FOODIE FORAY
Local businesses and wild food enthusiasts from across the Forest of Bowland will be celebrating the area’s natural larder this September and inviting residents and visitors to tuck in with them!
The Bowland Foodie Foray follows last year’s successful Pendle Hill event and aims to showcase the fantastic array of wild foods found within this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), along with the knowledge and culinary skills of those who love to harvest them.
With a menu set to include walks, foraging and feasting, the week-long programme will offer a mouth-watering taste of nature’s bounty, plus a fantastic opportunity to explore the local landscape in which it’s found.
Whether you fancy finding food for free amongst the hedgerows, mixing up an elixir or bottling nature’s bounty, there will be an event to tempt the taste buds.
Pickling and preserves aficionado, Sarah Robinson, will be embracing the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness in Barley as she explores the wonderful world of jams and conserves on Monday 23rd September. Sarah, Farming and Wildlife Officer with the Forest of Bowland AONB, will supervise a practical evening workshop dedicated to making the autumn bounty last through the lean months of winter.
Head to Over Wyresdale on Wednesday 25th when teas and tonics are the order of the day. Holistic therapist, Helen Leece, will lead a walk around the gardens at Swainshead Hall Farm, home of The Gathering Fields, collecting fruits and plants for a fresh tea to enjoy on the evening, before showing visitors how to make their very own tonic to take home.
Ribble Valley forager, Adrian Rose, will be guiding guests on a culinary quest around Chatburn on Thursday 26th, sampling some of the best wild foods the area has to offer. Adrian has been featured numerous times on radio and television talking about his passion for foraging and loves to share his knowledge on these walks.
Pendle Hill provides the backdrop to a dog-friendly farm and field walk on Saturday 28th. After discovering the rolling pastureland between Sabden and the hill’s summit plateau, it’s off to Sanwitches Café at the Antiques Centre for a hearty afternoon tea (doggie-option available), followed by a visit to the Milking Parlour hosted by farming family, the Gills.
Food lovers can round the delicious week off with a herbal medicine forage and fine dining escape at Hurst Green’s Shireburn Arms on Sunday 29th September. Medical herbalist, Danielle Kay, will lead a local walk to gather seasonal treats and medicinal plants before heading back to the 17th century inn to rustle up syrups and elixir from foraged fruit. There’s even a dinner, bed and breakfast option.
Two of the events with limited places – seasonal feasting at Dalehouse Barn above Slaidburn and the chance to distil your very own botanical brew with Goosnargh Gin, are now fully booked
For further information about the Bowland Foodie Foray including booking details go to: www.forestofbowland.com or contact Sandra Silk on 01200 448000 or email: sandra.silk@lancashire.gov.uk
