Learn to forage wild mushrooms on guided walks across South London

I've spent years cultivating gourmet mushrooms in controlled environments—from oyster and shiitake to lion's mane—but I've always believed the real education happens outdoors, in soil and woodland, where wild mushrooms fruit according to their own calendar. Foraging walks sit at the heart of what I do at Adi's Urban Mushrooms. They're not casual nature rambles; they're structured learning sessions where I walk you through identification, ecology and safe harvesting in the same detail I bring to my cultivation workshops. You'll learn to read the landscape: which trees host which fungi, how moisture and temperature trigger fruiting, why some species appear in autumn and others in spring. This isn't guesswork—it's mycology applied.

Every walk I lead is rooted in South London geography and seasonal timing. We move through parks, green spaces and verges where wild edible fungi actually fruit, not hypothetical locations. I plan each walk around what's genuinely emerging that week—I check spore prints, weather patterns and fruiting cycles before we go out. This means foraging walks run year-round but on a rhythm dictated by nature, not a fixed calendar. Spring brings morels and St George's mushrooms; autumn is peak season for hedgehog mushrooms, penny buns and chanterelles; winter offers oyster species and winter chanterelles if conditions align. Summer is quieter, but I still run walks focused on identification of non-fruiting species and habitat study, because learning what to look for is as crucial as learning what to pick.

Safety and responsible foraging are non-negotiable. I teach you the golden rule: never eat anything you haven't identified with absolute certainty, and never harvest from contaminated ground or areas that have been sprayed. On every walk, we use hand lenses to examine spore colour and print, we talk about lookalikes and toxic species, and we discuss sustainable harvesting—taking only what you need, leaving young specimens and mycelium undisturbed. You'll return home with a small harvest if conditions permit, but the real yield is knowledge. I want you confident enough to forage independently afterwards, which means I don't rush identification or gloss over the tricky species. If we find something questionable, we document it and move on; there's no pressure to identify everything.

I've built this teaching approach through my work with the Community Mycology Lab at Remakery Brixton and the South London Mushroom Club, where I've led cultivation sessions and discussed wild species with growers and foragers at every level. Foraging walks sit alongside that community work—they're part of the same mission to build local mycological literacy. Many people come to foraging because they've eaten my fresh mushrooms at a West Norwood Feast stall or tried my dried mushroom products, and they're curious about the source. Others arrive knowing nothing, drawn simply by the idea of learning something practical about the landscape they live in. Both groups leave with the same toolkit: field guides, hand lenses, proper terminology and—crucially—the confidence to keep foraging after the walk ends.

What makes these walks different from generic nature walks is the culinary thread. I'm not just interested in mushroom identification as botany; I'm interested in flavour, texture and how you'll actually cook and eat what you find. We talk about why a hedgehog mushroom's meaty flesh suits slow cooking, how chanterelles' delicate structure demands gentle handling, which species dry well and which are best fresh. If you harvest on the walk, I'll give you straightforward advice on storage and preparation—because a perfectly identified mushroom is wasted if you don't know how to bring out its best qualities. I often recommend recipes or suggest ways to preserve a larger harvest. This isn't separate from the foraging; it's the completion of it.

The walks are small groups—I keep numbers low so everyone gets close attention and time to ask questions. You'll need sensible footwear, a basket or bag, a hand lens (I can lend one if you don't have), and a notebook if you want to record what you find. I provide field guides tailored to the species we're likely to encounter. Bring weather-appropriate clothing because we're out for a couple of hours regardless of conditions; mushrooms fruit in rain and fog, and that's often when they're easiest to spot. The pace is leisurely—this is learning, not hiking—and I adapt the route based on what we encounter and the group's questions.

Foraging walks also connect directly to my other work. If you attend a walk and decide you want to grow mushrooms yourself, I run cultivation workshops where you'll learn about substrate preparation, fruiting conditions and species selection. If you're interested in preserving your foraged harvest, my mushroom jerky and dried mushroom products show one pathway; you can then make your own. Many people come to foraging first because it feels more accessible than growing, then discover they want to do both. The walks don't push any of that—I'm genuinely here to teach foraging—but the ecosystem of learning around mushrooms is there if you want to deepen further.

I approach these walks with the same transparency I bring to everything else at Adi's Urban Mushrooms. I'll tell you which species I'm confident about and which ones I'd verify with additional resources before eating. I'll explain why I do or don't harvest from particular spots. I'll be honest about what's abundant this year and what's scarce. I won't pretend foraging will supply your kitchen year-round or that wild mushrooms are a cheaper alternative to buying them—they're not; foraging is about knowledge, connection to place and the pleasure of finding your own food. But once you've done it, that experience changes how you think about the landscape you live in, and that's something no shop-bought mushroom can replicate.

If you're ready to start, get in touch through the website or find me at West Norwood Feast markets to discuss what time of year suits you and what you're hoping to learn. I can answer questions about difficulty level, physical demands, group sizes and what to bring. Foraging walks fill up because spaces are limited, so book early if you have a particular season in mind. Whether you're a complete beginner or someone with casual interest in wild mushrooms, there's a walk that fits where you are now.