Lizard Guide

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food Foragingand feastingon the Lizard Justin Whitehouse; National Trust Head Ranger looks at what food can be gathered and eaten on The Lizard. As apassionate environmentalist working for one of the leading conservation organisations in Europe, my interest in foraging for wild food may seem contradictory. From aconservation point of view, so long as the countryside isn’t being pillaged of plants, animals and fungi for commercial gain, then Ican’t really see the problem in collecting nature’s bounty for personal use. If it brings people closer to nature, making them appreciate what unspoilt and well managed countryside can offer, then foraging can only help our conservation goals. Wild food is also free, healthy, tasty and enormously satisfying to collect. Springtime brings awonderful bounty of edible wild plants to the hedgerows, woodlands and cliffs around the Lizard. Succulent young herbs, shoots, flowers and leaves abound, with some of the commonest and unwelcome ‘weeds’ being the most sought after. Nettles, Alexanders, chickweed and fat hen, when collected young and fresh, are some of the most delicious greens growing along our verges and more than likely in your back garden, and certainly taste better than their supermarket equivalents. Other plants, such as Three Cornered Leek, is an extremely common white bluebell like flower and adelicious substitute for chives, leeks and onion dominating verges during early spring,are very invasive and unwelcome weeds. From aconservation point of view, take asmuch as you like! Awalk through many Lizard woods in spring can often bring the heady and unmistakable smell of Wild garlic or Ransomes. Lightly steamed, ransomes make adelicious substitute for garlicky spinach. The coast and cliffs bring awhole new bounty of produce. Aside from shellfish foraged from the shore at low tide (try mussels or winkles steamed over ransomes), most seaweed is edible and extremely healthy. Along the rocky cliffs, look out for sea beet (the precursor of all domesticated beets and in my opinion the tastiest) and rock samphire with aflavour curiously reminiscent of Bombay mix. Late summer and autumn offers the best time for fruit, nuts and of course fungi. Whilst everyone has no doubt picked brambles from the hedgerows, many other hedgerow fruits are edible and tasty. Sloes, hawberries, rosehips and crab apples all produce delicious preserves and beverages (try some Sloe gin!), whilst hazlenuts (pesto), sweet chestnuts (roasted on acampfire) and even beechnuts (a delicious and morish beer snack) are easy to recognise and plentiful. Wild mushrooms understandably fill people with dread. Whilst there are many species of delicious wild mushroom growing in the woods and pasture, amis-identification could easily land you in hospital or worse! With all foraging,make sure you refer to agood guide book or book onto acourse or guided walk. It’s not just mushrooms which might land you in intensive care. Some of the most benign looking plants, with an uncanny similarity to some of most delicious and common edible plants, are deadly poisonous. It’s amazing how similar Cow Parsley and Alexanders resemble Hemlock and Hemlock Water Dropwort and how Sorrel can be adead ringer for Lords and Ladies! Please also be aware that it is illegal to uproot plants from the wild and only take enough for your personal use. Happy foraging,but please be careful! Youcan join the National Trust on some foraging guided walks. In Spring there are a number of walks planned from Predannack Wollas and in October fungi walks are planned for Tremayne woods. Last year’s walks we munched on wild water mint, water cress, pennywort, rock samphire and various other tasty,and not so tasty,herbs, leaves and flowers. Occasional stops were rewarded with other morsels prepared earlier such as Water Cress Omelette, Ransom pesto, seaweeds and awee dram of bramble whiskey! 26 www.visitlizardcornwall.co.uk
Souvenir success forlocal company A new Cornish business set up create arange of handmade “piskies,” each with their own unique personality,has been celebrating ayear of souvenir success recently. Cornish Pisky Pals started trading in April 2012 and all their handmade gifts and souvenirs are lovingly crafted in the coastal village and fishing port ofCoverack, on the Lizard Peninsula. Company founder Caroline Beadle said: “We have now developed arange of very Cornish gifts and souvenirs that are ‘as Cornish as can be’ or ‘Mar gernewek dell yllir’ if you would prefer it in Cornish. “Our main characters Perran, Izzy, Sam, Katie and Yasmin, whose initials spell out the word PISKY, have arange of interests from Perran our proper Cornish pisky liking pasties and saffron buns, to Yasmin who goes fishing in Coverack Harbour! “We have kept everything as Cornish as can be and we now have our own pisky design printed on bags from The Cornish Jute Bag Company atPortreath, mugs with our pisky design from Chown China of Hayle and our home produced notebooks and magnets and photo cards.” The Cornish pisky has been part ofthe county’s folklore for generations -itisnot as common as its better known English relatives such as elves, fairies and sprites, but aCornish Pisky isdifferent -ItisCornish and proud of it! To give the piskies achance to run free in the Cornish countryside, Caroline and her sister run regular “Pisky Trails”. For more on Cornish Pisky Pals visit www.cornishpisky.co.uk or email info@cornishpisky.co.uk 27
Page 1 and 2: 2013 Everythingyou need to know abo
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Page 6 and 7: events Gunwalloe Beach Day 31st May
Page 8 and 9: events Lizard Lifeboat Annual Fete
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Page 14 and 15: Top: Roland, Lindsey, staff and hel
Page 16 and 17: gardens Above: Glendurgan Garden Be
Page 18 and 19: eaches Watch the sunset from Pollur
Page 20 and 21: eaches PORTHLEVEN Porthleven beach
Page 22 and 23: food The Cornish are justifiably pr
Page 24: food Monthlyfarmersmarket Mullion F
Page 29 and 30: Hubofcreative energy With its stunn
Page 31 and 32: Ridingthe waves Surfing is awaiting
Page 33 and 34: Where can Iwatch wild choughs in Co
Page 36: Published by Newsquest Media (South

Lizard Guide

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