Food from the wild isn’t just leaves, fruits, seeds, nuts and so on, but fish, birds, animals, seaweeds, molluscs and mushrooms. Some people will use "roadkill" (pheasant or rabbit) if they know it is fresh, and if they are relaxed about dealing with it then it is a real free meal, when you consider how much it costs to buy game in the shops.

Seaweeds and shellfish are easy to collect, and nothing could be nicer than eating mussels that you have picked from the rocks earlier the same day. As with all wild food gathering, just use common sense. Check that any beach that you collect from is known to have clean sea water and check to see if there is a sewage outlet nearby. All seaweeds in this country are edible, but some taste nicer (or are easier to prepare) than others, and there are certain times of the year when shellfish are at their best (though they are considerably smaller than the commercially grown varieties).

Click on the links below for a few notes / pictures on some of the Really Wild ingredients you can forage for:

• Dandelion
• Gorse
• Japanese Knotweed
• Nettles
• Pennywort
• Primrose
• Sorrel
• Water Cress
• Wild Garlic

People are rightly cautious about gathering mushrooms, but there are some easily identifiable varieties such as Parasol and Blewit as well as the familiar Horse and Field mushrooms. There are some really good books that can help with identification, so try and cross reference with two or three. However, nothing beats going out with someone who can teach you first hand.

Whether you walk off into the countryside with your thumb stick and basket, or wander along the shoreline with a net and bucket, enjoy yourself. Experience Nature’s harvest, sample what she has produced and, with your new knowledge, you will discover that no walk will ever be quite the same again!