Category Archives: walks

Two Day Advanced Wild Mushroom Workshop October 6th & 7th

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September has been a funny month, from a weather perspective at least!. We haven’t had too many of those lovely autumnal days with sun beating down on us and the hint of the changing seasons  advising us that a change is one the way. We have had gales , rain, more gales and more ran but today is one of those days that has promise. Apples, the few that we have , look great in the sunshine and there is  a warmth about, that has been missing  and missing  for fungi deep in our woods. This is the sort  day they love, warm, sunshine and with rain some days ago they are bursting out of the ground.

But what are they? Are they safe to eat? Which ones are downright nasty and which ones,  if we had a culture of eating wild mushrooms ,would we defend to the last to get and eat?

On October 6th and 7th we are holding our last Wild Mushroom Workshop for those who want to learn a little more about these fascinating fungi. If you already have a bit of knowledge about fungi, then this is the course for you.

On Saturday October 6th we will learn ,with Jonathan Spazzi ,a lot more about the structure of fungi and their classification. We will wander into lovely woods and try to name as many as possible and hopefully, we will find some delicious edibles to take home and eat.

Hedgehog Fungu

Hedgehog Fungus

We will learn about gills, cortinas, stipes, caps, veils and umbos.We will marvel at the structure and delicacy of these wild mushrooms  and much , much  more.

 

On   the Sunday we will go into a completly dffferent wood for some different fungi and we will learn how to name, classify and to demystify at least some of the  complexities of the fungi world.

This two day course is for those who know a little and want to know more. We will provide delicious organic lunches on both days with copious tea and coffee and home-made biscuits to help us on our way.

Jonathan Spazzi is one of Ireland’s leading mycologists and we are guaranteed two great days in stunning woods as we pick up  on his knowledge.

The course is suitable for those with an interest in fungi, hoteliers, environmentalists, restaurant owners, outdoor recreation enthusiasts and those who simply want to develop a stronger knowledge of this intriguing part of woodland life.

Course costs €90 which includes lunches on both days and refreshments throughout the  workshops.

Book now and Go Wild with us!

 

 

September 29th Wild Mushroom Workshop

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Last Saturday we had the first of our three Wild Mushroom Workshops with Jonathan Spazzi. We had a marvellous day in the woods and a great cook up afterwards.

We found this!

Amanita Rubescens

Amanita Rubescens

Our next Workshop is on Saturday September 29th here in Killedmond, Home of Blackstairs Ecotrails. The Workshop will run from 10am till 4pm with talks , demonstrations,  excursions into beautiful broadleaf woods underneath the Blackstairs, identification of species and hopefully, if we find some edible species, a glorious cook up to end the day.

We will also have a delicious organic lunch with local cheeses and artisan breads for you to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Boletus Edulis Cep

We also found lovely Ceps and Jonathan had some lovely Chanterelles for us to enjoy

Our Workshops cater for a maximum of 15 people so, if you would like to come, please book early.

Wild Mushroom Workshops are fun. You can learn about fungi and their beautiful habitat, hopefully enjoy some gourmet wild edible delights and enjoy  good organic food in cheerful surroundings. So, let’s go wild on September 29th!

Our Advanced course will follow on October 6th and 7th for those who already have a basic knowledge of fungi.

Check Killedmond out on Facebook to see where you are going! We are also on Twitter @whiteecotrails

The Fantastic World of Fungi

Posted on by Mary White
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I don’t mean to be pessimistic but there is a slight shift in the seasons these days. I spotted  the first Beech with turning leaves, blackberries are ripening  in the ditches, Rowan berries are adding colour to our woods and our  swallows are gone. I have never known them leave so early.But this shifting from one season to another is natural and after the summer we have had,perhaps autumn will reward  us with wonderful colour, berries and lovely warm autumn days to ease us  into winter. We have got to be hopeful.

One of the great things about autumn  are fungi. Wonderful edible ones, alarming poisonous ones and those  reminders of our childhood stories, the ones with the red caps and white dots. Deep in the woods they are there. Silent, secretive and endlessly fascinating.

