Coastal Foraging with Mark Williams

Join foraging guide and author of The Coastal Forager, Mark Williams, for a deep exploration of coastal wild foods.

This coastal foraging walk explores the coastal plants, seaweeds and shellfish of one of Arran’s beautiful and diverse beaches. Over three hours of very gentle (but occasionally slippery!) walking you will learn about the incredible adaptations of maritime species, the different niches they occupy, the roles they play in coastal ecology, how to recognise and sustainably harvest good edible species, and how to use and preserve them in the kitchen. The walk includes tasters of cooked and preserved coastal plants and we will spend time laying out and labelling our finds afterwards.

After the walk we will cook and eat some what you have just learned about. Remember to provide your dietaries when booking. We will also review and lay out our finds. If the weather is poor we will do this at the COAST Discovery Centre in Lamlash.

Meeting place: Whiting Bay, Isle of Arran. Ticket holders will be notified of our exact meeting place by email in the week before the event.

Accessibility: Our focus is on learning and we move very slowly! The route is suitable for anyone of moderate fitness who is comfortable moving over rocky foreshore which can occasionally be slippy. Sorry but due to the nature of the terrain this event is not suitable for mobility scooters.

Eat/drink: Mark feels it is important to bring the wild foods encountered to life by not just talking about them, but by eating and drinking them as we learn, so he will bring a hefty bag of lovingly prepared treats and tasters to share throughout the walk. These are not only tasty, but serve to illustrate how to use the wild foods we are exploring. At the end of the walk we will cook some seaweed and enjoy more wild coastal snacks. All dietary requirements can be catered for, and these can be noted when booking.

Mark has recently authored a 272 page guide to the edible opportunities of North Atlantic coastlines; covering coastal plants, seaweed, shellfish and more. "The Coastal Forager" is available to purchase at a discounted rate at the time of booking. Mark will happily sign these after the event. Read more about the book here.

This event would make an excellent, more in-depth follow-up to Mark’s talk on the preceding evening in Corrie.

1. The route is suitable for anyone of moderate fitness who is comfortable moving over rocky foreshore which can occasionally be slippy.
2. This event is not recommend for children under 8 years old.

Essential: Footwear that you don’t mind getting muddy. Wellies or walking boots, or an old pair of trainers (if you are happy to have wet feet), weather-appropriate clothing, drinking water.

Optional: A small basket or cloth bag, notebook, camera.

Up to 1.5 miles gentle walking on paths, sandy beach, shingle foreshore and some slippery rocks, over about about 3 hours, with treats and tasters throughout and interpretation session afterwards. All dietary requirements can be catered for and can be added when you book.

Learn:

1. Coastal succulent plants of salt marshes, rocky shores and sandy beaches
2. Some seaweeds and shellfish
3. Herbs and blossoms of summer woods and hedgerows
4. How to be a safe, legal, sustainable and considerate forager
5. Finding, identification, poisonous lookalikes, mindful harvesting, expert tips
6. Folklore and traditional uses
7. Modern gourmet and medicinal uses
8. Nutrition, processing, recipes and cooking tips