I picked this up at one of our local shops in Barnard Castle, Oswell’s, as I always try to buy something whenever we visit and there’s usually a great little book selection about nature and the countryside. I pretty much read this in two sittings it was that fascinating, especially since we had started to go out walking more due to the lockdown and had started trying to identify more fungi, plants, and animals on those walks. The seasonal breakdown of the foraging guide makes it really handy and helps so much with identification as it separates species that may look similar and tells you when the most likely time for them to be more populous. John Wright’s writing style is also really easy going but authoritative and helps with making you feel at ease with the subject and not overwhelmed as some foraging guides have made me feel in the past, it’s almost as though he’s there with you. John is very good at pointing out the dangers inherent in foraging and the risks of misidentification and there’s a really good selection at the back of the book on poisonous species which I’ve read a couple of times. Another keeper which hopefully will help me harvest more than wild garlic in this coming year.

Light, witty and with a cornucopia of information. A great guide to the hidden abundance of our green and fertile land presented in a way that is accessible to beginners and hoary old foragers alike.