Fly Agaric

Fly Agaric

 

 

 

 

This Autumn we are holding three separate fungi workshops with Jonathan Spazzi, a renowned fungi expert.

The first will be on Saturday September 15th. 10-4pm;

the second is on September 29th at the same time and for those who already have a basic knowledge of mycology we are holding a two-day advanced course on October 6th and 7th.

Chanterelle

Chanterelle

 Cost €45 per person and will include all refreshments and a delicious organic lunch.

The advanced two course is €90 and will include all refreshments and a delicious organic lunch on both days. 

At the end of these workshops a good grounding in nomenclature will have been gained. We will cook up all the edible ones we find, isolate the poisonous and understand the habitat of  fungi in general.

Boletus Edulis - Cep

Boletus Edulis – Cep

The advanced two-day course will go into detail of classification, spore prints, genera and further complexities of the fungi world

Maximum number on any of these course is 20.

So book early if you want to  learn more about  fungi or to deepen your knowledge of these most mysterious inhabitants of our broad leaf and coniferous woods.

Wild Life Treasure Hunt for Children

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Speckled Wood Butterfly

Speckled Wood Butterfly

This Sunday in conjunction with the National Country Fair in Borris, Co. Carlow we are going to have some wild fun. There is going to be a great treasure hunt for children with real buried treasure..

Children aged between 8-12 can come to the Step House Hotel at 12 noon for the first clue to be given out. All the clues are based on wild life, simple , easy and fun.

 

You don’t have to know big latin names for things; you don’t have to be very good at wild life but you do have to be good at fun and lots of it.

So parents bring your little ones to the Step House Hotel, 12 Noon on the dot where we will begin our  Treasure Hunt in a safe environment. At this moment I am the only one, in the whole wide world who knows where we are going and where the treasure lies.

SWALLOW

Swallow

The cost? €5 for fun, wildness and buried treasure or should that be berried treasure?Am I giving something away here.

See you at 12 on Sunday in the Step House…. where the fun starts and we go wild with Blackstairs Ecotrails.

Going Nationwide

Posted on by Mary White
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What a beautiful sunny ,summery day it was here in Killedmond and a busy one too for Blackstairs Ecotrails. As part of a programme to celebrate Borris and the hosting of the National Country Fair ,RTE is doing a programme on our  Town.In conjunction with the Fair  we were  interviewed and it was a great opportunity for Blackstairs Ecotrails and my walkers to talk about what we love doing , going walking in the Barrow Valley and Blackstairs area.

Picking Borage

Picking Borage

Today we sought out the aromatic Meadowsweet. We picked some and I explained how I make the lovely cordial from the flower  heads and since I had made a recent batch we quaffed it down. On this  hot day it slaked our thirsts and the murmurimgs of approval were audible! If you would like to make it, the recipe is on my web site.

We found a lovely patch of nettles close by and we talked of making nettle soup and steaming nettles as a vegetable. Nettles are  full of iron and  as such , make a good tonic. As we walked along under a very blue sky we came across the gorgeous blue of  Borage. We picked some and talked about making Pimm’s for lovely summer parties or indeed you can just add it to Elderflower or Meadowsweet coridals. Sometimes I pick the flowers and put them into trays of ice cubes for a wow factor after our walks, to pop into summer drinks.

We heard Jays in the  oaks and  saw lots of Swallows darting  along the local river. Damselflies and Dragonflies flew by on gossamer wings and the soft summer cooings of Wood pigeons gave a drowsy feel to the end of the walk.

 

Meadowsweet

Meadowsweet

 

 

Thanks to my ecotrailers, Harriet, Mary, Bernadette, Jimmy, Cathy and one handsome dog ,called Holly.

Keep a look out for the programme. August  8th at 7pm on RTE 1

Thanks to Cathy Fitzgerald for taking the photographs.

A note for your diary.

Our next day long workshop will be with Andrew Kelly a terrific wild life photographer who is coming to us on August 25th. Places are limited to 20 for this event. So book now.

 In the meantime let’s go walking on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday’s. We leave no trace!

