River Cottage HQ, East Devon - 17/10/08

I was all geared up for a rather damp foray. The waterproofs were to make their first appearance for a while, and it was only when I awoke early on the morning of the foray, that I realised I'd be safe leaving them at home. We couldn't have been more fortunate in that it wasn't cold outside, but rather pleasantly warm, with an accompanying breeze.

Upon arriving at Park Farm, we took a few minutes to soak up the view across the valley. We later learned that River Cottage itself, though out of sight from the car park due to the sheer steepness of the valley edge, was just below us. As myself and David were putting on our more appropriate footwear, the crunch of the gravel in the distance caught our attention. A familiar face indeed, and the one we had been looking forward to greeting since February- it was John Wright. With a beaming smile, I shook hands with John and introduced myself as the winner of The Great Mushroom Hunt. John disappeared into a small shack stationed to the side of the car park and emerged seconds later with a brown bag, which I later learned contained the best pork pies I had ever tasted. John had recommended that we travelled with him in his vehicle, and it was to say the least, 'cosy', but it was excellent fun.

We trawled a few bare roadsides and unfortunately came to the conclusion that it was rather too dry for an abundance of fungi, but it didn't dampen spirits. We traipsed through a small wood discovering a few interesting and usually insignificant fungi, but we whipped them out of the soil and into the basket they went, though not for their culinary use but to study and attempt to identify back at the cottage. We visited several locations, each as bare as the last, but managed to scrape a number of specimens for further examination. After a couple of hours of searching and honing the bundling of two rather large chaps in the back of a small 4x4 into a fine art, we decided to head for HQ for a well deserved hot beverage.

We arrived back at Park Farm for mid afternoon and headed on down the bumpy track to the cottage, myself and David being thrown around in the back of the vehicle like something out of Alton Towers. We reached the bottom of the hill and exited the truck. We were introduced to the chefs who were preparing dinner for the evening event we were to be attending that night, I had a sneaky glance at the ingredients and noted lots of fish! As John kindly asked for tea and coffee to be brought out to the hut that stood in the middle of the cottage grounds, we headed for the table with an array of mushrooms on. John followed on, and we all sat down, poured a 'cuppa' and had a nice long chat. We discussed many things mycological and had a go at identifying the species that we had found earlier on. We were offered a bottle of the well known Stinger Beer, and of course as any thirsty mushroom hunter would, gladly accepted. As our time together came to a close, I asked John to sign my River Cottage Mushroom Handbook, and he did, with a very nice message. John gave David and I a lift to the top of the hill to the car park so we could return to our bed and breakfast for a freshen up before the evening meal. We said our thanks and farewells to John, and returned to our accommodation with smiles on our faces.

The evening meal was everything I could have wished for. The hospitality shown by the River Cottage team present that night was absolutely top notch, the atmosphere and company whilst dining was excellent and the food was absolutely phenomenal.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all who made this fantastic prize possible. Thanks to Elli Geraghty for her consistent correspondence via email, all of the staff at RCHQ that evening and of course to John, for sharing his wisdom with us. I'm sure I speak not only for myself when I say that it's a day and evening that I shall not ever forget, and I shall certainly be back to eat in the new year.

Thanks RC,

Nick Cantle