Folk, Fire & Foraging Fungi: A Samhain Afternoon of Mushrooms, Fireside Folk Song & Woodland Sauna
November 1 @ 12:30 PM - 5:00 PM
£70
- Date: Sunday 1 November 2026
- Time: 12:30 to 17:00 (4½ hours). Please arrive from 12:15.
- Optional sauna: 30-minute slots at 17:00, 17:30 and 18:00
- Location: Langley Tracks, Langley, near Hexham, Northumberland. We’ll send you the exact meeting point and parking details in advance.
- Cost: £70 per person · £50 concessionary (4 places)
- Optional add-on: woodland sauna and cold dip, with a lion’s mane and chaga hot chocolate and a wild treat, £20 (12 places)
- Spaces: 30, including 4 concessionary places
Overview
Samhain is the old Celtic festival that marks the end of the harvest and the start of winter, when people have long gathered around fires as the dark nights draw in. This year we’re marking it the same way: an afternoon of all things wild, with fungi, fire and folk song in the woodland at Langley Tracks, near Hexham.
We’ll start with a three-hour fungi walk through this gorgeous mixed woodland in its autumn colours. Bex will show you how to safely identify the fungi growing across the different habitats here: which are tasty, which are poisonous, how they’ve traditionally been used and what scientific studies are finding about them. Then we gather at the campfire for a cup of hot, seasonal wild mushroom soup. As dusk falls, wrap up warm for a rooted folk performance around the fire from the critically acclaimed Cumbrian composer and singer Ella Jarman-Pinto.
To make it an extra special evening, finish in the dark with a woodland sauna and cold dip, a lion’s mane and chaga hot chocolate and a wild treat. Sauna places are limited.
How the afternoon runs
- 12:30 Fungi foraging walk with Bex (3 hours)
- 15:30 Wild mushroom soup around the campfire
- 16:15 Ella Jarman-Pinto sings Part 1 in full by the fire, as dusk falls
- 17:00 The main event ends, and sauna guests head to their slot (17:00, 17:30 or 18:00)
What you’ll learn
- How to safely identify wild mushrooms and fungi, and the key features to check every time
- How to tell tasty edible fungi from poisonous look-alikes
- Where fungi grow: the different habitats across this mixed woodland, and what to look for in each
- How fungi have traditionally been used, and what scientific studies are finding, discussed for interest (not as advice, see below)
- How to forage responsibly, so there’s plenty left for wildlife and for next year
What’s included
- A guided 3-hour fungi walk with Bex Northman, Member of the Association of Foragers
- A cup of hot, seasonal wild mushroom soup at the campfire, made with Bex’s famously mouth-watering cooking
- Ella Jarman-Pinto performing her album Loves Loved Lost Longing | Part 1: Folk songs of queer awakening in full, around the fire at dusk
The music: Ella Jarman-Pinto
Ella Jarman-Pinto is a critically acclaimed Cumbrian composer and singer. ‘Part 1’ is her latest album that follows the experience of later life queer awakening – weaving love, grief and life and health changes with the land, ancestors and the glimmers of joy of beginning to know yourself at last.
Ella will sing the whole album, solo, with a little about each song along the way. It’s about 35 minutes, with no interval.
Add the woodland sauna (optional, £20)
Finish the evening in the dark with a woodland sauna and cold dip at Langley Tracks Sauna, then warm up with a lion’s mane and chaga hot chocolate and a wild treat.
- 12 places, in 30-minute slots at 17:00, 17:30 and 18:00
- Add the sauna when you book, then email us the time you’d like. We’ll confirm it with your joining details.
- Bring swimwear and a towel
Practical details
- Terrain: uneven woodland paths with roots and, most likely, mud. We’ll go at a steady pace with plenty of stops.
- What to bring: sturdy waterproof boots or wellies; a waterproof jacket and plenty of warm layers (it gets cold by the fire once the sun goes down); a torch or head torch, as it will be dark when we finish; a camping chair or blanket to sit on by the fire; and swimwear and a towel if you’re adding the sauna.
- Weather: we go ahead in most weather, so please dress for it. If conditions aren’t safe, we’ll contact you about rebooking.
- Getting there: Langley Tracks is in Langley, near Hexham. We’ll send you the exact meeting point and parking details in advance.
- Dietary needs: please tell us about any allergies or dietary needs when you book. The soup and the wild treat can be made vegan or gluten-free.
- Realistic expectations: nature doesn’t work to a script, so we can’t promise exactly what we’ll find. What we can promise is that there will be lots to learn.
Book your place
Places are limited to 30, and the sauna to 12. Add the sauna when you book.
We also hold 4 concessionary places at £50 for anyone who needs them, no questions asked. Just choose the concessionary option when you book. Read how concessionary pricing works.
I’m Bex Northman, a Member of the Association of Foragers. I teach foraging and herbal remedy making across Cumbria, Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. More about me →
A note on safety. Never eat any wild mushroom, fungus or plant unless you’re completely certain of its identification. Some fungi are deadly, and many have poisonous look-alikes. Only mushrooms Bex has personally confirmed safe are eaten on the day: this isn’t a pick-and-eat session. Any uses and research discussed on the walk are shared for educational purposes only. Wild & Weeds does not provide medical advice, and Bex is not a medical herbalist.
The hot chocolate contains lion’s mane and chaga mushroom. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a health condition, please consult a healthcare professional before drinking it, using the sauna or using any wild plant or fungus, and tell us when you book.