Late summer and early autumn are the most generous weeks of the hedgerow year, and for a beginner the six safest things to pick are blackberries, elderberries, damsons, crab apples, rosehips and sloes. All six are easy to identify with real confidence, all six grow in genuine quantity along British footpaths and field edges from August onwards, and all six are worth a few scratches. This guide covers what ripens when, how to pick responsibly and legally, what to leave well alone, and what to do with a basket of fruit once you have carried it home.
Foraging has picked up a mystical reputation it does not deserve. You are not hunting rare fungi in an ancient wood at dawn. You are walking a lane you already know, with a bag, picking things most of us recognised as children and then forgot. Learn a handful of plants properly and that lane becomes an entirely different place from about the middle of August, and if there is a hedgerow wine kit sitting in the cupboard at home, a distinctly productive one.
What can you pick in late summer?
August and early September belong to the blackberry, which is the perfect starter fruit because nothing else in a British hedge looks like it, nothing else tastes like it, and there is usually far more of it than anyone can use.
- Blackberries. Ripe berries are properly black, slightly dull rather than shiny, and come away from the plant with almost no pull. If you have to tug, leave it and come back in three days. The best fruit is usually just above knee height and just out of easy reach, which tells you something about how everyone else picks.
- Elderberries. Heavy, drooping heads of tiny berries, deep purple-black when ready, on the same trees that carried elderflower in June. Strip them off the stalks with a fork. Elderberries must be cooked, fermented or otherwise processed before eating, never raw.
- Damsons, bullaces and wild plums. Small, oval, dusty blue-black, tart enough to make your jaw ache raw and glorious once sugar and time get involved. Look along old field boundaries and railway lines.
What comes good in autumn?
From late September the hedge shifts from soft fruit to the hard, tart, tannic things that need cooking or fermenting to be worth anything, which is precisely why they suit country wine so well.
- Sloes. The fruit of blackthorn, round, blue-black with a pale bloom, and viciously sharp. Traditionally picked after the first frost, though a night in the freezer does exactly the same job of splitting the skins.
- Rosehips. The scarlet fruit left behind by wild roses, high in vitamin C and a wartime staple. The fine hairs inside the hip are an irritant, so rosehips always want straining through fine cloth.
- Crab apples. Tiny, hard and mouth-puckering, and full of natural pectin, which makes them the best friend of any jelly or any wine that needs a bit of backbone.
What are the rules of hedgerow foraging?
There are two sets: the ones that keep you safe and the ones that keep you within the law and on good terms with the countryside. Neither is complicated.
On safety, the rule is absolute and short. Never eat anything you cannot identify with total certainty. British hedges contain several plants with berries that look superficially cheerful and are anything but, including black bryony, woody nightshade and the bright red berries of lords-and-ladies. Carry a proper field guide, check more than one feature of the plant, and if there is a flicker of doubt, walk on. Elderberries in particular must be cooked or fermented, as raw berries, along with the leaves and stems, can cause nausea and stomach upset.
On the law and the etiquette:
- Picking fruit, flowers, foliage and fungi from wild plants for your own use is generally permitted in England and Wales, but uprooting a wild plant without the landowner's permission is not, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
- Foraging is for personal use, not for selling on.
- Stay on rights of way unless you have permission to be elsewhere, and check the rules for nature reserves and other protected sites, which are often different and stricter.
- Leave far more than you take. Hedgerow fruit feeds birds and small mammals through the hardest weeks of the year, so never strip a bush bare.
- Avoid busy roadsides, the sprayed margins of arable fields, and anything at dog height. Wash everything thoroughly at home regardless.
What do you do with a hedgerow haul?
Jam and cordial are the obvious answers, and they are good ones. The more interesting answer, and the one that makes a September afternoon's picking last well into next year, is wine. Country wine, or hedgerow wine, is the old British tradition of fermenting whatever the season provided rather than whatever the vineyard grew.
That is exactly what our Hedgerow Wine Making Kit is built for. It comes with a recipe table covering a wide spread of fruit, from blackberry and elderberry through to apple, plum and rhubarb, so you match the recipe to whatever you actually found rather than the other way round. You supply the fruit and ordinary white granulated sugar in the quantities the table gives, plus any optional extras it suggests, such as raisins or blueberries to add body. Everything needed to ferment is in the box.
The process runs in four stages: a first fermentation where the crushed fruit ferments in the liquid for around three days, straining the fruit off, a longer second fermentation, then bottling and maturing. Reckon on 8 to 12 weeks from picking to pouring, most of which is patient waiting rather than work. Each batch makes a gallon, which is about 4.5 litres, or six standard bottles.
One genuinely useful thing about wine as a destination for foraged fruit: you do not have to pick it all in one go. Frozen fruit works perfectly well and is often the easier route, so you can add to a bag in the freezer over several walks and brew when you have enough. Defrost it thoroughly and let it come up to room temperature first, or the brewing liquid will be too cold for the yeast to get going.
Hedgerow foraging FAQs
When is the best time to go blackberry picking in the UK?
Mid-August to late September is the sweet spot in most of the country, with the earliest fruit on sunny, south-facing hedges. Pick the dull-black berries that fall into your hand and leave the shiny red ones to ripen.
Is foraging legal in the UK?
Picking fruit and foliage from wild plants for personal use is generally allowed in England and Wales, but uprooting a plant without the landowner's permission is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Protected sites often have their own stricter rules.
Can you eat elderberries raw?
No. Raw elderberries, along with the leaves and stems, can cause nausea and stomach upset, so they must be cooked or fermented before use. Cooked into a syrup or fermented into wine they are perfectly good.
Can I freeze foraged fruit until I have enough to brew?
Yes, and it is often the most practical approach. Freeze your pickings as you go, then defrost thoroughly and bring the fruit up to room temperature before it meets the yeast.
How much fruit do I need for a batch of country wine?
It depends entirely on the fruit, which is why the kit includes a recipe table giving the fruit and sugar quantities for each one. Note that the weights given are for stoned fruit, so remove stones before weighing.
Turn this autumn's picking into six bottles: browse our wine making kits, hand-packed in Britain.
