Forage: search widely for food or provisions.
Nature's bounty
Do you think of your back garden, your local hedgerow or the seashore as a larder?
Would you know what you could eat or what was useful as a natural dye? For those experienced foragers, these little discovered ecosystems can provide an abundance of provisions.
Foraging encourages you to eat with the seasons and taking only what you need, always leaving behind enough for the wildlife and to allow go to seed for next season and never pulling out the roots.
Learning foraging skills along the coast and in the countryside of Pembrokeshire is a great way to slow down and re-connect with nature whilst learning more about ecosystems right on your doorstep. A foraging course will teach you the essential skills to identify edible ingredients and more importantly the one’s to stay well away from.
Please take care! Wild food foraging should only be undertaken with a guided expert and some of the best are right here in Pembrokeshire
Coastal Foraging with Craig Evans
After an initial thorough briefing on how the tides work, general safety and legal aspects of coastal foraging in one of Pembrokeshire’s hotspots of natural marine biodiversity, guests are given a complimentary local wildlife booklet and set off for a few hours adventure with Craig and his ever-present canine companion Llew.
Each course is held at one of many carefully chosen prime locations depending on tides and winds for coastal foraging in Pembrokeshire and includes local history and geology of the chosen area, zonation of the shore and its marine biology.
This is an extremely interactive, fun day out which can last from 6-8 hours and can include rock pools and sandy areas, where you may discover many clam species, oysters, crabs, prawns, seaweeds, plants and fish – even the occasional hand caught lobster. The day is topped off by cooking the delicious foraged finds in a sheltered cove on a “Solva Stove” aka a Swedish Candle.
Craig also offers gift vouchers – the perfect gift and something to look forward too, once we can travel again.
In a previous life, Matt Powell was a top chef, trained at Le Manoir and worked in Michelin-starred kitchens around Europe but it was the skill of foraging for wild plant taught by his grandparents and a love of being in the countryside from a young age that brought him back to Wales and Pembrokeshire.
Guests joining Matt should expect to find themselves rummaging through hedgerow and woodland in search of edible fungi and splashing in rock pools in search of seaweeds, as well as estuarine herbs and plants along the banks of the River Cleddau.
Following the course, there is a very special dinner served in the evening using the ingredients you’ve picked alongside the best of local ingredients.
Matt also offers gift vouchers – the perfect gift and something to look forward too, once we can travel again.
On these Really Wild courses and walks, you can go exploring for plants and seaweeds that are used for remedies, cosmetics, or foods and drinks and plenty more.
The courses are an excellent way for the curious to learn about wild produce, and the lanes, green byways and coastline around the historic Cathedral City of St Davids will provide much to inspire you.
No walk or course will Julia be the same because of the different ingredients each season offers. But you will have fun experimenting with different flavours and discovering all sorts of weird bits of information whilst enjoying Pembrokeshire’s glorious scenery.
Julia also offers gift vouchers – the perfect gift and something to look forward too, once we can travel again.
Black Rock Coastal & Hedgerow Foraging
Owner Dan, a native Scotsman has been teaching survival and bushcraft skills along with foraging for many years.
Dan runs courses perfect for groups, couples or individuals wishing to learn new and exciting foraging skills in a coastal & hedgerow environment. During the course, you will have the opportunity to get hands-on as you learn the wonders of foraging.
Courses are 4-6 hours long and will be exploring the beautiful coast & countryside with the help of your guide, who will be showing you the edible treats that can be gathered.
Seashore & Hedgerow Foraging with Llys Meddyg
Under the direction of Llys Meddyg owner Ed Sykes or Don Lawrence, you will visit some of our beautiful local beaches, and nearby estuary and hedgerows in a fun and informative Pembrokeshire foraging trip.
Dependent on the season, you’ll be hunting for delicious and tasty wild food along the way, looking for the ingredients for your lunch! You will learn how to safely identify and gather your finds, and then prepare and cook your foraged feast.
Gift vouchers, day courses and one-night residential courses staying at Llys Meddyg are available.
Note: For your own safety wild food foraging should only be undertaken with a guided expert.