Description
Join Mark Williams of Galloway Wild Foods and professional mycologist Nev Kilkenny for an immersive afternoon of mycology, mushroom hunting and wild gastronomy in a mushroomy forest within 1 hour’s drive of Glasgow.
If this event is fully booked, please join the waiting list as we may add a second date
Edible wild mushrooms
Image ©GallowayWildFoods.com
September is high mushroom season in Scotland and this event is designed to immerse you in all things fungal. This is a chance to explore all aspects of the fungal kingdom in the company of two of the UK’s leading fungi educators. The event is suitable for fungi novices and experienced fungi lovers looking to improve their ID skills and connect more deeply with mycology.
Nev Kilkenny (L) and Mark Williams (R)
Nev Kilkenny is a widely respected professional mycologist, who trained under the tutelage of Professor Roy Watling at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. Nev is involved in many events and projects to raise awareness of the importance of fungi, in association with organisations such as The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, TCV, Plantlife Scotland & Scottish Natural Heritage.
Mark Williams of Galloway Wild Foods is a passionate mycophile, wild gastronomer and professional wild food educator, who has been teaching about wild mushroom identification and edibility for 30 years. Mark is a font of knowledge and enthusiasm on wild fungi, specialising in making this often daunting subject fun and accessible to novices, while providing solid foundations for a lifetime of discovery, enjoyment and worry-free wild eating. Mark writes widely on this subject and works closely with leading mycologists, landowner/conservation organisations such as The National Trust and Scottish Natural Heritage. Mark’s wild mushroom cookins are legendary!
Nev and Mark share a love of the outdoors and the natural world, and their complimentary skills and knowledge will make for a very special afternoon and you will leave with new skills, knowledge and insights into the remarkable world of fungi.
This event is being run as part of Foraging Fortnight – Scotland’s annual celebration of foraging and wild food.
Please note that while both date and location are carefully selected to maximise the potential range of fungi we encounter, it is not possible to guarantee what we will find. Due to the complex nature of fungi and mushroom identification, this event is not recommended for children under 12 years. Dogs by prior arrangement only.
Image ©gallowaywildfoods.com
Location: Within 30 minutes drive of Cairndow, Loch Fyne, about 1 hrs drive from Glasgow. Ticket holders will be notified of the exact location in the week prior to the event.
Format: Over the course of about 1.5 miles of gentle walking (with lots of stops) over 3.5 hours Nev and Mark will lead you on an exploration of the fascinating world of fungi. We may occasionally be on steep or muddy paths, or off paths altogether, so while you needn’t be fit to enjoy the event, you should be comfortable on mixed terrain. Afterwards we will lay out and label our finds, and explore learning and identification resources. There will be a wild mushroom cookery demonstration and a hearty bowl of cooked mushrooms to enjoy with sourdough bread and various other tasty fungal and foraged treats.
Topics covered include:
- The important role fungi plays in nature
- How to go about identifying important families and species of fungi
- How to observe and record key features of fungi
- How to home in on the most rewarding edible species
- How to recognise dangerously poisonous species
- Using fungi in wild cocktails (tasters included!)
- Medicinal and utilitarian uses of fungi
- Sustainable harvesting practices
- Preservation and cooking techniques
- Key resources for taking your personal learning forward
- Fungi lore, tales and stories
- Other autumn woodland wild foods
Covid 19 Policy: Please see here for the latest GWF policy around events, social distancing and what happens in the event of cancellation due to C19 . This event is fully risk-assessed and very low risk in terms of transmission.
Cooking wild mushrooms in the forest
©GalolowayWildFoods.com
Further Information: All ticket holders will be emailed full details of our meeting point etc in the week prior to the event. (There is no need to ask for this email – it will be sent!). To ensure you receive the email, follow the instructions that come with your order confirmation.
Equipment required: Stout footwear, weather-appropriate clothing, drinking water. It may also add to your enjoyment and learning to bring some or all of: a small basket or cloth bag, notebook, camera, fungi field guide. Please note that the emphasis in this event is on meeting and learning about a wide range of fungi, not filling baskets with choice edibles.
Please read the IMPORTANT INFORMATION tab on this page before booking and again before setting off for the event.
