Cotswold Forager: Autumn Foraging Focus

Rob Gould is a forager with 20 years experience. In this series Rob introduces readers to nature’s bounty that can be found and foraged easily. His passion is helping people to think about and develop a love for the wild food all around them and helping them grow a greater appreciation and understanding of the natural world as a whole

So here we are, heading into what I would consider autumn in its truest sense. The time when the changing tree leaves tend to be at their most flamboyant, and the nights draw back in again after the brief reprise following the changing of the clocks at the turn of October.

By now the sloes will almost certainly be bereft of foliage, and the other hedgerow fruits, if they are still around, will start to be at their most obvious, as the bushes carrying them slowly drop their leaves as well, in preparation for their winter dormancy. But even in these field boundaries, this is a time for a celebration of the season’s beauty, with rosehips and even the almost festive looking garlands of black briony berries shining out bright red, both slowly fading to more translucent, almost wine-like colours as they are slowly damaged by the ever hardening frosts. And the colours of the remaining hedgerow leaves also attempt to outcompete the normally showier trees – hawthorn and beech with shades from mustard through to deep scarlet, the vibrant sunset pinks and yellows of the Guelder Rose, the white pompom like puffs of the wild clematis. In fact, it is now, in some hedgerows, that I feel you can almost see where the inspiration to dress a tree at Christmas came from…

But what to forage at this time of year? In many areas it will still not be too late for sloes, providing the birds, or more likely gin-infusers, have not already taken them – for my own recipe, developed over 20 plus years, check last month’s column, or my website. The previously mentioned rosehips will also be at the perfect stage of (over) ripeness for preserves, full of sweetness and floral notes, with the thin flesh already turning to an apricot-like jammy consistency. And despite the fact that nowadays we no longer ‘need’ to make use of rosehip syrup for its vitamin-C boosting abilities, it is still a delicious concoction for drizzling over porridge, cakes and a huge multitude of creamy puddings, or even drunk as a simple cordial.

Potentially, if you’re exceptionally lucky, there may still be nuts around, although more likely than not the next you’ll see of them will be as the saplings start popping up in your flowerbeds, pots and the other seemingly

This is a time for a celebration of the season’s beauty

ridiculous places that the squirrels choose to hide them – a few days ago my parents told me they had found a pair of welly boots, full of acorns, in the rear ‘garage area’ of their old motorhome. Although that does remind

Autumn Foraging Focus

Rosehip, acorns & mushrooms

Photography by Cotswold Forager

Enjoy the early autumnal sunsets

Rosehips will also be at the perfect stage of (over) ripeness

me: if you are a baker and fancy trying something different, it’s definitely worth giving homemade acorn flour a try if you can get a decent quantity of them. Truthfully, there is a fair bit of work involved in leaching and processing them before they reach a readily usable stage… BUT, if after that first time making it, you do enjoy the nutty flavour of the resultant flour – whispering quietly – it is available online and in many Eastern European food shops.

Mushrooms may also still around too, although probably no longer on open grassland – the first frosts are the death knell for the softer fruiting bodies of virtually all the terrestrial fungi that grow in open areas. Some will still be clinging on in woodland though, where the frosts occasionally don’t really begin to penetrate until a bit later into the winter months, but from that point on, pretty much all that is left will be the hard brackets.

So for now, just enjoy the spectacle. Enjoy the colours. Enjoy the frosty mornings, where every umbellifer has the opportunity to become an entrancing sculpture in its own right. Enjoy the sunsets that are early enough to sit and share with your children or grandchildren.

Above all, remember that the sun will begin its resurgence sooner than we ever expect. For me, part of the appreciation of foraging is this acceptance of seasonality. These barren months – where the only foraged food eaten is that which was laid down or processed when the sun shone bright and the days were long – serve as a reminder to appreciate even more the onset of spring, when once more everything returns, lush and full of vitality, promise and hope. Use these cold, dark months as a time to reflect, to plan, and most of all, as a time to learn.

“Make hay whilst the sun shines.” ...but when the sun doesn’t shine, that is the time to learn how to actually make hay...

The almost festive looking garlands of black briony berries

Mushrooms in the woodlands can be less affected by frost

If you can’t forage for your plate now, forage with your eyes for the future...

I’m sure I’ve said something similar to this before, but even for me, not every excursion into the outdoors is a foraging adventure... well, not completely. Even when I go out with no intention of bringing anything physical home, I still come back with knowledge – with ideas of where to begin my search again next year.

Keep an eye out in your meadows and fields for the slowly disappearing leaves of the docks and sorrels, turning through shades of pink, yellow and scarlet, before eventually dying back to the ground.

Mark the remnants of the huge first-year burdock leaves, ready to return in winter or early spring to harvest the roots.

Memorise where your local sloes are, either by observing the fruit now, or the blossom in early spring, and return when they start to leaf up. Then you can try your hand at the French ‘equivalent’ of Sloe Gin, Épine, which is made with red wine, brandy, sugar and the leaves of the sloe or blackthorn bush. Sadly, I am still yet to try the two side by side, but maybe next year will finally be the year for that.

So, even if you don’t think you can pick anything – although as your skill grows, there will be more to harvest, later into the season, and potentially even throughout the winter – keep your eyes peeled.

It will never go to waste.”

Rob is a highly experienced forager with over twenty years of acquired knowledge. He can be booked for private foraging walks, wild edible surveys and corporate sessions, and also runs public ticketed walks, talks and workshops.

Rob also works with restaurants and food companies to bring a taste of the wild to their menus and products.

Please contact him via cotswoldforager@gmail.com or search for Cotswold Forager across social media: Website: www.cotswoldforager.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/ cotswoldforager/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/ cotswoldforager/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/ForagerCotswold/