The Coastal Forager – Bushcraft Camp, Galloway, SW Scotland

Description

Coastal foraging – Wild camp – Wild cookery

Three days of deep coastal exploration

Thursday 30th April – Sunday 3rd May 2026

Join foraging guide Mark Williams of Galloway Wild Foods and Steven Hanton of The Wilderness Folk School for an immersive  3 days of coastal foraging, wild gastronomy, outdoor cooking, camp craft and bushcraft skills on the stunning Galloway coast.

This is the coastal version of our very popular autumn fungi camps in Perthshire. 2026 will be the first one, but here’s what an attendee said about our autumn forest fungi camp:

“This was absolutely THE BEST! Mark, Steven and Hanna led us through a wonderful few days, looked after us, informed us, fed us, inspired us, entertained us and made the whole weekend amazing. Thanks to all my fellow weekenders for great company and fun.” – Charlotte Flower, Perthshire Fungi Camp 2024 Attendee

This long weekend consists of guided walks, talks, forays, presentations, workshops, hands-on cookery,  and relaxed camp living. We will be based in a stunning private estate in the far SW of Scotland where mature forests roll down to the sea. Expect wood smoke, parachute shelters, delicious food and deep immersion (but hopefully not submersion!) in Galloway’s incredible coastal foodscapes. The location and timing of this walk allow us access to a wide range of coastal vegetables, seaweeds and shellfish in their prime, and coastal forests full of aromatic shoots and herbs.

The event is suitable for foraging novices, as well as those with a good grounding in woodland/hedgerow foraging looking to expand their repertoire, and meet like-minded people in a beautiful location.

“MAGICAL 5 star weekend – instructors, other course members, location, itinerary, the campsite, food and cocktails. I learned so much and look forward to booking on more courses with these guys. If you are thinking of booking on a course don’t hesitate!” – Caroline Dennison, 2024 Perthshire Fungi Camp Attendee

Meet Your Guides…

Mark Williams of Galloway Wild Foods is a wild gastronomer and professional wild food educator, who has been teaching about foraging for 35 years. Mark is a font of knowledge and enthusiasm, specialising in making foraging fun and accessible, while providing solid foundations for a lifetime of discovery, enjoyment and worry-free wild eating. Mark is author of The Coastal Forager (available spring 2026) and works closely with landowner/conservation organisations such as The National Trust and Scottish Natural Heritage. Mark’s seaweed feasts are legendary! He is also a member of the Association of Foragers and the British Mycological Society.

Steven Hanton of Wilderness Folk School  is a bushcraft expert with over 20 years’ experience in wilderness skills, bushcraft, animal tracking and remote travel. He has spent extensive time with indigenous peoples across the globe for whom bushcraft is still a way of life, but he is no more at home than when exploring the fantastic woods, rivers and mountains of his native Scotland. A resident of highland Perthshire, Steven is passionate about the natural history and wildlife of the area and brings a wealth of experience to this exciting collaboration. As well as sharing years of practical foraging and wild cookery knowledge, Steven will build and run the expedition style camp, and teach some exciting campfire cookery and preservation techniques.

Steven and Mark share a love of the outdoors and the natural world,  and know how to make it fun and accessible.  You will leave with new skills, knowledge and insights into the remarkable world of fungi, as well as outdoor living and fire cookery skills.

Location:

Dunskey Estate, Near Portpatrick, Galloway, SW Scotland.

Our camp is in a privately owned mature woodland 2 minutes from the sea, with easy access to sand, shingle, sand and cliff habitats. Ticket holders will be notified of the exact meeting point and kit list a month prior to the event – you should plan to be near Portpatrick, SW Scotland.

Format: 

This is a holistic and immersive weekend based around a fully provisioned wild camp, with food included in the ticket price. You should bring your own camping gear, but full camp infrastructure including multiple fire-pits, sheltered social spaces, hygienic outdoor toilet,  and lots more will be set up for you. (We have some spare camping gear if you need it, and this can be requested on booking).

