Forage Sussex

HOW TO - Fire by bow drill - Treader Tube

2015-06-24T01:28:00.000-07:00

Fire by Bow Drill

A few weeks ago my good buddy Tom Reader stopped by the Hunter Gather Cook treehouse to learn how to make fire by bow drill with Nick Weston. Keen to brush up my skills I joined them and here are the results. Tom will be out and about making videos about his adventures so if you like what you see click and subscribe to his channel - Treader Tube on Youtube

Review: MSR Miniworks EX water filter

2015-02-03T06:41:00.000-08:00

I’ve covered a fair few wild edibles in the past on this blog and where as I do enjoy going out collecting these plants I usually take them home to cook in a “normal” kitchen with taps.

I wanted to talk today about stripping things back a little and heading more in a survival / wild camping direction. At the right time of year I don’t think I’d have much trouble surviving for a few days, even a week or two foraging for my sustenance however clean water would always be a bit of a worry and carrying 2 litres for each day I would be out would be rather weighty. Things to be concerned about when collecting water are chemicals, toxins ,pesticides, bacteria, protozoa, cryptosporidium and waterbourne viruses. This is where the MSR Miniworks EX comes in.

The Miniworks has a replaceable carbon ceramic filter, good for 2000 litres and with 0.2 micron filter size will get rid of all of the above apart from the viruses. For the viruses I’d suggest a using a chlorine tablet after you have filtered the water and if you are not a fan of the flavour, filtering the clean water through the Miniworks again should remove most of the pool water taste.

Weighing in at 16oz / 450 grams some say that it is a little on the heavy side but when you think about it, it is only a quarter of the weight of your daily water needs. The Miniworks is completely field maintainable needing no tools to take it apart and just a little 3M scrubbing pad to clean the filter. On the base of the Miniworks there is a little red calliper which when able to fit over the removed filter indicates that its time to replace it. Replacement filters cost around the £40 mark but you do occasionally see them cheaper.

The filter is operated by a hand pump which includes an Airspring Accumulator and when completely clean will deliver a flow rate of a litre a minute. It is ideally suited to the MSR Alpine 1 ltr bottle which will screw straight onto the bottom of the Miniworks. Together you have a great little set up to extend your adventure time in the wild, keep you and small group hydrated and at £77 from Webtogs won’t break the bank!

When compared to its rival the Katadyn Hiker Pro which comes in at around the same price with a similar cost for the replacement filter I would certain chose the MSR over the Katadyn as the latter filter is only good for 900 litres so less than half that of the MSR.

For more reviews like this why not check out Outdoor Gear Review

Wilderness Festival 2014 Hunter Gather Cook

2014-08-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

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How to Cook Wild Rabbit with Hunter Gather Cook - Vice Munchies

2014-07-30T02:29:00.000-07:00

Rabbit Butchery and Banquet

2014-05-05T00:53:00.000-07:00

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Yukhoe - Korean Venison Tartare 육회

2014-03-28T04:08:00.002-07:00

Yukhoe

This Korean version of steak tartare was originally made with horse meat and more recently with beef. For best results the meat needs to be absolutely as fresh as possible. At Hunter Gather Cook this dish is made with venison fillet within a couple of hours of it coming off the deer so we have the perfect opportunity to make the finest of dishes.

Forage:

10 Wild Garlic Leaves

1 Bunch of Three Cornered Leek

16 Edible Wild Flowers to Garnish ( Dog Violet, Wild Garlic Flowers, Three Cornered Leek, Primrose, Cuckoo Flower)

4 Sorrel Leaves

Ingredients:

1 pound / 450g Venison Fillet

2 Pears

4 small egg yolks or 4 quails eggs

2 tablespoon pine nuts

Seasoning Mixture:

4 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon clear honey

3 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

2 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

1 tsp chilli powder

Wild mies en plas

Firstly the Venison Fillet should be put in the freeze for 1 ½ to 2 hours, this hardens it up slightly making cutting it thinly a lot easier.

For the seasoning mixture add the soy, honey, sesame oil, sesame seed, pepper and chilli powder to a bowl. Next very finely chop the Wild Garlic and Three Cornered Leek and add to the bowl. Stir well to combine and set to one side.

Yukhoe seasoning mixture

Fill another bowl with a cup of water and add a teaspoon of salt to it. This will keep your pears from browning whilst preparing the rest of the dish. Peel and julien the pear cutting it into matchstick sized pieces and place in the bowl of salted water until ready to plate up.

Take the partially frozen venison fillet and slice it in the same way as the pears. You want lots of tiny matchsticks of venison. Add the sliced venison to the seasoning mixture and stir well.

Making sure the venison fillet is free of any fat and sinue

To plate up make a bed of the pear sticks, take a serving of the venison and seasoning and place on top of the pears making a small indent in the top of the venison. Carefully place the egg yolk on top of the venison. If using a quails egg the top should be cut off and the egg put in the same place ready to be poured over when served.

Garnish around the stack with whatever edible wild flowers you have found, the sorrel and serve!

Yukhoe - The finished article

Snugpak Jungle Hammock – Review

2014-03-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Working as I do in the middle of the woods and often spending several days out in the sticks, comfortable, lightweight, sleeping arrangements are quite important to me.

Last year I started using a hammock to save weight rather than lugging around a tent. The hammock I was using was basically a heavy weight, canvas, oversize job that was very nice and comfortable but only fractionally smaller and lighter packed down than the tent I used to use. I started checking out the some light weight versions using parachute material but was surprised to see the likes of hammocks by Hennessy coming in at over £120!

In instead opted for the Snugpak Jungle Hammock from blackeaf.com at under 35 quid it was a steal and appeared to have many of the same materials and a similar set up including the integral mosquito net I wanted after being eaten alive last year.

Compared with the with the old hammock it was quite a different beast, weighing in at less than 800 grams and a full 1.2 kilos less, it packed down to a quarter of the size. At this point I was wondering how sturdy it could actually be being that lightweight, nonetheless I was looking forward the end of my working day and to trying out my new bed.

Setting it up was a pretty simple and quick affair or at least it would have been if I hadn’t had a few wild cocktails with dinner. For suspending the hammock you have two lengths of 550 paracord knotted at increments making it quick to get the right tension when tying it to the tree. The hammock itself had steel carabineers at each end so simply clipped up to the paracord secured to the tree. Setting the bug net was a little trickier than the actual hammock as you need to get the tension just so. Too little and the net will sag on to you when in the hammock and too tight and I’d imagine it may tear the net when you get it. Would suggest setting it up with a loose tension with your adjustment knot accessible once in the hammock. That way you can get in to the hammock then adjust the tension to perfection. If you don’t want to use the bug net you can simply flip the hammock over and use it without.

