Walk The Mendips Blog and News
Wild Food, Bushcraft & Natural History
2009 Autumn Wild Food Walks.
Our last wild food foray of the year, in November, gave us one of the best selections of fungi this year. We found Common Yellow Brittle Gills as well as Amethyst Deceivers, Stump Puffballs and a variety of Boletes. But, the find of the day were Ceps, spotted by the eagle-eyed Mike Parry who also took these two photos. Firstly, a cep.
Secondly, the photo below shows Adrian talking to Will Charsley who had come all the way from Essex with his wife Sarah, and in the foreground Martin Parry (Mike's son) is busily chopping foraged finds supervised by Lynette Porter. In spite of the downpour, we are all warm and dry under a large parachute!!
France October 09
We had a wonderful time in France at half term with our dear friends Maddy & Seamus, and their daughters Mia and Sasha. Below, Adrian serves up lunch to Mia in our woods.
Mia and Sasha with their tree and survival shelter.
Maddy.
France September 09
We had a fantastic trip to France in September where I discovered a wonderful location for marsh samphire. It was a field of samphire! I was in my element and we took home plenty of samphire to have with fish that evening.
The Sea of Samphire
Mussel shells on the beach
Sea lettuce
Sea Holly
Lepe Beach, August 09
We managed to get away for a day to the New Forest and spent some time on Lepe Beach. The weather was fantastic, we foraged for lots of blackberries, and found marsh samphire.
Scotland 2009
We visited Scotland at the end of the summer and stayed on the Rosneath Peninsula. We visited Loch Lomond, Callander, Crianlarich and various other places. Below the first two photos are taken from the Rosneath Peninsula.
Caledonian Forest - the true, ancient forest of the UK that remains. I spent some time in the forest, it was very special. If you get the chance to visit, I would recommend it. The caledonian forest feels like the rain forest and savannah in some places, it is very, very old and quite wonderful.
Birch Bolete mushroom
Anthill
Wild Walks book now available £5 plus £1 p&p, please call or email to order. The book was commissioned, and published, by the Mendip Hills AONB service with SDF funding.
BTCV Nature Trail
I have just been asked to design a nature trail with self-guided learning materials, at Margam Park, for BTCV, one of my favourite clients.
Spring 2009
Yet another bright and sunny weekend here on the Mendips! I hope you've been enjoying the weather as much as I have, and you're spending as much time as possible outside. A highlight for me so far this spring includes drinking the sap of a birch tree I tapped in March - as far as I'm concerned, this is truly the taste of spring itself.
Our New Year's Resolution to 'grow more veg, eat more veg' is going really well so far. The greenhouse is full to bursting with trays of seedlings and small plants, the first of our raised beds is finished, we have one asparagus bed in place, and we have added some fruit trees to our smallholding. A neighbour kindly levelled the area for our polytunnel in return for a dumper full of well rotted horse manure, so we are off to a flying start!
Interest in wild food is very high at the moment, our courses and forays are booking well. We are introducing a new course on 23-24 May, consisting of a wild food foray & woodland camp cook-up with an overnight camp-out and more bushcraft and campcraft skills on day two. See below.
Whatever you do this spring, find a little bit of time to get out into
nature. How many springs do you have left to see?
Best wishes, Adrian, www.walkthemendips.com
Rural Tourism Network (RTN)
At the RTN Celebration event in March, I was a speaker alongside John Craven OBE, from Countryfile, and Annette Cole, Head of R&D for South West Tourism. The event was organised by Fiona Houchin. March 09
I made a flying visit to be one of the speakers at the Rural Tourism Network Celebration event. The keynote speaker was John Craven who gave a really enjoyable talk on his experiences as presenter of Countryfile. The event was held at Yeo Valley's Lakewood Conference Centre which has probably the best views in the area. Pictured below, I'm on the left, then Fiona Houchin from the Rural Tourism Network, John Craven and Annette Cole, Deputy Director & Head of Research & Development for South West Tourism. John was very friendly & gave a great speech, as well as giving me some sound advice.
NEW! Wild Food & Bushcraft Weekend 23-24 May,
spaces available!
Based on our most popular Wild Food Foray & Woodland Camp Cook-up (or
'Cook in the Woods'), this weekend extends the experience and gives you
the opportunity to learn more about wild food, stay on for a woodland camp-out
and spend a further day learning more bushcraft and campcraft skills. On
this course I will be assisted by Sean ‘the silver fox’, an experienced
outdoorsman with a wealth of skills and knowledge.
