Description
A week of foraging and sailing around the islands and sea lochs of the Firth of Clyde with Oliver Beardon of Sail Britain and Mark Williams of Galloway Wild Foods.
Set sail in 42ft expedition yacht Merlin to explore the coastal foodscapes of spring on Scotland’s sparkling West coast – journeying, foraging and eating wild foods. This 7 day adventure is suitable for all levels and combinations of sailing and foraging experience.
Dates don’t work for you? See our August Sailing and Foraging Week
Exploring coastal foodscapes by yacht
A reel made on our August 2022 Sailing & Foraging Week
Scotland’s coasts are burgeoning with life, and provide diverse habitats for a wide range of delicious, nutritious and medicinal plants and seaweeds that are in their prime in May. Mark will guide you through them during our excursions ashore to remote coasts and islands. Back on board you will learn to preserve and prepare what we have found as we make dinner in Merlin’s galley. We will also try our hand at a spot of fishing, learning which species are sustainable and which to avoid and how to prepare and cook them. We will also explore wild shellfish, though they are out of season for eating by May. This trip is timed to encounter the best of Scotland’s maritime harvests in their prime, including many species that do not grow further North on Scotland’s wilder coasts.
A reel made by Marie Vandekerckhove on our August 2025 week
This is a unique opportunity to learn how to sail while also appreciating the surrounding landscape with new eyes – and tastebuds! Mornings and evenings will be spent ashore exploring and foraging, or preparing, preserving and eating our finds on board, with daytime spent harnessing the power of the wind and sailing somewhere new. Sail Britain’s founder Oliver, will be on hand to teach you the ropes and everyone will be involved with the sailing, experiencing the thrill of being at sea, and steering an ocean going yacht through the waves. There is always a lot of laughter on these trips.
A reel made on our 2024 August Sailing and Foraging Week
Take the helm! You will be an active member of Merlin’s crew during the trip – and even get to take the helm.
On this trip you will be a valued and working member of the crew, contributing to the running of the ship by helping with the sailing, foraging, food prep and keeping things shipshape! Learning to be part of the crew is a hugely rewarding experience, and you will live very well for the week, but if you are looking for round the clock pampering you should probably book a cruise liner!
Click here for answers to frequently asked questions about life on Merlin
Meet your Skipper, Oliver Beardon
Oliver Beardon – your skipper and sailing tutor/guide for the week
Oliver is an environmentalist, sailor and ocean advocate. He founded Sail Britain in 2015 to engage people with the importance of the oceans through sailing. As a close knit social activity, sailing is perfect for this and allows people to see the world differently, learn new skills, and make new friends, all with a close connection to nature.
Merlin – your home and transport for the week
Oliver welcomes people from all backgrounds onto his 42 foot yacht Merlin, and is particularly keen to make sailing more accessible to more people. Oliver facilitates exploring the marine environment from diverse perspectives, from its cultural and historical importance to environmental issues such as marine aquaculture, plastic pollution, climate change, and eroding coastline as well as the cultural importance of our relationship with the sea and the connection between ecological issues and society.
Wild dinner onboard Merlin on our 2022 trip
Meet your foraging guide, Mark Williams
Mark cooking and discussing wild ingredients
Raised on the Island of Arran, Mark is deeply entwined with the coastal foodscapes of Western Scotland where he has worked as a fisherman, chef and wild food educator for over 30 years. Spring 2026 sees the launch of his book, The Coastal Forager, which serves as the core text for this trip. Under Mark’s guidance, you will learn about what nature provides, its ecological importance, how to harvest it responsibly, and how to prepare and eat it. Read more about Mark and Galloway Wild Foods here.
The Coastal Forager covers most of the species we will explore during the week. Order your copy here.