There was plenty of space in there when I got in, I’m 6”3 and I reckon it could comfortably fit someone a fair bit taller and heavier than me. On the technical specs it says that it can take 180 kilos, which would be a very hefty individual. It was really comfortable to with enough room to curl up. It was a pretty cold night and I woke to frost on the field just outside the wood. I was pretty chilly but I put that down to the quality of my sleeping bag rather than the hammock. I’d suggest on any cold night using a roll mat or extra sleeping bag to keep the cold off your back, however in the summer having a cooling breeze on your back can be pretty nice.

Overall I’d say the Jungle Hammock is a massive improvement on my previous one and I’d recommend it anyone wanting to travel lighter and stay comfortable. I’ll certainly be getting a lot more use out of it this year at Hunter Gather Cook . Happy Camping!

Fine Wild Food Feast - 22nd March

2014-03-24T03:15:00.000-07:00

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Pyro Piston - Ancient Technology, 21st Century Reliability

2014-03-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

History:

Fire Pistons have been around for thousands of years and have been used by many tribes in the Pacific Islands and South East Asia. Evidence suggests that tribes that used blowpipes as a weapon originally came up with the idea. Of course we in the West like to claim these things for ourselves and our first mention of this type of tool came in 1745 when Abbe Augustin Ruffo “invented” it. Some time after that in the early 1800’s it was patented and remained an incredibly popular house hold fire lighting device until some bright spark, Gustaf Erik Pasch invented the safety match in the mid 1800’s. The fire piston is also said to be the inspiration for Rudolf Diesels creation of the Diesel Engine in 1892.

How it works:

The fire piston works by rapidly compressing gas around the tinder at the end of the plunger. If this is done correctly the gas will heat up sharply to around 260°C. This is enough to ignite the tinder, and transfer it to a larger set of tinder for fire lighting. This is best demonstrated by Dustin in the video below.

How to:

Step One: Get a little of the lubricant on your finger and smear it on the washer. Push the piston in and out a couple of times. If it’s well lubricated, the piston will spring back due the compression created.

Step Two: Take a little tinder and press it into the tinder cup ensuring it sits firmly within the cup and if not touching the washer. If it is not in properly it will interfere with the washer meaning you’ll loose much needed compression.

Step Three: Insert the piston into the piston body about 1cm. Place the piston on a solid surface. Strike downwards with force then quickly remove the piston to reveal the glowing ember.

Step Four: Transfer the ember to larger pieces of tinder and gently blow until you get flames.

Moving Forward:

Dustin James at Bushcraft Tools has bought this ancient design right up to date with the Pyro Piston. Dustin’s idea came from his work with the Shelter Box charity which provide emergency shelter, supplies and support for communities around the world hit by disaster and humanitarian crisis. He wanted to make a sure-fire way of creating fire time and time again in these areas. After years of research, development and many incarnations of his creation we are left with probably the best fire piston on the market.

Pyro Piston Review:

The Pyro Piston comes with everything you need to get a burning ember to light your fire. The kit includes a 1 Pyro-Piston, Built-in 64mm Firesteel, Charcloth, Lubricant and Spare rubber washers. It weighs in at 80g and is 117mm long by 22mm wide.

The clever thing about the Pyro Piston is the way everything is incorporated into its design. One end of the two piece piston unscrews to reveal a small area where the lubricant is kept, the opposite end has a similar sized water proof compartment for keeping tinder. If that wasn’t enough there is a fire steel cleverly placed in the centre of the piston which can be found by unscrewing the tinder cup. I love this bit of design, to have two ways of making a fire in one device essentially giving you twice the chance to light a fire in the wilderness.

I hear Dustin has some pretty sweet upgrades in development too so keep an eye on him!

The Great Hunter Gather Cook Tree House Kickstarter - Get Involved!

2014-03-10T12:34:00.001-07:00

We want to build a 30ft Tree house HQ and off-grid kitchen where we run our Foraging, butchery & cookery courses...TO THE TREES!!

The aim of this project is to construct a 9.5m x 4.3m tree house perched 8 ft off the ground between two oak trees as our new off-grid HQ. The tree house itself will be split into two working areas, effectively doubling the workspace we have at the moment, whilst retaining the same footprint in the woods. Upstairs will be primarily used as a dining area with our big oak table for hosting banquets as well as house a wild cocktail bar and be somewhere to accommodate our lovely course attendees on HGC overnighters. We want our guests to be able look out through the leaves and across the forest floor, whilst supping on an Elderflower martini and tucking into a variety of foraged canapés that they have been working on throughout the day.

A sketch of the proposed Hunter Gather Cook Tree House HQ.

Downstairs will be a hive of culinary activity, before its hoisted upstairs for feasting! We are also building a fully functioning off-grid, wood fired kitchen which will have virtually every wood fired kitchen appliance you can think of, from open fire pits, underground ovens, clay ovens and hot & cold smokers, all of which have been central to our outdoor cookery over the years. Downstairs will also allow us to carry out our butchery courses under cover, from hanging deer from the rafters to jointing rabbits on our prep tables next to the kitchen unit.

There will be a huge amount of natural materials included in the build: oak & hazel banisters and railings, large chestnut support posts, even our tables will be hewn out of Oak from the wood. The aim is to try to make the tree house blend into its surrounding environment and become part of the wood itself using as many sustainable materials as possible.

HGC Starter: Pigeon Carpaccio with Elderberries & Wild Horseradish.

When we say tree house, it won’t be in the traditional sense- there won’t be any walls, but we will be having a custom hunter green, pvc coated polyester canopy made especially for the tree house which will also have large clear panels to let in more light and look up at the trees housing our new HQ.

The existing Hunter Gather Cook HQ in amongst the bluebells.

Hunter Gather Cook

Hunter Gather Cook was established in March 2011 with the construction of the original HQ. Nick’s vision was to create a ‘Hunter-Gatherer’ school that blended a mixture of foraging, animal butchery, outdoor cookery techniques and elements of bushcraft with an emphasis in living comfortably in the great outdoors and creating high-end dishes using wild produce. Hunter Gather Cook runs a huge range of seasonal and specialist courses from deer in day and mushroom hunting to home brewing and wild cocktails- they received glowing reviews for their workshops at Wilderness Festival in 2013. Private courses, overnighters, stag & hen do’s and wild banquets are also a regular feature on the menu at Hunter Gather Cook, with the main aim of delivering truly unique adventures in Wild food. Nick and Hunter Gather Cook also work with Element, the biggest skatebrand in the world, and are actively involved with their advocate program teaching wilderness skills on skatecamps across Europe and consulting on all things wild.

