Wild Medicine

This is an unusual chance to forage and make your own medicines.

We offer a very practical workshop where you walk the land, get to know the plants, harvest your own ingredients and make effective home remedies.

In beautiful surroundings, we will show you how to identify, select and harvest a variety of familiar (and not-so-familiar) medicinal plants. You will learn techniques and recipes for storing, preparing and using the plants you have collected.  From the course, you get a 'starter kit' of remedies made on the day, recipe cards and a head full of inspiration. We also like to add large dollops of folklore, rambling yarns, and some cautionary tales to spice up the pharmacy lessons.

The medicines you make are from common seasonal plants, and are based on simple, clearly-taught principles - so no prior knowledge of herbal medicine is required. 

Jude and Vanessa also run Food for Free and Natural Skin Care courses. Their practical, inspirational way of working puts people back in touch with the seasons, landscape, and the simple origins of our food, medicines and cosmetics. 

What you will get from the course:

• An introduction to some of our common hedgerow medicines and the skills to identify and use them for home treatments.
• A renewed sense of the seasons and of how everything from food to medicine has its time.
• A cache of invaluable herbal lore, recipes and techniques
• A "starter kit" of remedies made on the day to take away, and the inspiration to grow your knowledge of the plant medicines.

A word of warning:  once you've been on this course, you will never again be able to just "go for a walk".  You will always wonder what that plant could be used for ...

Comments from participants:

Really lovely day!  Beautiful setting, wonderful lunch, very exciting course content and a medicine chest to take away.  Not enough time!

An excellent day.  Sue

Super, many thanks.

A beautiful place that really fills a need ...

Course needs two days.  It was a bit rushed but very enjoyable.

Wonderful venue, totally magical.  A fantastic course taught by professionals whose enthusiasm and love for their subject shone through.  Great food too!

We learnt so much ... [the tutors] were fantastic - they've taught me something that will enrich my life!