Nev’s famous “mushroom sorting hat”!
Please read the following information before booking a Galloway Wild Foods event.
EVENT LOCATION
The general event location is provided in the event description, and in your booking confirmation. This location is usually an approximate location (eg. “Within 30 minutes drive of XXX”), so that you can consider and plan the area you need to get to prior to booking.
For general information on visiting Galloway for events, including recommended accommodation, see here.
Detailed event information, including exact meeting place, will be sent to the email address you provide on booking in the week prior to the event. This allows me to account for the often fickle nature of wild plants and fungi and select the optimum location for our walk – which can be especially important for fungi forays.
It is important that you add mark@gallowaywildfoods.com and markleewilliams@googlemail.com to your email contacts/whitelist or the information email may get caught in your spam filters. This is extremely important if you have a .hotmail email account as they are notorious for having very sensitive spam filters.
The detailed event information email will be sent in the week before the event – sometimes as little as 3 days prior to the event. There is no need to badger me for it – I will send it! If you haven’t received it by within 3 days of the event, check your spam folders. If it isn’t there drop me an email – mark@gallowaywildfoods.com.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Any cancellation must be sent by email to mark@gallowaywildfoods.com, quoting the event title, date and order number (viewable on your booking confirmation.
Galloway Wild Foods is under no obligation to refund, rebook or reinstate vouchers for no-shows or cancellations within 14 days of the event. If I can refill the place at short notice, I will pay a full refund less 10% to cover admin & PayPal fees, or send a voucher to the full value of the tickets. Please state your preference in your cancellation email.
If you cancel or amend a booking giving 14 days or more notice, you will receive a full refund less 5% to cover Paypal fees, or a Gift Voucher to the full value of your booking.Please state your preference in your cancellation email. Information on using gift vouchers is here.
In the unlikely event that an event is cancelled by GWF you will receive full refund, exchange or voucher.
Galloway Wild Foods is not liable for any travel, accommodation or other costs you might incur if an event has to be cancelled. We recommend that you take out travel insurance if your financial commitment to travel/accommodation is substantial.
The only weather that causes events to be cancelled is dangerous wind. In these instances you will be notified as early as possible.
INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE ON BOOKING
Please provide the following information for all members of your party in the “Additional Information” box on the payment page :
- Relevant medical conditions
- Mobility issues
- Eating restrictions – differentiating between preferences (e.g. vegetarian), intolerances (e.g. gluten intolerance) and serious allergies (e.g. peanut allergy), and clearly stating if an allergy is potentially life-threatening. All requirements can usually be catered for, but these differentiations are required for risk assessments.
It is your responsibility to provide accurate information about all members of your party. If you write “None” in the additional information box, I will assume all attendees are omnivorous and have no relevant medical conditions or mobility issues.
All information is kept private, securely, and in line with GDPR – more information on this here.
WHAT TO BRING ON A WALK
Please ensure that all members of your party come suitably dressed for the weather, season and event.
On all walks, for your comfort and safety, walking boots/wellies, waterproofs and spare clothes are necessary. I always recommend wellies for coastal foraging events – you are likely to get wet feet if you don’t have them!
Please bring your own drinking water.
Your learning and enjoyment may also benefit from bringing a camera, notebook, field guide, small basket/cloth bag. Feel free to bring along any of your own wild food preparations to share and talk about.
DOGS
Most GWF events are suitable for one dog on a lead.
Even on walks that are suitable for dogs on leads, because we tend to move very slowly as we learn and forage, dogs often get bored/agitated/cold by the slow pace. One thing we absolutely can’t have is an unhappy noisy dog on an event.
Where events are suitable for dogs, I restrict it to one per event as there is no way of knowing whether dogs will get on with one another. Dog places are offered on a first-come-first-served basis.
With all this in mind, if you would like to bring a dog, please note this on the booking form in the “Additional Information” box (along with human dietary, mobility, medical info) and I will get contact you to let you know suitability and availability.
If being able to bring your dog is a deal-breaker for you, please email me before you book.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further information on Galloway Wild Foods Terms and Conditions can be found here.
If you have specific questions that are not answered here, please contact mark on mark@gallowaywildfoods.com, or if you are running late on the day.