Below is a short film showing a little bit about the ethos of Hunter Gather Cook, a few subtle notes on sustainable mushroom picking and the joys of food for free. Ladies & Gentlemen...this is what we do!

Nick Weston.

Nick began his outdoor education early, growing up as a somewhat feral child on Ashdown Forest in Sussex, with a background in Archaeology, cheffing, set design and bushcraft. In 2009, he decided to quit London after 5 years and build a tree house from recycled and natural materials deep in the Sussex countryside. The aim was to simplify his life and live off the land as a 21st Century hunter-gatherer. The book about his experience ‘The Tree house Diaries: How to live wild in the woods” was published in 2010 and his experience formed the foundation of what was to become Hunter Gather Cook, the finest foraging and cookery school in the UK.

The Book: High rise rustic living...

Why Kickstarter?

We chose to use Kickstarter because we wanted real people to be directly involved in getting our Tree house HQ off the ground (!) and be part of the journey. For us, tree houses are a symbol of inspiration and adventure; they have the ability to transport us back to the days of our youth where anything seemed possible. Whether you had a hideaway in amongst the leaves as a child or not, we want to share this experience with you so you can see firsthand the tangible results of your support and passion to create a place to educate, inspire and celebrate our wonderful wild ingredients and the landscape that created them.

Wild food: Pan-fried saddle o'Rabbit with spring greens.

What will the money be used for?

Tier 1: £5000

Hardware:

Bespoke metal J-brackets constructed at our local forge- these will be the main attachments of the tree house to the oak trees. They are designed to be as low impact as possible causing minimal stress to the host trees. The main beams then slot into the j-brackets and because the structure is perched between the two oaks, the brackets will allow the trees to move and flex freely, again limiting the stress on the host trees.

Heavy Metal: Bespoke Treehouse J-brackets made from 1/2 inch thick steel.

Tree house frame, decking, railings and stairs:

Brand new timber will form the frame and decking as well as the stairs and railings. Natural materials including birch, hazel and oak will form the handrails and banisters that surround the upstairs of the tree house.

Chestnut support posts:

We will be outsourcing 14x15ft chestnut support posts which will stripped and raised to support the tree house frame the whole way around, they will also form the uprights of the railings. A nice, natural touch!

Tree house canopy:

The ‘roof’ of the tree house made from pvc coated polyester fabric, with 4 large clear ‘windows’ allowing for more light upstairs and a nice view of the host trees above. The fabric we have chosen is in hunter green to blend in better to the surrounding woodland and is much more durable than canvas. The canopy will be sheltering 1000’s of future Hunter-Gatherer’s for the next decade!

Fixings:

Having all the wood is one thing, we just need all the fixings to bolt, screw and secure everything together!

Kitchen Hardware:

The L-shaped kitchen unit will be constructed using natural materials from the wood. Our previous kitchen unit was made using a base of Sussex sandstone which we dug out from a nearby quarry, all of it will be constructed using the same materials and techniques, the hardware will consist of an Argentinian style adjustable grill for the fire pit and a custom built smoker to sit beside the new clay oven made from a 55 gallon steel drum.

Tier 2: IN EXCESS OF £5000

More than £5000? We'll be splitting extra funding between pimping the Hunter Gather Cook Tree house and developing a project we're working on called ROOST, which is aiming to unite the treehouses of the world.

Treehouse Extras:

A zipline.
Small crane/hoist for winching up goods into the trees.
Drop down canvas sides that fix to the canopy to enclose upstairs.
solar powered festoon lighting.

About Roost.

Wouldn't it be great if we could bring together the world's treehouses? From father and son end-of-the-garden hideaways to epic five star canopy retreats to indigenous tribal communities and artistic architects tree-top wonders.

This is Roost's mission: To get more people into trees

How? 1. By mapping, sharing and profiling the world's treehouses. 250+ roosts mapped.

2. By curating education and tourism experiences and events in trees around the world

Why? To indulge our imaginations. To inspire more off-the-ground arboreal architects. To re-connect children and big children with nature.

Roost? To rest or sleep on or as if on a perch.

So now you've what we want to do why not get behind us an donate at Hunter Gather Cook Tree House Kickstarter

Thanks for reading

Wild Garlic, Smoked Bacon and Parsnip Tagliatelle

2014-02-24T01:37:00.000-08:00

So with spring coming round super early this year I thought I’d get the year going with a Wild Garlic recipe. Now the floods have subsided you’ll find it sprouting out beside the riverbanks with abundance. The smell of it in the wild to me is always evocative of the end of winter and start of spring, but be sure not to use too much as the smell on the breath is more evocative of someone with stinky garlic breath!

Wild Garlic sprouting after the floods.

This leads me on to one thing that I’d like to touch on before moving on to the recipe. I think it is important in foraging to only pick what you need. When faced with huge swathes of wild garlic in front of you it would be easy to get carried away and just pick carrier bags full of the stuff, most of which will never get used and will eventually just end up stinking your house out! As a rule of thumb I would say replacing 1 clove of garlic with 4 wild garlic leaves is about right.

Archie the foraging dog finds his target.

On to the recipe! I have been cooking this recipe since around 2001 and as far as I can remember it originated from one of Jamie Olivers early cook books. The addition of wild garlic instead of regular garlic adds an extra depth of flavour and I’d recommend wherever possible buying locally smoked bacon from your nearest farm shop or even direct from the smokery. The bacon I used was from the Wealden Smokery so if you are local to Sussex you won’t find better!

Wild Garlic Shoots

Wild Garlic, Bacon and Parsnip tagliatelle

Serves 4

Foraged:

8 Wild Garlic leaves finely chopped

Ingredients and Prep:

Handful of Rosemary, destalked, leaves finely chopped

100g Butter cut into 4 knobs

600g Parsnips, peeled halved and very thinly sliced lengthways

12 Slices of smoked streaky bacon roughly chopped up

200g Grated parmesan

500g dried tagliatelle

Salt and Pepper

Method:

Fry the bacon and rosemary with one of the knobs of butter in the largest frying pan or wok you have. After 3 or 4 minutes add another knob of butter, the wild garlic and parsnips stirring occasionally to ensure nothing burns in the pan. At the same time put the tagliatelle on as instructed on the packet.

Once the pasta is al dente strain it out reserving a little of the cooking water. Add the pasta, parmesan and rest of the butter to the bacon and parsnips and give it a good stir. If it looks like it’s a little stodgy then loosen with a little of the reserved cooking water. Season and Serve!