Fun in the Wild

Posted on by Mary White
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This summer besides walking with my ecotrailers three days a week I am working with the Lyrath Hotel and Spa in Kilkenny. They have a superb programme for their guests and for their little guests in particular.

I am helping out with the Nature Trails around the estate. I show the children and their parents if they want to come , the magic of Lyrath. This is a wonderfully wooded estate with two lakes. One man-made the other a large natural lake surrounded by lush vegetation, hosting a myriad of wild life. With the children, we  forage for safe wild food to eat. We drink Elderflower Cordial on our way and I point out to them the big ,flat white flowers that make the juice they are drinking.

We search for Willow Warblers (illustrated here), Dabchicks, Herons and big noisy Rooks.

 

Dark Green Fritillary

Dark Green Fritillary

We have shrimp nets where we catch ( and release) bumblebees and butterflies and we make a list of all we see.

Speckled Woods, Common Blues, Ringlets, Tortoiseshells and this lovely Dark Green Fritillary With the bumblebees I tell them  that we have twenty and then we go hunting for them. It’s fun, it’s outdoors and with children their uninhabited question really  make us so-called adults think.

Here’s one from last Tuesday

“Why did you let the world gt messed up?” ” Why are there hungry peope in the world? ” I thought trees were just called trees. So we talk about Elm, Beech, Oak, Holly and  and all the creatures that live in their branches ,in the bark and  under the roots.Everything in nature has a name.

Purple Loosestrife

Working with children as Rachel Carson once said is tapping into that “sense of wonder which unfortunately for some is lost before they reach adulthood”.

Let’s keep that sense wonder going. Show children the magic and beauty of the world and yes nettles do sting, but there’s a reason and yes worms are yucky, but they have a purpose.

If children learn about their environment, their neighbourhood, local plants, birds and animals they will have a respect for them ,all their lives. If they don’t all trees will just be trees and all wild flowers will just be weeds.

So going wild in Lyrath is good, it’s fun, it’s outdoors and there is a “Lyrath” near you ,wherever you live. 

It’s the  great ,wide, wonderful outdoor world that is all around us.  Take a look.

Recipe for Elderflower Cordial

Posted on by Mary White
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We said we would  put up our recipes as the blossoms, fruits or berries come into season. This is for Elderflower Cordial.  The blossom this year is superb and we made another batch of cordial today. The recipe is straightforward and simple.

25- 35 clusters of Elderflower blossoms

3 Unwaxed Lemons

1lb Caster Sugar

2-3 pints Boiling Water

2-3 oz. Citric Acid – if you are going to keep the cordial for a while. You will need some glass bottles with stoppers or  screw tops; weighing scales , large bowl, measuring jug, food processor, muslin to strain the cordial, grater.

Shake the blossoms to get rid of any small insects.

Grate the peel of the  lemons;cut two of them  into slices and put to one side

Make a syrup by putting the sugar into a saucepan and pour the boiling water over it.Stir until all the sugar has dissolved.Keep it hot.

Put the third lemon into the food processor with a small amount of the syrup and blend for a minute.

Cut off  the stalks from the blossoms and place in a large bowl. Add the grated lemon peel, plus the lemon slices, the blended lemon and the citric acid.

Pour the hot syrup  over the flower heads and stir well and leave to cool. You can leave the mixture for 24-48 hours, giving it the odd stir .

Strain the cordial through the muslin or a fine sieve and squeeze all the moisture from the blossoms.

Pour into bottles and store.

Dilute as required with water or add soda water if you prefer.

Elderflower Nature's Most Versatile Plant

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Bottling Elderflower Cordial

bottling Elderflower Cordial

Take a look around you today, whatever you are doing and I have no doubt that you will see the beautiful foaming white heads of Elderflower in a field, ditch, hedge, park or wood, somewhere near you. Elder is a deciduous shrub or small tree which is very prolific in Ireland. The Latin name is Sambucus nigra. The elder flowers in June/July and it berries in August and in September., The name elder comes from the  Anglo Saxon aeld, which means fire, because in former times the hollow stems were used to blow through, to ignite  fires. We are getting very academic here  but the term sambucus was used by Pliny and comes from the greek sambuca, which refers to the  musical instrument. I love it’s speckled stems and rather peculiar smell when you snap off a branch. It’s not an unpleasant smell, just strange…..

