» Gardening leave
Catherine Huckerby goes wild food foraging and feasting in West Cornwall
Many people are happy to pick blackberries in the countryside but the thought of foraging for food may seem a bit strange, especially to us city folk. Always open to new experiences, we booked ourselves onto a wild foraging, cooking and feasting course (the latter element seeming much more inviting). Caroline Davey runs courses in West Cornwall where people from all walks of life learn the ancient art of wild food foraging, and how to cook what you find.
Arriving at Boscawen-noon Farm, where Caroline and her family live, we were treated to homemade flapjacks and steaming hot mugs of tea before setting off on our exciting escapade. Armed with waterproof coats, wellies and baskets borrowed from Caroline, we wandered along the path towards the sea. Caroline pointed out some poisonous plants, such as fools parsley, and educated us on how to cut plants with scissors and how not to pull out the roots but to only take what we needed. The lunch menu was going to comprise of limpet linguine with crispy seaweed among other delicious and strange concoctions.
Prizing the limpets off the rocks was easier said than done, but collecting seaweed was strangely satisfying. Back at the farmhouse, Matt the chef demonstrated how to cook the limpets and seaweed along with Haloumi and soda bread. Lunch consisted of some of our foraged food along with other wild plants and herbs and local farm produce including nasturtium and herb salad, all delicious.
Looking forward to a relaxing evening, we booked ourselves into the Gunards Head, an inn recommended by Caroline, who supplies some of the wild food to their restaurant. The old coastal inn, close to St Ives and Lands End, is run by Charles and Edmund Inkin who took on the responsibility of caring for this neglected inn and saving it from the hands of a pub chain. It has an earthy, warm rustic feel.
After dropping off our bags in our simply decorated but cosy room, we learnt that even the paint used on the walls had come from a local supplier, and the local Tregothnan tea supplied in our room is grown in the heart of Cornwall. We couldn’t wait for a relaxing drink at the bar followed by dinner in their candlelit restaurant. With the full moon rising over the Atlantic coastline it was hard to imagine anything more magical.
WHERE TO STAY
Gunards Head, Nr Zennor, St Ives, TR6 3DE, 01736 796928, www.gurnardshead.co.uk, prices from £85 for a double room
WHERE TO EAT
Fat Hen Wild Food Foraging, Cooking and Feasting courses, one day course £40, per person, group booking for up to 10 people £200. Gormet Wild Food weekends £155 per person including a Saturday night feast in the goat barn with live folk music. Contact Caroline on 01736 810156, www.fathen.org