Wild Garlic, Smoked Bacon and Parsnip Tagliatelle

Micro Head Torch Shoot-Out: Petzl E+Lite Vs Fenix HL10

2014-01-27T04:10:00.002-08:00

The Stats

	Petzl E+Lite	Fenix HL10
RRP	£24.95	£25.95
Max Output	26 Lumens	70 Lumens
Max Runtime: High	55h	50 mins
Max Runtime: Mid	55h	2h 45mins
Max Runtime: Low	70h	27h
Max Distance	29m	15m
Impact Resistance	1m	1m
Water Resistance	-1m IP67	-2m IPX-8
Weight	26g	58g
Dimensions	L40mm x W32mm x H23mm	L69.5mm x W29.2mm x H28.2mm
Battery	2 x CR2032 (included)	1 x AAA (included)
Guarantee	10 Year Guarantee	24 months free repair, limited lifetime warranty
Degree Tilt	360 degrees	100 degrees
Bulb	4 x LEDs (3 White +1 Red)	1 x Cree XP-E LED
Number of Modes	5	3

First Impressions:

My first impression of the Petzl E+Lite which was purchased from Nightgear.co.uk was “is this some kind of toy!” It’s absolutely tiny only a little bigger than my thumb, at only 26g and almost entirely made of plastic it doesn’t feel in anyway substantial.

Just a smidge bigger than my thumb!

Being as small at it is has some pluses and some minuses for me. On the plus side I always like to pack light but try to cover as many eventualities as possible so the e+lite is great in that respect. On the minus side being that small means I will undoubted at some point in the torches life lose it, probably somewhere at the bottom of my bag but if it drop on to the forest floor even a small leaf could hide it from my sight forever more. The other thing I noticed is that is doesn’t appear to have the usual headband you expect with most head torches, this has been replaced with a retractable reel of what looks basically like cheese wire, but on closer inspection seems pretty strong and not uncomfortable to wear, when you consider this torch is designed to be mainly used as an emergency head lamp its fine. All the 5 functions are easy to see immediately on the front of the torch, it has a low, high and strobing white beam and a solid and strobing red beam too. As well as the off setting it also has
a lock setting to ensure it doesn’t turn on whilst sitting lost at the bottom of your rucksack. The tilt function on it is the best I’ve seem with a little ball joint at the bottom giving the torch the possibility of pointing it in any angle or direction needed.

On to the Fenix HL10 which I got from Outdoorfusion.co.uk, first impressions are this is a much meatier torch and although still pretty tiny it weighs in at twice that of the e+lite. It has a “normal” style elastic headband that is as comfortable as you’d expect and is easily adjusted by a toggle at the back. The torch itself sits in a plastic case attached to the headband, this case pops open and allows you to remove the lamp section and use it as a stand-alone normal flashlight which is pretty smart.

The Fenix out of is casing

The flashlight section is made of adonsied aluminium and feels very rugged despite its diminutive size. It can also stand up on it end on a flat surface which I’m sure I’ll find a use for, just not sure what yet! Once clipped back in to the plastic case it is able to rotate 100 degrees up and down, which is all you would really hope for in a head torch. The button set up on the Fenix isn’t as immediately as obvious as the Petzl, it has one rubber button on the top of the lamp which you need to hold down for two to three seconds before the torch will turn on after that tapping the button with cycle through it’s low, medium and high settings. Holding the button for a further few seconds will turn it off.

The Field Test

For this test I worked two consecutive days at the Hunter Gather Cook School, both days run in almost exactly the same format (stag dos) and both days will require me to work for around 3 hours in our off grid kitchen in the dark. Rather than using the Oil Lamps I usually work by I just used one of the head torches each day.

Standard start to the day at HGC

The first torch up was the Petzel which fared pretty well, the red light setting is great to switch to if you are having a conversation with someone you don’t want to blind, the main and even the economy settings worked well for the sort of jobs I was getting up to in the kitchen but were perhaps a little lacking when it came to foraging for ingredients out in the woods. Comfort wise my initial scepticism about the cheese cutter style head band were unfounded and once on the torch was so light and comfortable I found myself forgetting it was even there! Also the retractable style of the band meant that it could be warn on the wrist, which adds some extra versatility. Towards the end of the day there was a noticeable drain on the battery with there being little difference to the eco and standard modes. I’d say overall it performed excellently and for most people who will only be requiring a little time and light to set up camp until their fires are going it will be perfect. Considering that this head torch is designed to be an emergency back up, it actually out performs what it says it can do on the tin.

Getting down to some serious Fallow Carpaccio

The second day was a chance for the Fenix HL10 to shine and it really did! The initial 70 Lumens were just what I needed to badger away in the kitchen and woods to my hearts content. The lamp has an auto dim function when on high power and dims after a few minutes on full power. I think if it had been left on full for the whole period perhaps the batteries might not have made it all the way through the day. Like the Petzl it did dim as the day came to a close but this is a fairly long test for a micro head torch so to be expected. The dimmest setting was fine to switch to when talking to our guests but I found the way the button set up worked to be a little less simple that the petzl although perfectly usable. Overall it performed excellently which leaves me with a pretty close call as to which one I would choose as the winner……

Manning the kettles

The Results

And the winner is…...The Petzl E+Lite. The Petzl just scrapes the win due to it’s tiny size and massive versatility. It’s a great little all rounder and as I said previously it out performs expectations of just an emergency back up. This would be great for anyone who expects light weight and medium to light use. Only thing I will say for both of these torch is that carrying a spare set of batteries would be a good idea should you have to use them for an extended period.

Light Photography Competition

2014-01-21T06:54:00.002-08:00

Your word painted in light competition.

I'm so happy to see this blog getting so many views and so much positive feed back I'd like to give something back to you my readers. I'll be off tonight deep underground to an abandoned train tunnel to practice my other love, photography. I'd like to offer five readers who comment below a photo of the word of their choice painted in light, it could be your name, your lovers name,your child's name or just a word that means something to you (please not supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!) I'll be in touch and email it over to you tomorrow or the next day. Be quick you've got until 8pm. So whats your word going to be? If it's Love I've got it covered!

Best of luck!

How To: Trap UK Signal Crayfish

2014-01-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

"In 1976 a Cray commando unit was sent to the UK by the USA for a crime they didn't commit. These crayfish promptly escaped from a maximum-security farm to the English countryside and went underground. Today, still wanted by the environment agency, they survive as food for foragers. If you have a hunger, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the crAy-Team."

KNOW YOUR ENEMY / DINNER

North American Signal Crayfish – The Foe

Length: Adults usually about 15cm but can be up to 30cm

Body: Generally bluish-brown to reddish brown. Smooth all over. Two pairs of ridges behind the eye sockets. Spines absent from behind cervical groove. Rostrum well developed with parallel sides and long apex.

