Early Summer Luxury Wild Food and Foraging Retreat

Friday 12th July – Monday 15th July 2024, Powys, Wales, UK

Enjoy a mixture of classes and workshops over the weekend which will involve different types of skills including tree, plant and fungus identification, foraging skills and practices, wild cocktail/mocktail making, cooking with wild food, wild tea making, journaling, preserving/fermenting, star-gazing, and much more. All presented and led by your own Foraging Guide, Gavin, and your own personal Chef Roland.

Your wild food and foraging retreat will be located in a luxury cottage, situated right in an area of outstanding natural beauty; Nestled between Bannau brycheiniog (formerly known as the Brecon Beacons), Eryri (formerley known as Snowdonia), the Cambrian mountains and the Epynt Mountain. The cottage is beautifully decorated offering idyllic far reaching views across the Mid-Wales countryside. A perfect location for a wellbeing retreat.

Just imagine cosy and modern rooms with crisp linen, snug areas with real fireplaces providing plenty of light, hot-tub sessions overlooking the Welsh countryside with horses walking on by, relaxing by the firepit and putting your feet up on the sun loungers, balmy summer evenings with cosy restorative clean food and drink, beautifully designed and nourishing dinners prepared by your own chef, specially curated workshops to enhance your wellbeing…

Outside you will find a private patio area where our morning movement practices will be held. If the weather isn’t perfect, we will enjoy morning movement practices in the snug area.
Enjoy a mixture of classes and workshops over the weekend which will involve different types of skills including tree, plant and fungus identification, foraging skills and practices, wild cocktail/mocktail making, cooking with wild food, wild tea making, journaling, preserving/fermenting, star-gazing, and much more.

The retreat venue is surrounded by a large, peaceful garden which also has incredible views of the Mid-Wales countryside.

The retreat has been specially designed to enhance your wellbeing from the daily morning movement, specially curated foraging workshops, the chosen private chef to the retreat venue.

This will be a perfect opportunity for you to take time out for yourself, whilst also leaving with knowledge and practical tools to take home with you to enhance your wild food and foraging skills in your day to day life.

Take me straight to the rooms and the prices

The Programme

Day 1

Arrivals and welcome dinner

5pmArrivals – welcome cocktails and mocktails
6pmIntroductions and briefing
7pmWelcome foraged dinner with Chef Roland
8pmDrinks and snacks at the firepit

Day 2

Guided foraging walks, tea making, and cooking

7:30amMorning movement – to get the blood flowing and the joints moving
8:30amWild breakfast with Chef Roland
10amOrientation walk and introduction to foraging with Gavin
12:30pmWild lunch with Chef Roland
2pmForaging walk around the village for teas and dinner ingredients
4:30pmFree time for exploring, reading, using the hot tub
5:30pmWild tea making
7pmWild dinner with Chef Roland
9pmDrinks and stories at the fire pit

Day 3

Guided foraging walks, welsh cakes, and cocktails

7:30amMorning movement – to get the blood flowing and the joints moving
8:30amWild breakfast with Chef Roland
10amWalk to Llwynbrain farm and more foraging with Gavin
12:30pmWild lunch with Chef Roland
1:30pmWild Welsh cake making with Chef Roland
3pmWoodland walk and foraging with Gavin and return to the cottage
5:30pmFree time to relax, read, use the hot tub
6:30pmWild dinner with Chef Roland
8pmWild cocktails and mocktails masterclass

Day 4

Gather your gifts and goodbyes

7:30amMorning movement – to get the blood flowing and the joints moving
8:30amWild breakfast with Chef Roland
10amGather your gifts, teas, preserves, etc. and say our farewells

What is included…

  • Your luxury cottage – Enjoy a 3 night, 4 day stay in our luxury retreat venue situated in the beautiful hills and mountains of Mid-Wales; an area of natural beauty overlooking the countryside nestled between Bannau Brycheiniog (formerly known as the Brecon Beacons), Eryri (formerly known as Snowdonia), the Cambrian mountains, and the Epynt mountain.

  • Wellbeing sessions – You will have full access to the hot tub overlooking views of the countryside.

  • Daily morning movement – These gentle practices will prepare your muscles, joints, and stomach for the day ahead by getting the blood flowing and joints limber.

  • A welcome luxury gift – You will be gifted with a beautiful selection of practical, wild food related products on arrival.

  • Your own private chef on site – You will have 3 nourishing meals a day which will be healthy, organic and seasonal (where possible), plus snacks and drinks. Food will be tailored to all.

  • Cooking demonstrations and workshops – Chef Roland will show you how to make the most of your foraged ingredients. Being a local boy, Chef is also very keen to integrate fresh, wild ingredients into Welsh classics!

  • Welcome cocktails/mocktails – On arrival, you will be greeted with a wild cocktail or mocktail.

  • Guided foraging walks – Gavin will guide you through the areas surrounding the village, and Llwynbrain farm to find the best edibles.

  • Tea Making Workshop – On the Saturday afternoon, we will work with some pre-selected wild herbs, as well as any you’ve gathered to create nourishing and tasty herbal teas.

  • Cocktail/Mocktail  Masterclass – On the Sunday evening we will have a demonstration and plenty of practice making wild cocktails and mocktails with wild infused spirits, syrups, cordials, and beers.

  • Parking

  • Foraging “gear” – any baskets, bags, knives, scissors, trowels, etc. will be provided, but you’re also welcome to bring your own.

