Spring Foraging Walk (Extended 4 hours)

Organised by : Cowdray Estate

On this early spring guided walk you will be taken through some of West Sussex's beautiful countryside in search of wild foods covering a range of habitats to best showcase the new year's emerging growth. You will learn how to identify individual species and learn about what is edible, and what's not, to help you forage safely.

This walk is classed as intermediate and will be 4 hours long. It will touch on a wide range of subjects including mycelium and mushroom foraging, and what's best to forage. The focus will be on identification and uses of a range of wild vegetables and herbs that can be found just emerging from their winter states.

Generally spring is considered the best time to forage for wild greens because the plants are full of the stored sugars used to kick start their growing season. George will also talk about how to best extract and preserve these fantastic flavours to be stored and used throughout the year.

Please note: These extended walks can still be attended by beginners as the content will cover all the basics. This walk will also cover a more advanced variety of subjects and species giving you a more in depth foraging experience that can help start or develop any budding forager. It will also touch on how to beat the seasons and find plants early or late and identify sheltered pockets where plants have persisted.

Examples of species found: pig nuts, lime leaves, spruce tips, chervil, wild garlic, wood ear mushrooms, hawthorn leaves, water celery.

Walks will be circular beginning and ending in the Cowdray Farm Shop overflow car park and will last approximately 4 hours

Please wear footwear that is suitable for undulating terrain. Click here to find out more about Foraging at Cowdray.