Claws: Smooth on both sides, underside bright red in colour.

Habits/habitats: Aggressive. Invasive. Lives in streams, rivers, canals, reservoirs, water-filled gravel pits. Burrows extensively.

Distribution: Found across England, especially in the south. Wales but also in present in Scotland.

Status: All Signal Crayfish caught should be humanely destroyed. It is illegal to put them back.

European White-clawed crayfish – The Friend

Length: Adults usually about 10cm but can be up to 12cm (excluding claws)

Body: Usually brown or olive brown in colour. Smooth but pitted. Two pairs of ridges behind the eye sockets: however second pair may not be visible. Has a row of sharp spines behind sides of cervical groove. Rostrum (extending point on top of head) triangular with very short apex.

Photo courtesy of www.castlebar.ie

Claws: Top side rough, underside dirty white to pink.

Habits/habitats: Relatively docile. Lives in streams, rivers, canals, reservoirs, water-filled gravel pits. Capable of burrowing.

Distribution: Found in central/northern England and eastern Wales

Status: Protected. All white clawed crayfish caught should be released. It is illegal to kill them.

Licensing:

A License from the Environment Agency is required to make sure people aren’t going to go out and start trapping in an area where UK Crayfish or Water Voles are present. To get a license and get trapping you’ll need two important things, 1. You’ll need to find a place where you know the signal crayfish are present, 2. You’ll need the landowner’s permission to trap there. This may seem like quite an obstacle to over come but when you consider that around 75% of the UK’s rivers now have Signal Crayfish in at some point it gives you some hope., that and the fact the crayfishing licenses are FREE! Once permission is granted you’ll receive a credit card sized license for each of the traps you have applied for which must be attached to the trap when it’s in the water. The traps must be UK legal which means the entrance to the trap must be no more than 9.5 cm across if the entrance is more than 9.5 cm across, there must be an otter guard or restriction on the funnel leading into the trap the holes in the mesh must not be more than 3 cm across, the trap itself must not be more than 60 cm long or 35 cm wide.

My Story:

I had been interested in trapping crayfish for some time but had no idea where to find them so it was a stroke of luck when a guy who came to Hunter Gather Cook for work experience mentioned he used to catch them on a river nearby. That’s all I needed to know. The very next day I sneaked off with a couple of friends down to the river in question armed with a piece of bacon and some string (hi-tec I know!). My friend who was local and had fished that same stretch of river all his life was sceptical, “never even seen one on in all my years……” he had to stop short as I’d just picked up a sizeable claw from the river bank, he was stunned and immediately started taking photos of it with his phone, tweeting and messaging his fishing friends as we all unfortunately tend to do these days. The claw was most probably the leftovers of a herons dinner, I have quietly witnessed them wading along the river plucking them out.

With that we tied the bit of bacon around the string and threw it in the water not really expecting much to happen, within a minute or two I mentioned to my friend that I thought I could see something in one of the small holes that lined the bank of the river, another minute passed and whatever it was gone from the hole. I had a little tug on the string to see if anything was happening at the other end, and there it was! my first crayfish hanging on to the bacon like his life depended on it, I gently pulled him closer to the bank but just as he was about to surface he shot off backwards like some kind of rocket propelled mini lobster. That day was early last summer, since then I have acquired licenses for personal consumption for about 5 miles of river and 20 traps, my friends and I have consumed no less than 300 crayfish and I am about to upgrade my licenses to commercial ones with hopefully 150 traps.

To some that may sound greedy but my time spent around the river has made me realise how destructive these little blighters are not only do they carry a plague that has all but wiped out our native species, their burrowing in the river bank has cause parts to peel away and fall in causing it to silt up massively and this has proved detrimental to the trout populations. In short the less of these in our rivers the better, I hope to be able to remove, eat and sell as many as possible and in doing so give something back to the local eco system I so regularly use as my food source.

Trapping and Preparation:

Night before:

1: Check all traps to ensure not broken (if broken in someway could end up snaring unwanted wildlife.)

2: Fill my bate boxes for each trap with the bait of the day. Stick in the fridge for the morning.

Casting Day: Head down to the stream with traps and bait.

Look for the tell tail holes in the bank where the crayfish nest, around that area place the trap with the bait box inside in one of the deeper pools nearby. Secure the trap with paracord to the side of the stream.

Repeat for the number of traps you have.

Once finished check the time. Never leave the traps unattended for more than 24hrs as other wild life may be caught and you don’t want to cause any unnecessary suffering.

Trapping Day: Back down to the stream for the same time as the day before bringing a holding cage.

Gently rope in the traps as you can often find Crayfish on the outside of the trap. Once the trap is landed carefully pick off the Crayfish on the outside and place them in the holding cage, then open the trap and shake in the rest of the catch.

Repeat with each trap.

Once all the traps have been emptied in to the holding cage close and secure it ensuring none can escape. Similar to the trap find a nice deep bit of stream, secure the holding cage to the bank with paracord and drop it in.

At this point the Crayfish should be left to purge, essentially they are sitting in the holding cage with no food but don’t worry I have been told they can actually survive several weeks without food so the 3-5 days they’ll be spending in there won’t bother them much.

The purging period enables the crayfish to get rid of much of the crap and gunk that you come across should you decide to just eat them as soon as they come out the river. It also adds a certain sweetness and flavour to the meat.

In the deep south of America they have a preferred method of pouring a lot of salt over the crayfish before boiling, this essentially agitates the crayfish causing them to vomit and crap and to me looked like a pretty unpleasant time of things for the little blighters.

Once purged my preferred method and the one recommended by the RSPCA is to place them in the freezer for around an hour. This stupefies them putting them into a state of semi hibernation. Once in this state they can be put into a pot of boiling water with little worry that they will suffer any pain. Once the water is boiling they should be ready in 5 minutes. They’ll come out Bright Red and ready to eat. If you are not serving immediately it is best to douse in cold water otherwise they will continue to cook in their shells and become tough and chewy.

So that’s it for now, if you’d like to learn a bit more about preparing them for the table and perhaps meet a few crayfish in person before you make the leap in to trapping yourself why not book onto one of the Hunter Gather Cook Courses this year and get cooking with these tasty little critters!