I already have an elderflower recipe for wine on my blog but there is so much more you can do with Elder.  You can make gorgeous  Elderflower fritters, Champagne and you can pickle the elder buds and in Autumn you can make delicious elderberry crumble. Served with yoghurt it is delicious .

Elderflowers

Elderflowers

Today I am going to give you the recipe for the Fritters because they are  so lovely.

Elderflower Fritters   - serves 4

4 oz of flour

1 egg free range - if possible

1/4 pint of tepid water

Pinch of salt

Unwashed elderflower heads.

Make a batter using the ingredients, except the elderflower heads.

Hold the elderflower heads by their stalks and dip into the batter until completely coated.

Deep fry the flowerheads in very hot oil until golden brown.

Drain thoroughly on kitchen paper. You  can cut off the extra bit of stalk if you like.

Serve hot sprinkled with sugar or a pinch of cinnamon.

Delicious!

These can be used for a lovely pudding or  for a bit of a wow factor at a drinks party.

Blackstairs Ecotrails is One Year Old!

Posted on by Mary White
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It’s our birthday next week and to celebrate we are offering for the entire week of June 4th to Saturday June 9th a very special Ecotrail price. All walks will be €25 instead of €35.

Over the last year we have walked through lovely water meadows, followed sparkling mountain streams and stood and listened for warblers in  ancient oak woods. We have  watched for damselflies and stood entranced as  kingfishers fed their young.

We have walked through the foothills of Mount Leinster along cool mountain lanes once used as drovers paths. We have examined in detail the fantastic flora of the   the  River Barrow Valley. We have thrown ourselves beside the Barrow and listened to the plop of fish rising and with the  call of the cuckoo and the grunt of the badger we have been transported back to the  wonders of this natural world.

Beautiful Carlow Beech

Beautiful Carlow Beech

As we celebrate the 50th year of publication of Rachel Carson’s wonderful book Silent Spring ( the book that changed the course of my life) our world is always under pressure; climate change, development, man-made disasters but for  the duration of our ecotrails we concentrate on the beauties of nature.

Carson once said

“a child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood”

On our Ecotrails we stop, look, listen, wonder, taste and smell all that is around us; all that  is still “fresh and new and beautiful”.

Here in this magical part of South Carlow, we are holding onto what Carson calls the “wonder and excitement ” of the natural world..

Come celebrate with us and share the beauty of this summer with us at Blackstairs Ecotrails.

Let’s go Walking!

The poet

We lave no trace, only our footprints and the soft sound of our voices as we walk through these timeless magical places.

This is the Weather Blackstairs Ecotrails Likes!

Posted on by Mary White
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Beautiful Barrow

This is the weather  the cuckoo likes

And so do I..

with apologies to Thoma Hardy for nicking that line! It is glorious here in Killedmond. There is a blue haze on Mount Leinster and Swallows are whizzing overhead having their breakfast” en plein air”. The beech trees are in full leaf with that gorgeous almost lime green colour  . Bluebells underfoot, are still in bloom and a hatch of Common Blues is feeding on Birds Foot Trefoil.

Bluebells

Bluebells

This is the weather for lazy strolls around the Blackstairs or along the River Barrow.  I was walking near Clashganny yesterday and the  Barrow Track is burgeoning with  Flag Irises, Herb Bennet, Herb Robert,  Hairy Bitter Cress and floating patches of  Water Crowfoot. Kingfishers were flying  up and down the River ( I know where they nest!) and a Dipper was bobbing up and down on it’s favourite stone.

A Heron was on guard watching for fish and the whole  scene had an air of complete tranquility. If I looked either up and down the  river at this point, I could see no houses, no cars, no sign of civilization, just limpid water,  beautiful woods and very busy feeding birds. The Barrow at this particular point has probably been unchanged for 100 years.

Come walking with us and I can show you this special place.

 We leave no trace!