Tom Parkinson is a forager by definition, if not entirely by trade. Foraging being what it is, Tom reluctantly earns the bulk of his living behind a desk like most Londoners. At weekends he runs guided foraging walks, and makes a range of foods and products using seasonal wild ingredients gathered within Greater London.
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Samphire
August 10, 2009
Just got back from a fantastic weekend foraging for samphire in Hesketh Banks, Lancashire. My uncle’s farm runs up to the bank, beyong which is the marsh and eventually the Ribble estuary which leads out to the Irish sea. We left the farm at about 3 o’clock, an hour or so after the tide had gone out, and picked our way across the marsh. It took us about an hour. There were about 1000 cattle grazing along the marsh, and the grass was covered in baby crab shells as brittle as rice paper. the further out towards the Ribble we got the gutters in the marsh were deeper and wider, and along them we started to see the samphire. Eaten straight from the ground it tasted amazing, like salty plum skins. Eventually the grass stopped and samphire covered the ground. We gathered a good few shopping bags full while admiring the view of St. Annes across the water, with Blackpool Tower poking over the top. It’s fairly late for samphire and some of it was beginning to go to seed, but we’ll still be able to make some fantastic pickles which will last all year, and tonight I’m going to have some with poached eggs.
Expeditions like this allow you complete removal from the stresses and preoccupations of everyday life- I don’t think I thought about work, money, or politics once in the four hours we were out. I’m very grateful to my uncle for taking us out- without his knowledge of the tides and the marsh it would have been very dangerous. I’d recommend samphire picking to anyone, but make sure that you know that where you are going is safe, and wherever possible check with someone who has local knowledge.
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We had an email to Pro Bloggers asking:
“Hi there
I did some urban foraging the other day - collecting blackberries on Hampstead Heath… I also spotted what I think are sloe berries and am hatching a plan to make some sloe gin - just wondering if this is the right time to pick them…thanks
Philippa”
The blurb under your picture says you do guided foraging walks on the weekends - when do you next have a Blackheath / Greenwich one planned?
Thanks,
Nim
Philippa- Usually September is sloe-picking time- August the sloes should be covered in bloom- that’s the condensation-looking mist on the skin which contains yeast- but wait a little until they look over-ripe. My next blog will be on liqueurs- Sloe gin is not the only drink you can make! Set some of the blackberries aside too…
Nim, doing a walk with about 6 people this Saturday (5th) at 2pm. Let me know if you want to come along.
Had an email to probloggers asking:
“Hey - Will you be doing any forage tours around London soon?
Thanks
Alix”
Any ideas where I could locate some sloes in the SE London area? Do they grow on Blackheath? Looking forward to making sloe gin and rosehip syrup for Christmas pressies and I haven’t seen sloes around for ages.
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