Mushroom Identification Course in North Wales

Amy green leading a foraging workshop in North Wales

Mushroom Identification Course

£90.00

The Mushroom Identification Course from Original Outdoors is a fun and intense 5 hour course based entirely outside where we will encounter and identify a variety of different fungi using keys and books.

Please select if you would like to buy a place or a gift voucher for a place on this course by using the drop down menu.

Categories: Courses under £100, Fungi, One-Day Courses, Popular Courses, UK Foraging and Ethnobotany Courses, Wild Food Courses, Wild Food People, Woodland Courses

Course Description

One-Day Mushroom Identification Course held in North Wales

Original Outdoors runs professional quality outdoor skills courses year round. Our instructors have built up decades of experience in topics varying from tracking and search skills through to navigation and remote area safety. We also have a passion for knowledge about the environments in which we work and play and the other life which we find there.

This course is focused on mushrooms and other fungi which are found in abundance, with the right conditions and locations, in Autumn in North Wales. This isn't a foraging walk, it is a one-day identification session which will teach you the skills that you need to further your knowledge and confidence in identifying the fungi you come across in life. Rather than talking about only edible species, we will be exploring all fungi we encounter and talking in depth about the identification of fungi.

Our one-day mushroom identification course takes place near the small rural town of Ruthin in Denbighshire, North Wales, and shows the incredible variety of fungi you can encounter in a relatively small area in the right conditions.

This course has evolved as a result of our previous autumnal Foraging and Wild Food Courses which were often heavily fungi based. As mushrooms are a fascinating and complex subject on their own, we have dedicated an entire course to their identification. We will discuss every species we come across, talking through the process of identification using a variety of guide books. We will also talk about the ecology of mushrooms and how best to target different species through habitat recognition and understanding about the different species requirements.

During the course we hope to come across about 15 different species of fungi, from the sought after to the notable toxic and potentially lethal species - and we will talk about how to identify each of them.

This course is dictated by the pace of nature. Mushrooms are very weather dependant and we cannot guarantee any particular species will be on display during any particular course. We will be examining some species that are not in prime condition but this is all part of mushroom hunting!

The leader for this course is a professional outdoor instructor with many years of experience delivering training with international brands, charities and conservation projects.

The course will start at 10am and last around five hours.

Course Content

How to use an identification key
The different parts of a fungi and how these are described in books and guides
A summary of what fungi are, how they interact with the rest of the local habitat and where to look for them
An overview of the laws regarding access, tools and impact
Advice on choosing identification guides

Course Dates

26th November 2023

Please select from date options in the drop down menu above.

The courses will run from 10:00 to 15:00.

Course Venue

The Mushroom Identification Course from Original Outdoors takes place at the edge of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB just north of the beautiful market town of Ruthin.

A mixed plantation site interspersed with trackways, settlements and glades is home to edible fungi.

Please note that the map below is only to show the general area - full joining instructions and meeting point will be sent out by email between you booking a place on the course and around 21 days before the course commences.

Kit List

There is no special equipment necessary for this identification skills course, however we ask that you are prepared for the weather of the day, standing and walking for 5 hours on an unprepared surface in a woodland.
Check the forecast before coming out and dress appropriately, we will be outside for the duration of this course.

We recommend that you bring with you:

Comfortable walking boots or shoes suitable for grass, soil and occasionally sloping ground
Suitable warm and/or waterproof layers for the weather forecast that day
Bottle of water and lunch
Notepad and pen/pencil
Something easy to carry to sit/kneel on

We will provide several guides for the group to use on the day, but if you do already have an ID guide we recommend that you bring it along too.

FAQs

Will the course go ahead in the rain?

Yes, this course will take place in most weather conditions, including rain. We will contact participants directly if there is any need to postpone or alter the course.

Will we be looking for edible fungi?

During the course we are likely to find some edible species of fungi, however the focus of the course is on learning to identify different families of fungi and for participants to become more confident in the usage of identification guides and features.

Can I bring a dog?

No - this course isn't suitable for dogs to attend as we will be walking quite slowly and stopping frequently for extended periods to look at books and identify species.

How old do I need to be to attend this course?

You will need to be 18yrs old on the date of the course, or attending with your parent/s or legal guardian.
There is no strict lower age limit, but you can probably decide for yourself if your child will enjoy four hours of walking and talking about wild mushrooms.

Are there toilets on site?

No, this course takes place in a woodland with plenty of trees, there are no facilities provided however there are public toilets in the nearby town.

What time does the course begin?

The course starts at 10am and will last around 5 hours. We ask that participants are ready to depart from the parking area at the advertised time in the morning.