Photos by Nick Weston

Review: Kinco Pro 2051 – Cold Weather Work Gloves

2014-01-20T04:02:00.001-08:00

Features: Neoprene Wrist and Rubber Pull Strap

Thermal Waterproof Lining

Knuckle Protection

Reinforced Shock absorbing palms

Suggested uses: Any Cold / Wet Weather Tasks

Mountain Biking

Construction

Snowmobiling

Delivery

Baggage Handling

Before I start this review I’d like to tell you all a little glove related story from my younger years. Before my knees told me enough was enough I was an avid ski racer, ski instructor, snowboard instructor and general mountain man. Not your Grizzly Adams type mountain man (the beard is a relatively recent thing) but someone who loved the environment I was in and would undertake any job to stay near the wilds and snow. I have worked in the stunning High Sierras of California, the freezing wilderness of the Laurentian mountains of Quebec, and the awe-inspiring Fitzsimmons Range of British Columbia. One thing that the people who work in these harsh environments all need are gloves you can rely on and across all of these places the one glove brand that all workers agreed as the best was Kinco.

Kinco are relatively unheard of in the UK but Snowshepherd Off Piste Specialists have recently begun stocking their range of winter gloves.

Review:

I was in need of a pair of gloves that would see me through the winter, keeping my hands warm and dry during the colder wetter months, be it chopping logs, mountain biking, or the various tasks I undertake whilst working at the Hunter Gather Cook School. I opted for the Kinco Pro 2051 Work Glove as they check all the boxes, have the reputation of being super durable and at £25 thought they where a bit of a bargain when you compare them to a pair of Assos Fugu S7 gloves at £91.99!

For mountain biking they are spot on for the colder days, in fact they are the first cycling gloves I have had that had withstood a long grim ride through the rain and still remained completely waterproof. They fit well and are unrestrictive and dextrous providing no problems with braking or gear changes. The shock absorbing palms are also very comfortable.

For log splitting and outdoor work they are a revelation! Previously I had just grinned and bared my freezing white knuckles after giving up wearing gardening style gloves as they lacked the movement and dexterity I needed. Now I can spend hours happily working away splitting logs with the shock absorbing additions to the glove protecting my palms from the vibration off the axe handle and keeping me warm.

In summary Kinco Pro 2051 Gloves are a must for anyone who wishes to grab the winter outdoors by the scruff of the neck and tell it “you don’t bother me anymore!”. They are well made, well padded, unrestrictive, waterproof, durable and would be recommended to you by anyone in the know.

Here are a couple of other short reviews:

“Work great for any winter activities snow shoveling, firewood cutting and wood splitting. Add sno seal and they are totally awesome.”

“I haven't found a more durable, warm, or better value work glove than Kinco's for the cold and snow.”

Wild Canapés: Sussex Crab Blinis

2014-01-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

Sussex Crab Blinis with Sorrel, Three Cornered Leek and Hairy Bittercress

This is a great foraged version of a classic canapé using three-cornered leek in place of spring onion and sorrel is used to replicate the tart flavour of lemon. Hairy bittercress isn’t essential, but certainly makes it look fancy, which is I guess one of the main aims of a canapé. If you’d like to learn how to identify the plants required in this recipe, get in contact and I can point you in the direction of some kick ass wild food courses.

Makes 20 canapés

Ingredients:

20 blinis

1 dressed crab

1 tbsp of mayonnaise

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

2 floret of hairy bittercress

15 three cornered leek leaves

10 sorrel leaves

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Recipe:

Wash all your foraged ingredients well with cold water. Finely chop the three-cornered leek and sorrel. In a bowl, combine the dressed crab, mayo, Dijon, three-cornered leek and sorrel. Gently stir to combine, trying to keep the crab as chunky as possible. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ready made blinis usually go into the oven for 5 minutes at gas mark 5. Once cooked, remove from oven and on to a plate. Add a small dollop of the mixture to each blini and add one frond of hairy bittercress to garnish.

Serve

ENJOY!

My year in the Hunter Gather Cook Kitchen

2014-01-12T12:37:00.000-08:00

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

Wilderness Festival 2013 - Adventures in Wild Food

2014-01-12T11:31:00.001-08:00

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

A Fungal Foray and Feast 2012 (WARNING:Contains photos of non edible mushrooms)

2014-01-12T08:42:00.001-08:00

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

A Day at the Hunter Gather Cook Office

2014-01-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

OAK MOSS what’s not to Lichen!

2014-01-12T03:21:00.000-08:00

OAK MOSS

Oak Moss easy to see against the browns of the forest floor.

Other Names: Évernie, Mousse de Chêne, Ebernia Prunasti, Évernia, Evernia prunastri, Lichen Oak Moss, , Musgo de Roble, Tree Moss.

Archie and the Lichen

Identification:

A species of fruticose a branched, bushy lichen. It grows in forests throughout much of the northern hemisphere usually on old oak trees but can also be found growing on coniferous trees and some older fruit trees. The pale greenish gray thallus or body, 3 to 8 cm long, is branched palmately and slightly resembling mini stag horns, ending in pointed tips. The top is light green and warty with pale gray reproductive bodies called soredia. The undersurface is a whitish colour.

Close up of the Oak Moss thallus

My introduction to Oak Moss:

During my time learning and munching my way through the edible plant kingdom I have come across two different types of wild edible. Those that I would happily eat and those which I would label “starvation foods” meaning -they’re for reindeers and Ray Mears - you can eat them if you’re starving, but they’re not going to be setting your culinary world on fire; in fact if they make it on to that list they’re positively ‘orrible!

Oak Moss in situ.

Until recently I was aware that certain lichens and mosses were edible but had assumed that their place was well and truly on the Starvation Foods list. Still having not tried any I’d be a fool to just write them off like that!

Whilst wandering through my local woods surveying the carnage that had been brought on this winter by a rapid successions of storms and floods, I started noticing that there was a lot more oak moss on the ground, clearly dislodged by the strong winds. There was certainly enough to bring home and have an experiment with in the kitchen. I gathered as much as I could from underneath some of the older oak trees, picked a few late season Hedgehog Fungus and winter chanterelles, and headed back to the lab.

Plenty has been written about oak moss and it’s uses as a fixative in the perfume industry. On smelling a bag full of it, it’s easy to see why, the lichen has beautiful delicate woody aroma. Acids contained within oak moss are also extracted for use in drugs to treat infections and external wounds. I have been told that it is these same acids that can give you a very painful time of things should you try to eat oak moss raw. There is anecdotal evidence of a death attributed to eating oak moss, as the poor forager committed suicide from the pain in his stomach. BUT not to worry the process in the recipe below will be sure to rid the oak moss of this slightly disconcerting feature.

No Oak Moss here just thought I'd share a nice photo!

The starchy nature of cooked oak moss lends itself well to being a carrier of flavour. I have tried several different versions of this recipe, adding different oils and dustings of spices but this one is a good starting point. I’d love to hear in the comments below what you did with yours!