The foraging element of this trip is quite different from what you might experience on a regular guided foraging walk. As we are led by wind and tides our route evolves organically and foraging opportunities are pragmatic and opportunistic. A fine wind in the right direction may mean a full day’s sailing, while calm conditions might mean a whole day ashore exploring. We will have an eye out for opportunities, and we’ll adapt our route to take in promising foodscapes. Having grown up on the Isle of Arran, Mark knows the islands and sea lochs of the Clyde intimately, and will provide you with deep insights into the social and natural history of Arran and guide you to hidden nooks, off the beaten path. May is peak season for coastal greens and seaweeds and there will be a startling array of flavours and nourishment to take in.
Coastal spring sushi
Mark and Oliver, share a passion for connecting with the natural world in ways that are beneficial for physical and mental wellbeing, and the health of the ecosystems of which we are part. We will explore this theme throughout the week through the deep nature connection embodied by foraging and sailing.
Learn to identify, sustainably harvest, preserve and cook seaweeds.
Image ©Oliver Beardon
Key information:
- 7 days and 6 nights (Saturday to Friday) sailing around some of Scotland’s most famous sailing grounds, including Arran, The Kyles of Bute, Kintyre and the Clyde islands (Departing from and returning to Ardrossan)
- Remote islands, mountains, remarkable flora, fauna and seaweeds
- Shore based foraging sessions, and wild food cookery and processing sessions on board
- Fully catered* to a high level using wild ingredients we will gather along the way, plus lots that have been pre-prepared and brought along. All dietary requirements can be catered for.
- Identification, harvesting, medicinal/bushcraft uses and wild cookery of seaweeds, shellfish and coastal plants with Scotland’s leading foraging guide
- Instruction in sailing and sea craft by highly qualified sailors
- Foraged cocktails and wild feasting – a chance to fully imbibe a stunning marine landscape
- Suitable for all levels of experience in sailing and/or foraging – including novices
- Comfortable well equipped yacht
- All sailing kit supplied
- Maximum group size on this trip is 6 clients to 2 sailing crew/guides and 1 foraging guide totalling 9 people on a 42ft yacht – so you should be comfortable spending 1 week in close proximity to other people
- Galloway Wild Foods gift vouchers can be used to pay for this event in whole or in part – quote your voucher code when booking with Sail Britain
Mark’s famous foraged cocktails feature
*By “fully catered’ we mean that you don’t need to bring food, beyond snacks and luxuries that you like. We will have excellent ingredients to cook with. Food prep and cooking are integral parts of the experience, as are clearing up and keeping things shipshape – you will be expected to be a fully active crew member.
Image ©Oliver Beardon
Practical information
Start point – Clyde Marina, Ardrossan (The crew will send details with exactly where to find Merlin on the day of arrival)
Start time – Saturday 9th May, 6pm
End point – Ardrossan
End time – Friday 15th May, 12 noon
What’s included:
- Fully equipped yacht and professional crew
- Guided walks ashore with Mark
- 6 nights accommodation onboard
- All meals for the week
- All safety equipment and training
What’s not included:
- Your travel to and from the start/end points of the voyage
- Travel insurance
- Any expenses ashore, although these tend to be very limited out in the wilds!
Payment:
Email mark@gallowaywildfoods.com to book – you will be sent BACS details and a £500 deposit secures your place, with the full balance payable 8 weeks prior to the event. You can include any questions you might have, but please read Sail Britain FAQs/LIfe Onboard page first.
You can cancel up to 8 weeks before the trip and receive a full refund less 3% to cover admin, or a gift voucher for the full amount.
We will only refund cancelations within 8 weeks of the event IF we can refill the place from the waiting list, and will deduct 10% to cover admin and Paypal fees. If we cancel the course for any reason then we will refund 100% back to you. See our full Terms and Conditions.
Insurance – We have comprehensive liability insurance and risk assessments, but we recommend that you have a basic level of insurance which covers yourself and your possessions for adventurous activity – no outdoor activity is free from all risk. We also recommend you take out holiday insurance in case you need to cancel at short notice and we can’t refill the place.