Day 1
Wild food & foraging; Setting up camp; Making a fire; Skinning and meat
preparation; Camp fire cooking
Natural shelter building; Tarpology
Evening
Knife use & tool safety; Camp crafts - spoon making
Day 2
Selection of bush and camp craft favourites for example: Camp furniture;
Natural cordage; Tinders & friction fire lighting; Tracking, etc
This is a unique opportunity to really take some time out, get close to
nature and have a great experience. We are offering this course at a special
price of just £80 including food. Call us now to reserve your place 01761
463356.
Pick of the Season: Wild Weed from the Wild Garden
This wild plant is abundant at this time of year and is often found on cultivated land, pasture or more commonly in the garden. Far from being the weed that many gardeners consider it to be, this pretty little leaved plant is a fantastic source of winter/spring greens.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a cheering sight being one of the first plants to flower in late winter / early spring. It is great in spring salads or for making into a tasty, warming soup. Basically follow this simple recipe:
Fry off some onions and garlic, add 1.5 litres of chicken and or vegetable stock. Add some chopped potatoes and plenty of seasoning. Add 3 large bunches of chickweed (washed and hard stems removed) and simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. Then, blitz in a food processor or mash up if doing this outdoors over an open fire. Put back into the pan and simmer (not boil) for a further 5 minutes. Serve with a blob of yoghurt or sour cream. Instead of traditionally seasoning with pepper, I like to use dried juniper berries, ground and sprinkled over the soup to give a unique taste sensation. Finally, garnish with a sprig of chickweed. This basic soup recipe is also good with other edible wild weeds found in the garden. Why not try it with nettles for example. Vive le jardin!
For the full article see the latest edition of The Mendip Times. http://www.mendiptimes.co.uk/
Updated Programme of Events
NEW! 23 -24 May – Wild Food & Bushcraft / Campcraft Expedition (2 day)
SPACES £80 pp
13 June – Wild Food Walk (half day) SPACES £25 pp
20 June – Wild Food Foray & Woodland Cook-up (1 day) SPACES £50 pp
3 Oct – Wild Food Foray & Woodland Cook-up (1 day) FULL
24 Oct - Wild Food Walk (half day) SPACES £25 pp
7 Nov – Wild Food Foray & Woodland Cook-up (1 day) SPACES £50 pp
Adrian is available for a very limited number of private bookings for groups
of friends, families, special occasions, corporate bookings, etc, please
enquire.
NEW! Bike the Mendips
I recently launched a new initiative with Dave Parke, to offer another way of spending time on the Mendip Hills, out in nature. Our new venture, Bike the Mendips, provides guided mountain biking, riding technique instruction & bike maintenance lessons, led by Dave.
For novice & experienced riders, we have a range of fun activities combined with biking, such as bushcraft survival, great for family days out, stag & hen weekends, etc. Dave can also help you with cycle service & repair.
If you are new to mountain biking or to the South West area we can help
you feel more confident about trying out a new and exciting area - the Mendip
Hills offer some of the best off road riding in the West of England. At
Bike the Mendips we select the best route for your ability and help you
make the most of it so you have a fun time out on your bike. We want to
help you to get the most out of your trip and take away the skills and confidence
to try out new rides and discover the wealth of trails the West Country
has to offer. Bike hire is available for guided rides.
We offer half day and full day activities on the stunning Mendip Hills -
an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Contact us via phone or visit our
new web site www.bikethemendips.com Foraging Facts
March 09
River Cottage HQ
Had a great day out at River Cottage HQ, on their 'Get Growing in Spring' day. Have come back totally inspired and spent Sunday building our raised beds and sawing up bits of guttering to provide a comfy home for our seedlings. We are planning to establish an asparagus bed this year, as well as planting some more fruit trees. We have already extended our soft fruits with some extra raspberries & gooseberries.
Bushcraft Stag Weekends
Today I launched my new website specifically for stag weekends. You can see it at www.bushcraftstagweekend.com
Women's Institute
Gave a talk on wild food this evening at the WI (Women's Institute) in Faulkland. I donated my fee to the charity, but was handsomely rewarded with home-made biscuits and tea!
