumn too, probably due to changes in our climate.
With a solid consistency and a robust flavour they are valued as a gourmet mushroom in many European markets and in France they are sold under the name of ‘mousseron’, a name that they share with the fairy ring champignon or ‘petit mousseron’, also much sought after.
St. George’s mushroom, Calocybe gambosa, is a perfect companion for delicious spring shoots and leaves such as hogweed shoots, wild garlic, chickweed and Jack-by-the-hedge.
On this fun day out you will learn to recognise the plants (and if they are up, mushrooms) that we find from their key identification features and you will also be taught to recognise the habitats where you can expect to find them. Early booking recommended.
We will be preparing some simple canapes with our freshly foraged wild ingredients which we will enjoy in the open air with a glass or two of organic champagne or foraged liqueurs!
Bookings can be made by sending an email to Fred@thewildsideoflife.co.uk (please put FORAGING DISCOVERY DAY in the subject line). Your place will be secure once we have received full payment by bank transfer (preferred), cheque or PayPal. If you have received a gift certificate for this course then your course has already been paid for and you must get in touch soon to reserve your chosen date.