Is there any cooking involved?

There is no cooking involved on this course.

Do I need to bring food?

The course lasts for 5 hours and we will be away from the cars for this time, we recommend that you bring a bottle of water and a quick lunch.

Is this course suitable for me?

If you are interested in a day of learning more about fungi and trying to identify the different species which we encounter during our walk, then this course is for you!

If you have any concerns or questions then please contact us and we can discuss this with you. By booking a place on this course (for yourself or others) you/they are agreeing to our terms and conditions and that you/they are physically capable of safely attending this course which takes place on tracks, slopes and often unprepared ground.

Our Instructors

Richard Prideaux

The primary instructor for this course is Richard Prideaux, the lead instructor for Original Outdoors.

Richard has spent the majority of his adult life working in the great outdoors. He specialises in wilderness skills, foraging and teaching search operations to our professional clients at our sister site outdoorprofessional.co.uk.

Amongst other things he is a qualified mountain leader, spent several years as an active member of one of the North Wales mountain rescue teams and regularly appears on screen and in print talking about foraging, bushcraft and survival and other essential outdoor skills.

Richard lives near Ruthin in North Wales.

Amy Green

Amy Green is another of our instructors at Original Outdoors, having joined us in January 2020.

She grew up between Manchester and the Peak District and has always spent as much time as she can outside; walking, climbing trees, taking photos and studying the life around her.

Since moving to Wales over a decade ago, she has worked in wildlife conservation and developed her knowledge of foraging, ethnobotany and bushcraft. As well as being proficient in these subjects, Amy is interested in heritage skills and can scythe, build dry stone walls, lay hedges and undertake ecological surveys for a number of different protected and rare species. She also enjoys cooking with wild ingredients and makes amazing flavoured gins out of foraged edibles.

Amy lives near Ruthin in North Wales.

About this course

One-Day Mushroom Foraging and Identification Course held in North Wales

Original Outdoors runs professional quality outdoor skills courses year round. Our instructors have built up decades of experience in topics varying from tracking and search skills through to navigation and remote area safety. We also have a passion for knowledge about the environments in which we work and play and the other life which we find there.

This course is focused on mushrooms and other fungi which are found in abundance, with the right conditions and locations, in Autumn in North Wales. This isn't a foraging walk, it is a one-day identification session which will teach you the skills that you need to further your knowledge and confidence in identifying the fungi you come across in life. Rather than talking about only edible species, we will be exploring all fungi we encounter and talking in depth about the identification of fungi.

Our one-day mushroom identification course takes place near the small rural town of Ruthin in Denbighshire, North Wales, and shows the incredible variety of fungi you can encounter in a relatively small area in the right conditions.

This course has evolved as a result of our previous autumnal Foraging and Wild Food Courses which were often heavily fungi based. As mushrooms are a fascinating and complex subject on their own, we have dedicated an entire course to their identification. We will discuss every species we come across, talking through the process of identification using a variety of guide books. We will also talk about the ecology of mushrooms and how best to target different species through habitat recognition and understanding about the different species requirements.

During the course we hope to come across about 15 different species of fungi, from the sought after to the notable toxic and potentially lethal species - and we will talk about how to identify each of them.

This course is dictated by the pace of nature. Mushrooms are very weather dependant and we cannot guarantee any particular species will be on display during any particular course. We will be examining some species that are not in prime condition but this is all part of mushroom hunting!

The leader for this course is a professional outdoor instructor with many years of experience delivering training with international brands, charities and conservation projects.

The course will start at 10am and last around five hours.

Course Overview

How to use an identification key
The different parts of a fungi and how these are described in books and guides
A summary of what fungi are, how they interact with the rest of the local habitat and where to look for them
An overview of the laws regarding access, tools and impact
Advice on choosing identification guides

Course Dates

26th November 2023

Please select from date options in the drop down menu above.

Course Venue

The Mushroom Foraging and Identification Course from Original Outdoors takes place at the edge of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB just north of the beautiful market town of Ruthin.

A mixed plantation site interspersed with trackways, settlements and glades is home to edible fungi.

Please note that the map below is only to show the general area - full joining instructions and meeting point will be sent out by email between you booking a place on the course and around 21 days before the course commences.

Kit List

There is no special equipment necessary for this identification skills course, however we ask that you are prepared for the weather of the day, standing and walking for 5 hours on an unprepared surface in a woodland.

Check the forecast before coming out and dress appropriately, we will be outside for the duration of this course.

We recommend that you bring with you:

Comfortable walking boots or shoes suitable for grass, soil and occasionally sloping ground
Suitable warm and/or waterproof layers for the weather forecast that day
Bottle of water and lunch
Notepad and pen/pencil
Something easy to carry to sit/kneel on

We will provide several guides for the group to use on the day, but if you do already have an ID guide we recommend that you bring it along too.