Yeo Valley / Holt Farm Walk
Did a joint guided walk with Les Davis, MBE, the former Head Warden of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for staff & VIP guests of Yeo Valley (Organic) Ltd this evening. Les did a great talk on the history of the Mendip landscape, I identified some wild foods along our walk, and a chef from Bordeaux Quay produced a fabulous meal using Yeo Valley's own Aberdeen Angus Beef. We found sheep's sorrel, nettle, cleavers, and jelly ear fungus. Our altitude was a bit high for wild garlic, which I'd hoped to find. A DVD is being produced for all staff, so I'll look forward to seeing how it looks on camera!! The feedback from the walk was really good, so Les & I are looking forward to doing more with them.
Cheddar Caves Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherer Wild Food Garden
Visited Cheddar Caves this lunchtime to find out about their new project to re-create a mesolithic wild food garden. This is a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a really exciting project. It may be small in scale, but the people are very passionate about it and are taking it seriously. I'm looking forward to being involved in some way.
Mendip Outdoor Pursuits
Had another fantastic 2 days with Mendip Outdoor Pursuits, training their staff in basic bushcraft skills. For the first time, my friend Sean gave a hand and the 2 days went really well. It included an overnight camp-out in the woods which everyone enjoyed.
Jan 09
Ran a course today on leading guided walks for volunteer rangers, wildlife trust & Natural England personnel, on behalf of the Mendip Hills AONB.
Bushcraft Survival with Xtreme Offroad
Spent today doing a bushcraft survival event with Xtreme Offroad. It was good to work again with Matt and Julian.
January 09 Newsletter
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a great Christmas and have started 2009 with a spring
in your step and a resolve to spend more time out in nature this year!
We had a spectacular start to the year, on top of the Mendip Hills, where
freezing temperatures combined with lots of moisture to turn the hill into
a winter wonderland (see photo later in the newsletter). It was stunning,
although hard for wildlife to find much sustenance.
We took advantage of the hard ground by getting a tractor in to re-organise
our well-rotted horse manure into six large rows, destined to become raised
beds for vegetable growing this year. Our New Year’s Resolution is ‘grow
more veg, eat more veg’ so we are off to a flying start! I am also planning
a wild food experiment around our smallholding, by trying to establish some
of the species we don’t usually find on the Mendips. In this growing age
of uncertainty, we can all become more self-sufficient by both growing a
few things (even if on a windowsill), and learning more about the abundant
wild food available. Even if you just pick a few nettles, sorrel leaves
or other common winter greens to add to an omelette, it does give a surprisingly
rewarding sense of achievement.
Best wishes, Adrian, www.walkthemendips.com
Christmas 08 Newsletter
Christmas is fast approaching, the leaves have all but fallen, everything
looks bare and cold and it’s easy to think there’s nothing left in nature’s
larder! However, there are festive gifts still available – from rosehips
to wild greens such as daisy, dandelion & sorrel, late hawthorn berries
if you’re lucky, and the needles from Scots Pine with which to make a refreshing
tea!
On the subject of luck, I have had the good fortune to meet a number of
people who have played an important part in helping me with WTM over the
past year including Rod Love (www.lovecreativeuk.com) who has done a cracking
job on my new web site, now it’s down to me to add more content and all
those great photos everyone keeps sending of their ‘WTM’ experience! I’d
also like to thank Fiona Houchin of the Rural Tourism Network (http://woe.tsnsw.org.uk/rural)
for giving me access to great advice & support. I am really pleased
to have been invited to present Walk the Mendips as one of just two best
practice small rural businesses at the ‘Celebration of the 1st year of the
Rural Tourism Network’ event in 2009.
I have had some good press coverage this year, including The Guardian Travel
Supplement, an article for ‘What’s On in Somerset’ and forthcoming coverage
in National Geographic, with many thanks to Rosie & Chris Inge www.churton-inge.co.uk.
My articles in The Mendip Times continue to catch people’s interest, do
get hold of a copy of this great magazine if you can, or visit the web site
www.mendiptimes.co.uk. Julian Sayer of Active Mendip has also opened doors
and made introductions for me, as well as being an all-round great chap!
As always, I appreciate your feedback on everything I am doing. I am keen
to find out if regular readers would prefer to receive the newsletter as
an attachment, perhaps a .pdf file? Please let me know. Do forward my newsletter
on to anyone you think might be interested. Thank you.