Oak Moss with Truffle and Lemon

Ingredients:

3 or 4 handfuls of Oak Moss

Sunflower Oil

Truffle Oil

1 Lemon

Kitchen Towel

The Raw ingredient.

Recipe:

Clean the oak moss to ensure there are no bits of bark still attached

Prepare two pans of salted boiling water.

Boil the oak moss for 5 minutes in the first pan then strain and transfer to the second pan for a further 5 minutes.

Strain the water and lay each piece of moss out on the kitchen towel to dry out slightly.

Meanwhile heat your sunflower oil for deep-frying the moss to 160 C.

Drop small amounts of the oak moss into the oil and fry for between 5 and 10 seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and place on some more kitchen towel.

Once its all been fried, place in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, drizzle about half a teaspoon of truffle oil, a squeeze of lemon and gently toss to coat the lichen with the flavouring ensuring not to be too rough and break the delicate structure.

Experimenting with flavours

Spice Dusted Oak Moss, Hedgehog Fungus and Winter Chanterelle Croquets with a Rare Roast Saddle of Venison.

Wild food and foraging with the RSPB

2013-07-02T07:08:00.003-07:00

The RSPB have teamed up with Sussex based foraging school, Hunter Gather Cook, for a fundraising event with a difference:

I was lucky enough to grow up in a small village in West Sussex which was surrounded by woods, fields and roaming horses. I’d play outside with my friends all day long, experiencing wildlife first hand. We’d make rope swings, build dens and generally create allot of extra washing for our mums. I’d play and explore from breakfast until the call of my name across the fields would herald dinner time and I’d run home.

Nature is one big playground when you're little. Photo Liam Jefferies

As an adult, my love of wildlife and the natural world has only grown, you will still find me ‘playing’ outside of a weekend - swimming down the Ouse or climbing trees in the woods. Which is why I’m so excited about putting on an event which will celebrate everything outdoors and raise money for the RSPB too.

The event, which takes place on Thursday 25 July, includes foraging for edible plants, which will be used in the evening’s campfire meal and building your own shelter to spend the night in – all under the guidance of experienced Hunter Gather Cook instructors.

The foraging school is based within a private nature reserve which is carefully managed to create a haven for a rich variety of wildlife. Hidden in the woodland is the schools’ rustic outdoor kitchen, complete with an oven made from the clay beds of the nearby stream. The kitchen is covered by an elegant A-frame structure, crafted from birch, with pots and pans hanging from the roof struts.

Hunter Gather Cook HQ

The event will begin with a guided walk around the reserve, led by RSPB conservation officer, Dr. Richard Black. July at the reserve boasts the chance to see the rare Silver-washed Fritillary and White Admiral butterflies flitting along the woodland edges.

Next, guests will be shown where to find the plethora of edible plants on the reserve and how to identify them. The foraging school instructors are experts in living off the land; they are also experienced chefs, who visibly relish the chance to craft sumptuous and original dishes from foraged ingredients.

Nick Weston, who established the school in 2011 said: “I opened the school to teach people about living comfortably in the great outdoors and to create great dishes using wild produce.

“I’m really pleased to be teaming up with the RSPB and helping them raise funds for their work; both our organisations encourage people to connect with nature and it will be great to work together on this.”

Get back to nature this July. RSPB images

Back at base camp the instructors will demonstrate how to build a fire using traditional techniques and cook a leg of lamb in an underground oven for the evening’s foraged feast.

As the sun goes down and the resident Nightingales begin to sing, guests can learn how to mix up the perfect wild cocktail, using foraged infusions and syrups prepared by the Hunter Gather Cook instructors.

Nightingale. RSPB images

To end the evening, guests will build a shelter and nestle down to spend the night around the crackling fire. Breakfast will be provided the following morning before home time at 10am.

Foraging is great way to get out and enjoy green spaces and can result in some very tasty dishes! I’m really excited that the event is taking place on the private nature reserve which provides a valuable home to a variety of wildlife.

Not everyone had the chance to play and run wild in the great outdoors as a child, but it’s never too late...

There are 15 places available on the event at £80 each. Proceeds from the event will be going towards the wonderful work of the RSPB. For further details and to secure a place contact alice.jefferies@rspb.org.uk

How to Incorporate Stinging Nettles Into Your Diet

2013-04-29T04:48:00.001-07:00

Nettles are high in protein.

Though stinging nettles may look like just some weed growing in your yard or the woods near your home and not a very pleasant one at that, with the stingers on their stems but they are actually a very tasty and nutritious green. Stinging nettles, or just nettles, are higher in protein than most other greens (they are about 40 percent protein), and they are high in a number of other nutrients, including iron, manganese, calcium and Vitamins A and C.

Not only are stinging nettles great for your health since they are full of nutrients, but many people also eat them for their curative properties. You can make a tea from nettles that can help to prevent or treat illness and allergies.

Finding stinging nettles is relatively easy, but they do require some care in harvesting them. As their name suggests, they are covered with tiny stingers that will hurt a lot if you just grab them by the hand. The stingers have the acid found in the bites of fire ants. So, yeah, imagine putting your hand in a hive of fire ants and the experience is somewhat comparable.

It is important to wear gloves, as well as long sleeves and long pants when you are harvesting nettles, although braver individuals than me claim that carefully picking with thumb and forefinger shouldn’t sting. They can grow long, and you don't want the leaves and the stems to brush your hand or your feet as you are walking through a patch or are reaching in to harvest them.

Grasping nettles with the thumb and fore finger should mean no sting.

Look for nettles that have tender young leaves, and only cut off the upper leaves. The young leaves should be no bigger than 3 inches wide. Any bigger than that and you're likely to get a very bitter, stringy plant. You can cut the leaves off, or you can just cut off the top 5 inches or so of the plant, further more you should not eat nettles once they have flowered. Clip your nettles with some pruning shears or sturdy scissors and put them in a basket or bag of your choice. When you get them home, they are ready for blanching.

Boil up a pot of water, either with a little salt thrown in or without. Dump your nettle leaves in the pot and let them boil for about 10 minutes. You can then scoop them out with a spoon and dunk them in cold water. Set them aside to drain and to dry.

Blanching nettles will not only take care of the stingers, but it will also clean them and make them safe for eating. Don't be alarmed if the water turns color as that is common.

Once your nettles have been blanched, you can cook them just as you would spinach or any other green. Nettles are great in a soup or stew, or you can add them with some other veggies to a pasta or a rice dish. You can even steep them for a flavorful tea.

Still stumped about how to cook your nettles? Check out these 8 recipes for stinging nettles.

