• Ideal habitats and indicators
• Identification skills
• Edible fungi
• Poisonous fungi
• Tree and fungi relationships
• The woodland eco system
• Harvesting
• Drying and storing methods
• Typical fungi recipes
• The Mushroom Pickers and The Country Code

Please note that while we do expect to find a number of fungi during our excursion, we cannot guarantee to find all of the edible types as the season is varied and runs from Spring to Winter. We will give you sheets on the easily identified fungi for your records, from the St Georges mushroom and Morrels in April to the Chicken of the Woods and Chanterelle (mid season- July/Aug). With experience, we know that nature does not often play the game especially with the seasons not having a distinct definition in recent years but at least you will have the knowledge of what to look for in the future.

Britain has the perfect climate for finding what can be described as a 'bounty of free food' available to us every year, but one that sadly falls by the wayside due to the lack of appreciation and knowledge by the observer. We have been asked countless times to put on a course of this type, by curious and frustrated walkers who can only wonder as they pass a cep (Porcini) or a Horn of Plenty as to their gastronomic worthiness. Not only are the majority of edible fungi delicious but they are also worth a small fortune on the food market (about £35 per kilo!).

Our location makes it possible to forage for fungi in a whole variety of habitats, from beechwood to heathland, pine forest to lakeside banks and hedgerows. We will concentrate on those edible one that are really easy to identify and of course the poisonous ones that should be avoided at every cost.