I hope to see you again soon and to share my passion and enthusiasm for this wonderful part of the country with you. Meanwhile, have a very Happy Christmas & wonderful New Year.
Best wishes, Adrian, www.walkthemendips.com
Autumn Newsletter
As autumn seems to be closing in on us and the days are getting shorter,
it’s easy to stay tucked up at home by the fire. However, we are entering
an exciting time of the year for wild food and nature. Everywhere, trees,
shrubs and hedgerows will be changing colour and some wild foods will be
at their best – particularly fungi! With this in mind, we have two wild
food / mushroom walks arranged on 5 and 19 October which are filling up
fast.
The summer has been very busy for me, with lots of private walks booked,
and many guests visiting our B&B to enjoy the fantastic walking and
countryside on our doorstep. I have been working with Nigel Singer in developing
a series of corporate training events which I’m very excited about offering
to existing and new clients. I’ve known Nigel for over 10 years, and I’m
really looking forward to working with him.
As always, I appreciate your feedback on the newsletter, my web site, and
any suggestions about activities or courses you would like me to provide.
I hope to see you again and to share my passion and enthusiasm for this
wonderful part of the country with you.
Best wishes, Adrian,
NEW! Corporate Training & Events
Adrian has been busy developing a range of corporate events with trainer and facilitator Nigel Singer (pictured above, with Adrian). The events are tailored for each group or team and combine guided walks and outdoor activities with skilled training & facilitation.
They are designed to support an increase in awareness, insight and responsibility, and to encourage people to become more open and sensitive. They will help participants feel more at one with nature, themselves and each other in a unique shared mutual experience and are a more fluid and natural way for people to discover more about themselves and each other. Whether you want a fun, positive day out, a focused training event or an in-depth development process, we hope the following will be of interest to you:
FootstepsTM (“footsteps”: the route a person has taken in order to reach a place or to achieve something)
•Take time out for a positive, fun day to feel good about yourselves, and your team
• Help support your ongoing team work & creativity
• Build your skills by thinking about any things that might be difficult and what to do about them
• Provide positive reinforcement and awareness of what’s going well - reward your team for work well done
• Also perfect for your board of directors or for corporate entertainment
JourneyTM (“journey”: the act of travelling from one place to another)
• Invest some time to grow, change, think about things in a different way and learn new skills
• Help in working on specific developmental &/or organisational change issues
• Deliver specific training objectives from interpersonal skills to managing meetings, in a more interesting, skilful and enjoyable way
• Facilitate identified team development goals
• A one or two-day event using seed questions with walks and/or activities, and specific tailored input of a training and development nature
• Overnight stay has ‘wild camping’ option, depending on time of year
Pathfinder TM (“pathfinder”: one that discovers a new course or way, especially through or into unexplored regions)
• Gain some time, space and skilled help in your struggle to resolve challenging &/or complex situations, issues & interrelationships
• Find your way through active conflict and the underlying issues you need to work on
• Deal with the big reactions some team members are having to big organisational changes & shifts
• A two day event addressing specific issues with walks and/or activities, facilitated sessions, social time, gentle consolidation
• Overnight stay has ‘wild camping’ option, depending on time of year
For more information, please contact Adrian on 01761 463356 or Nigel on 0117 966 2140.
Pick of the Season ~ Puffball
Here’s my ‘pick of the season’, Puffball, but you’ll have to get hold of a copy of The Mendip Times for the full story!
It’s that time of year again, when it’s traditionally the season for mushrooming. Different fungi appear all through the year in various habitats, and the autumn is the best time for the greatest variety of tasty edible woodland mushrooms. The part of the fungus that we see, the fruiting body, is equivalent to an apple on a tree. One of the most easily identified species of woodland mushrooms are puffballs. Pure white when immature it’s covered in white (also brown) spines, which are easily broken…
For the full article, and a photo of Puffballs, see the next edition of The Mendip Times.
Foraging Facts
A few notes:
• Make sure you are 100% sure of your identification before eating any plant – carry a good plant identification book or go with a knowledgeable guide
• Avoid plants near busy roadsides, dog walking areas, or places where chemicals may have been used
•If you are actively foraging, please only pick a few leaves, flowers or fruits from a number of plants across a geographical area so as not to affect populations, and never pick a whole plant
•Please avoid picking any part of a plant if it is uncommon in the area