Our Instructors

Richard Prideaux

The primary instructor for this course is Richard Prideaux, the lead instructor for Original Outdoors.

Richard has spent the majority of his adult life working in the great outdoors. He specialises in wilderness skills, foraging and teaching search operations to our professional clients at our sister site outdoorprofessional.co.uk.

Amongst other things he is a qualified mountain leader, spent several years as an active member of one of the North Wales mountain rescue teams and regularly appears on screen and in print talking about foraging, bushcraft and survival and other essential outdoor skills.

Richard lives near Ruthin in North Wales.

Amy Green

Amy Green is another of our instructors at Original Outdoors, having joined us in January 2020.

She grew up between Manchester and the Peak District and has always spent as much time as she can outside; walking, climbing trees, taking photos and studying the life around her.

Since moving to Wales 10 years ago, she has worked in wildlife conservation and developed her knowledge of foraging, ethnobotany and bushcraft. As well as being proficient in these subjects, Amy is interested in heritage skills and can scythe, build dry stone walls, lay hedges and undertake ecological surveys for a number of different protected and rare species. She also enjoys cooking with wild ingredients and makes amazing flavoured gins out of foraged edibles.

Amy lives near Ruthin in North Wales.

FAQs

Will the course go ahead in the rain?

Yes, this course will take place in most weather conditions, including rain. We will contact participants directly if there is any need to postpone or alter the course.

Will we be looking for edible fungi?

During the course we are likely to find some edible species of fungi, however the focus of the course is on learning to identify different families of fungi and for participants to become more confident in the usage of identification guides and features.

Can I bring a dog?

No - this course isn't suitable for dogs to attend as we will be walking quite slowly and stopping frequently for extended periods to look at books and identify species.

How old do I need to be to attend this course?

You will need to be 18yrs old on the date of the course, or attending with your parent/s or legal guardian.
There is no strict lower age limit, but you can probably decide for yourself if your child will enjoy four hours of walking and talking about wild mushrooms.

Are there toilets on site?

No, this course takes place in a woodland with plenty of trees, there are no facilities provided however there are public toilets in the nearby town.

What time does the course begin?

The course starts at 10am and will last around 5 hours. We ask that participants are ready to depart from the parking area at the advertised time in the morning.

Is there any cooking involved?

There is no cooking involved on this course.

Do I need to bring food?

The course lasts for 5 hours and we will be away from the cars for this time, we recommend that you bring a bottle of water and a quick lunch.

Is this course suitable for me?

If you are interested in a day of learning more about fungi and trying to identify the different species which we encounter during our walk, then this course is for you!

If you have any concerns or questions then please contact us and we can discuss this with you. By booking a place on this course (for yourself or others) you/they are agreeing to our terms and conditions and that you/they are physically capable of safely attending this course which takes place on tracks, slopes and often unprepared ground.

Mushroom Identification Course

You may also like…

Coastal Foraging Walk

Course Description

One-Day Mushroom Identification Course held in North Wales

Course Content

Will the course go ahead in the rain?

Will we be looking for edible fungi?

Can I bring a dog?

How old do I need to be to attend this course?

Are there toilets on site?

What time does the course begin?

Is there any cooking involved?

Do I need to bring food?

Is this course suitable for me?

Richard Prideaux

Amy Green

One-Day Mushroom Foraging and Identification Course held in North Wales

Richard Prideaux

Amy Green

Will the course go ahead in the rain?

Will we be looking for edible fungi?

Can I bring a dog?

How old do I need to be to attend this course?

Are there toilets on site?

What time does the course begin?

Is there any cooking involved?

Do I need to bring food?

Is this course suitable for me?

SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

Mushroom Identification Course

You may also like…

Coastal Foraging Walk

Course Description

One-Day Mushroom Identification Course held in North Wales

Course Content

Will the course go ahead in the rain?

Will we be looking for edible fungi?

Can I bring a dog?

How old do I need to be to attend this course?

Are there toilets on site?

What time does the course begin?

Is there any cooking involved?

Do I need to bring food?

Is this course suitable for me?

Richard Prideaux

Amy Green

One-Day Mushroom Foraging and Identification Course held in North Wales

Richard Prideaux

Amy Green

Will the course go ahead in the rain?

Will we be looking for edible fungi?

Can I bring a dog?

How old do I need to be to attend this course?

Are there toilets on site?

What time does the course begin?

Is there any cooking involved?

Do I need to bring food?

Is this course suitable for me?