Do you cook with nettles? Share your tips for finding and harvesting them, as well as some of your favorite recipes, in the comments!

About the Author:

Bridget Sandorford is a freelance food and culinary writer, where recently she’s been researching culinary schools in Pittsburgh. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, painting and working on her first cookbook.

Jack Pyke Technical Dog Vest - A dog's review

2013-02-22T10:29:00.003-08:00

Archie’s review: We were a tad surprised when Archie took to the laptop after a long walk in the falling snow, but are very pleased to share his review of his new ‘Technical Dog Vest’ made by Jack Pyke.

Dave-man got me a Fancy-Vest to keep me warm. I’m not too bothered when it’s sunny as my coat is nice and white and not too thick, I enjoy the breeziness in my fur. But Dave says my new coat will be very useful for when the cold white stuff falls again. He said it will even help me not sink when I fall off the boat like last time, I don’t really want to talk about that though.

My first thoughts were not too good; Fancy-Vest was brought to Dave’s house by the Bad-man who wears the small trousers, he comes almost every day and pokes things through the hole in the door, sneaky Bad-man is definitely up to no good.

But when I tried it on, I discovered the Fancy-Vest is very comfy and fits nicely. Dave-man says he got me an extra small but I’m a pretty big dog so there must have been some mistake. He helped me put it on and tells me it does up with a zipp and Velcro and is made of Neoprene, whatever they are. There’s foamy bits for floating too which you can take out if you want, but I like them because they’re extra warm.

We crossed the road to go for a walk over the fields and woods. This is the most dangerous bit of the whole walk because the cars sneak up on you if you’re not looking. That’s why you have to BARK BARK BARK so that they’re scared of you and drive away. I’m the best at this, Dave-man has to hold me back with my lead or the cars would get too scared of me. My lead attaches to my Fancy-Vest very cleverly, you can’t even see the silver bits.

Dave lets me off the lead in the field. I run with my mouth open to try to catch the white flakes but all I catch is a wetter colder tongue. The Fancy-Vest is very easy to move in and feels much warmer, mostly on my tummy where my fur is rather thin.

In the woods Dave takes ages and doesn’t keep up with me because he’s looking at leaves as usual, he doesn’t like it when I try to lift my leg on them but I thought maybe that would make them smell better. I find a good stump tree instead and have a snuffle right in it. I reckon the dumb mice living in the stump tree wont know I’m coming because it turns out I’m invisible in my Fancy-Vest. The mice seem to have left the stump, probably scared off by impressive digging. My Fancy-Vest looks just like trees and Dave can’t see me when I keep still.

Me mice hunting.

As well as invisible, I can also zoom around even faster after those stupid rabbits without getting hurt on sticks and prickly plants, because my Fancy-Vest has armour plating at the front. I’m going to be the best dog hunter in Sussex.

I don't need to use these leaves to be invisible anymore. Thanks Jack Pyke!

All I need now is Fancy-vest attachment to help me climb trees and get those sneaky squirrels.

Me working on my plie

iPhone Apps for the Great Outdoors

2013-02-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

I’ve been asked by quite a few friends recently what are some of the best apps when it comes to finding your way around in the wild. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would consider this heresy but when if comes to nature there’s room for everyone. Here are a few of the apps that I personally use and think can accentuate the outdoor experience.

Chirp+ £1.99 - This is a great app for identifying and learning bird songs. Most of the European breeds are included often with multiple calls for each bird. When you’re not outdoors you can listen through specific birds song or watch a slideshow swat up and then take the test when you think you are ready. With a little time you’ll be amazed how much it changes your perspective of a walk in the country.

Spyglass A.R. £2.49 – Spyglass is a massively useful app for any outdoor enthusiast with far too many uses to go into in any depth without boring the majority of people. Spyglass utilizes every sensor the phone has available to provide a vast amount data, on the screen via an Augmented Reality type head up display (HUD). I personally use it to remember locations of wild plants or patches where I’ve found mushrooms, the beauty of it is that unlike nearly all other apps out there you won’t require a signal to use it (once your location has been defined). As well as this Spyglass can also be used as a speedometer, sextant, compass, range finder, waypoints tool and inclinometer.

iTorch Free – Not much to say here really, it’s a torch, it’s free!..... OK well I guess I could go into a bit more detail here. It has a strobe setting for that disco effect should you need it and also flashes a Morse code SOS which hope no one reading this ever needs to use.

Star Walk £1.99 – Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered what’s out there? Of course you have! Star walk can tell you a huge amount about the night sky, simply fire it up and point your iphone to the stars. The app again uses augmented reality to tell you the names of the stars, planets and galaxies as you point your phone at them. It will also give you the rising and setting times of the sun and any planet that will be visible in the sky that night. On top this there is a search function, simply type in name of the star, satellite, galaxy or planet you are looking for and it will point you in the right direction. Other functions include a calendar to inform of events in the near future, a time function so you can look at what the sky looked like all the back to 1600 and my favourite which points out the places in the sky to watch for meteor showers.

Find Friends Free – My friends and I often set off from different locations to meet up in rather ramdom parts of the countryside, the find friends app makes it very easy for us to located each other by showing everyone location on the same map. To get it set up you have to email you friend to request permission and hey presto they appear on the app. You and your friends have the option to turn off sharing your location at any time to maintain your privacy. Over all just very useful to have even in town!

Rogers Mushrooms £1.49 – This is a digitally enhanced version of the book “Mushrooms and other fungi of Great Britain and Europe” by Roger Phillips. I guess RM Mushrooms is a little punchier! It uses a key system to help you identify wild mushrooms you find which is the preferred method of professional mycologists. RM Mushrooms has over 2400 colour photos and 1550 species listed to help identify what you are looking at also whether it is poisonous, hallucinogenic, or edible. As a word of warning I’d say never EVER identify a mushroom you plan to eat by photo alone, there are often similar looking species which will do you no good at all.

The Foragers Apprentice £1.99 – This app is a great start for anyone wanting to learn about wild food and foraging created by the highly acclaimed Ashburton Cookery School. You can search by the habitat you find yourself in be it Beach, Hedgerow or Woodland. Also included are some useful if basic recipes to give you some inspiration on what your wild haul can be used for.

tideApp Free – Personally I don’t live that close to the coast so when I do make the journey down there I like to know what the tides doing. This is mainly because I’ll be out looking for food in the intertidal areas and getting the tide right makes the difference between a muddy walk and a scuba diving mission. tideApp includes tidal information for 4,364 ports worldwide with tidal forecasting up to 2029 so you have plenty of time to plan your beach trip in advance.

That’s my list for now, please let me know what you think and if you have any other recommendations I’d love to hear them.