Foraging seems to be one of the latest 'discoveries' amongst eco-friendly minded folk, with courses even being run in central London. I'm not sure how tasty a blackberry from Hyde Park would taste but you never know!
I would imagine my grand parents would find this 'new' fad quite amusing, since they could identify trees, fruit, berries and other such now arcane knowledge without having to refer to a foraging guide. It is a shame that more people don't have a wider knowledge, but then again it makes the pickings richer for anyone willing to invest a few minutes searching online or in a foraging guide.
The best of the wild mushrooms have now gone but there are plenty of Sweet Chestnuts on the ground just waiting to be picked up. This last weekend I was up in Rame Woods near Cawsand where there are a number of trees. In a few minutes of picking while we walked we managed to collect enough for a snack. While they were pretty small compared to the nuts you might see in the supermarket they tasted just as good.
You can learn how to identify a Sweet Chestnut here, and there is far more information than I possess in this excellent article but you need to be quick.
There is even a growing online map of places to forage called forage.rs. Personally I enjoy the idea of getting out and seeing what you can find or simply fall up on; sometimes things will literally fall on you! Just remember to gain permission if your going on to somebodies property and make sure your picking Sweet Chestnuts and not Conkers!
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