The long weekend is designed to give a full and rounded insight into coastal foraging, as covered in Mark’s forthcoming book “The Coastal Forager” – including the identification, sensitive harvesting, cooking and preservation of:

• Coastal vegetables such as sea beet, sea kale, sea sandwort, sea radish and lots more
• Seaweeds – we’ll time forays for low spring tides to meet 20 or so of the tastiest.
• Shellfish – we’ll explore the safe and sustainable harvesting of shellfish, and those that wish can enjoy eating them
• Woodland and hedgerow plants and herbs
• We will also work in some optional sea fishing sessions, and fish/shellfish prep and fire cookery skills

Camp life and outdoor skills will also be a core part of the weekend, and you can expect plenty of expert guidance around wild camping and cookery skills throughout.

The course includes walks, talks, hands-on workshops, wild food cookery using open fires,  discussion of the most useful foraging textbooks, and exploration of a diverse range of coastal habitats.

Expect:

You should be happy camping in spring conditions, and have your own camping gear (a full kit list will be issued prior to the event).

Late April/early May brings the most reliably dry and sunny weather to the west of Scotland (though we make no guarantees, and have plenty of excellent camp infrastructure to enjoy whatever the weather brings)

You should be prepared to contribute (with guidance/training) to camp life with such tasks as fire-tending, food preparation and washing up.

You should be of moderate fitness and comfortable outdoors in all weathers.

Midges are not an issue on the coast of SW Scotland at this time of year.

What is Included in the Ticket Price?

• A fabulous campsite on a private estate with multiple sheltered fire spaces for learning, socialising, cooking and eating.

 

• Breakfast, lunch and dinner from Thursday evening until Sunday lunch. Cooking and eating together are integral parts of the weekend and the event is catered to a very high standard using a wide range of wild coastal harvests, Scottish cheeses from The Ethical Dairy and wild fish and perhaps some wild venison.  Most dietary requirements can be accommodated, though if you don’t eat wild fish, meat or shellfish you will miss out on some of the highlights, and we may not have capacity to provide alternatives. While Steven and Mark will lead the cooking, you will be expected to be an active participant in food preparation and cleaning up afterwards (ie. don’t expect to be waited on!).

 

• Camping Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.  Our main camp will be in a beautiful woodland near the sea, but you will be welcome to pitch your personal tent anywhere in the vicinity. You’ll pitch your own tent (we can help if required), but we’ll have great camp infrastructure set up for you, with a parachute shelter, a social fire area, a fire cooking areas, clean drinking water, and a kettle always on the go. We will set up a  camp toilet that is hygienic, comfortable, pleasant, ecologically sensitive and private. Don’t want to camp? While we strongly recommend camping on site to get the most out of the course, you may also stay off-site, but this does not reduce the ticket price and you will have to walk and drive in and out to your accommodation. The campsite is not accessible for campervans, and the nearest park-up will be 20 minutes walk to and from our main camp.

 

• Tuition, presentations, guided walks, workshops and practical sessions on coastal foraging, bushcraft and general outdoor skills  with Mark and Steven. The weekend will be full, but gently paced, and its possible to take time out of the schedule if you wish for wild swimming, tent time or whatever you need.  The guided sessions move at a slow pace but you should be comfortable on pathless, boggy and hill and rocky coastal terrain.

 

• Wild Cocktails – Mark brings his legendary selection of foraged spirits, potions and elixirs and you’ll be guided through a selection of foraged cocktails throughout the weekend.

Topics covered include:

Foraging Skills and Knowledge:

• Wild vegetables and herbs from multiple coastal habitats – Galloway is blessed with a vast range of coastal succulents
• Seaweeds – around 20 of the tastiest species, and how to handle, preserve and cook with them
• Shellfish – safe harvesting, preparation and cooking
• Sea fishing
• Staying safe on the coast
• Considerations around pollution, and how to avoid it
• Fish skill – filleting, smoking, cooking
• Edible plants of maritime woods and hedgerows

Campcraft and Wild Cookery:

Steven has a vast knowledge and experience of bushcraft and will be sharing his passion and insight throughout the course. In particular we will be exploring:

• Fire lighting, management and specific fire lays for cooking
• Wood choice for cooking fires, hot-smoking and poisonous woods to avoid
• Underground (hāngī) cookery
• Wilderness cookery techniques – planking, broiling and campfire breads

Sorry, this event is suitable for over 16s only and there are no concessions. Under 18s must be accompanied by a ticket-holding  parent/guardian.