So I set off this morning on a road and gravel circuit only, at k 50 ,to realise I'd forgotten my bank card and cash. My food supplies consisted of a pork pie, two granola squares and two snickers. So I kept an eye out on the road verge in the hope I'd find a discarded/ lost gel / energy bar etc (I was on a climb which is roadie central at the weekends so I figured it would be worth a look) I did in fact find an intact and sealed packet of crisps.

Anyway, in view of the weather I kept on hoping this modest fare would suffice. It did, just, although I was Hank Marvin by the time I got home (177k). Despite my early foraging success I found nowt else and given the time of year I figured there would be nothing growing I could eat.

If I'd headed east I'd have been fine as the Howe of Fife sees a lot of veg growing and I quite often find carrots or spuds at the roadside that have fallen off the back of a tractor / trailer.

Any foraging stories / tips / ideas?

I've had a few roadkill pheasants over the years. One was while staying at the Eskdale Youth Hostel in in the Lakes. I did the butchering in the shared kitchen, which raised a few eyebrows among the other residents. There's a way to skin (i.e. de-breast) a pheasant without a knife that I've seen demonstrated on Youtube but have never attempted myself. Involves standing on the wings and pulling up on the feet. Never tried a squirrel, doesn't really seem worth it for the amount of meat. Years ago, while touring in Romania, I came upon an enormous field of what appeared to be gigantic ganja plants. Picked some leaves but disappointingly it turned out to be hemp being cultivated for use as a fibre, and therefore very low in THC.

I’ve raided a roadside honesty stall for jam once (went back and left money).

Aside from the usual fruit foraging, berries, apples, pears, cherries and plums, I’m always on the lookout for other things. On local rides I’ll often gravitate towards areas that have mushrooms, we get quite a lot of shaggy ink caps nearby, delicious but need to be cooked pretty quickly or they’ll deliquesce, as well as wild garlic. Still trying to find samphire, but the locals are quite secretive about the locations, I reckon it’ll be a long time past the six years I’ve lived in the fens before they start divulging that information, if ever. But I’ll keep looking.

I've done a fair bit of bushcraft. Most foraging is nonsense. Hippies talking about nutrients (Y tube), but it is calories you are after.

Ray Mears won't stop talking about mushroom collecting. But they have close to zero calories. Worthless.

Nettles are the easiest to learn to forage. But pick the wrong leaves and too often and you may end up with kidney stones.

Seaweed

Insects are what you should be looking for. Easy calories. They are everywhere.

And as Jack says, roadkill. Even cannibalism if you beat the ambulance

https://www.flickr.com/photos/156471120@N04/

There are some pictures of some insects I have eaten. Scorpions, crickets. Also a roadkill snake.

Magots and woodlice in rotting wood are easy to find. Wood ants and larvae are easy. Just make sure there are no restrictions in the area. Although poaching plays a big part.

I’ve raided a roadside honesty stall for jam once (went back and left money).

You've finally reached peak Devon. Only counts if you put the clotted cream on last.

pistonbroke wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 4:43 pm

I’ve raided a roadside honesty stall for jam once (went back and left money).

You've finally reached peak Devon. Only counts if you put the clotted cream on last.

Cream first mate

Weirdo

Garlic has just about gone, boo

Elderflower is in full bloom, must be the easiest and one of the best to forage.

Whinberry, bilberry, blayberry, whatever you call it. Coming soon, can't wait. My favourite.I'd have to kill you if I told you where I picked them.

Wild raspberries, yummydelicious.

Blackberries, crumble time.

Rasta, that's hardcore! I'd no source of heat so cooking roadkill wasn't really an option and eating it raw would have been an adventure all by itself
Nettles though....
Maggots - only if I was desperate!