  • WiFi

  • Luxury toiletries & towels

Your Hosts

Forager Gavin

My Name is Gavin (from Found Food) and I am a Foraging teacher with over 10 years experience teaching and over 40 years experience foraging. I’m also a Fieldcraft teacher, Herbalist, and Hill-walking leader.

I was encouraged to deepen my foraging knowledge as a treatment for corporate burnout, depression, and anxiety, and quickly found that the deeper connection with nature was exactly what my I needed in my life. I now also share what I know in nature connection therapy sessions for people who have had similar issues.

I have had several articles published in The Bushcraft Journal and am currently working with Serenity House Wales too.

Chef Roland

Roland is an accomplished Chef, amongst many other talents including his farm, award-winning holiday cottages, and local business development advisor.

Our Chef has a passion for healthy, hearty, home-cooked food with local, good quality ingredients. Being local, Roland also has a passion for traditional and modern Welsh dishes and is a master at integrating wild flavours into his creations.

The Food

The food is an important part of your retreat and this is why your private chef has been carefully selected and chosen.
The food on this retreat will be nourishing, seasonally sourced and organic, where possible.

Meals will be tailored to all eating types including meat and fish eaters as well as vegans and vegetarians.

Feedback from previous guests

“Honestly that was one of the best weekends I can remember in a long long time.  We all loved it.  This weekend we’re going back and learning and experiencing more. Thanks for offering this service and sharing your knowledge with us.”

“Thanks for for an incredibly informative and enjoyable day learning with you on Sunday.  I had no idea what treasures were hidden right under our noses in Golders Hill Park!  I learned a lot and am eager to keep learning more.
The foods that you prepared and shared with us were absolutely amazing!  We really enjoyed sampling everything and I know a huge amount of work must go into preparing everything.  It was a very special feast and we’re so grateful for the time and effort you put into it.
Just yesterday morning I was thinking, I could really use a warm cup of dandelion root tea right now!  I was so pleasantly surprised to see that you sell some of the foraged foods and we’ll be putting in an order shortly.
Thank you again for everything and we hope to see you again for another wild learning adventure.
And also thank you for the great summary of the items that we saw on our walk in your email!  It definitely refreshes my memory and will help me to remember what we learned.  Thank you again. ”

“Lovely with the sound of the river. Well equipped and Roland is a joy.”

The Rooms

Room 1

SOLD OUT!

Sharing twin room with shared bathroom – £800 per person.
Super-king room for 2 people (twin beds zipped together) with shared bathroom – £1600 total.
Super-king room for 1 person (twin beds zipped together) with shared bathroom – £1100 total.

Room 2

Sharing twin room with shared bathroom – £800 per person.
Book Room 2 Sharing Now
Super-king room for 2 people (twin beds zipped together) with shared bathroom – £1600 total.
Book Room 2 Super-King Now
Super-king room for 1 person (twin beds zipped together) with shared bathroom – £1100 total.
Book Room 2 Solo Now

Room 3

Double room for 2 people with en-suite bathroom – £2000 total
Book Room 3 Double Now
Double room for 1 person with en-suite bathroom – £1250 total
Book Room 3 Solo Now

Room 4

Double room for 2 people with en-suite bathroom – £2000 total
Book Room 4 Double Now
Double room for 1 person with en-suite bathroom – £1250 total
Book Room 4 Solo Now

FAQs and Extra Information

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The Programme

Please note that the programme is subject to change due to weather and availability of wild food.

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Travel

There is free parking on-site for anyone who is driving. We are roughly 3.5 hours from London and Manchester.

If you’re coming by train, our station is Llangammarch Wells on the Heart of Wales line from Swansea to Shrewsbury. Which means you can get to us on just 2 trains from London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool. Also, we’ll arrange free transfers from the train station.

If you’re flying to join us, the nearest international airports are Cardiff, Bristol, and Birmingham. All of which have train links to us, drop us a line for more information.

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Things to bring

  • Any extra food and drinks you might like.
  • Weather appropriate clothing. Yes, it’s summer, but it’s also Wales so waterproofs would be a good idea, as would good boots or wellies!
  • A notepad and pencil.
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Dietary requirements and allergies
We can cater for most, if not all dietary requirement and/or allergies, but we really do need to know in advance. It really is too late to tell us as we hand your your lovingly crafted meal.

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Physical activity
Any extra physical activities such as morning movement, or wild swimming (if we can include that), are optional and you don’t have to join in. However, foraging does require walking, sometimes on uneven or muddy ground, and one of the foraging sites is a short walk away. If you need us to make accommodations for your physical needs, please contact us before booking and we’ll try our best to help you.

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Booking Terms and Payment plans
We understand that the price of this experience is quite a commitment, so when you reach the checkout stage you’ll see an option to pay in three instalments.

Refunds for the remaining amount depends on when we receive the cancellation. 6 weeks or more until the retreat date, we charge a £250 cancellation fee and you will be refunded the remainder of your payment. Between 6 and 2 weeks of the retreat date, you will forfeit £500. Finally, under no circumstance will there be any refunds given for cancellation requests made within 2 weeks of the retreat date.
*If for any reason we have to cancel or reschedule the event, we will notify you as soon as possible and issue a full refund.
**All guests must obtain their own medical/travel insurance before attending as there will be walking in the wild areas of Mid-Wales.

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Can I come on my own?

Yes you can! Many guests come solo on retreats and you will quickly make new friends. I promise 🙂

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Can I come if I’ve never foraged before?

Yes! The sessions will be tailored and modified to all abilities.

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How do the sharing rooms work?

If you choose a sharing room, you’ll be sharing with someone of the same gender in separate single beds.

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