Skip to content

Hedgerow foraging guide

Lewis Townsend
By Lewis Townsend

Late summer into autumn is the perfect time to seek out wild food in our hedgerows. Grab your basket and find out how to identify hedge plants, as well as how to prepare and eat their delicious nuts and berries.

Well-managed, bushy hedgerows should be abundant in fruit or nuts around and after harvest time, providing us and wildlife with healthy nourishment. This is just one of the many benefits of hedgerows, and why we want to see more, bigger and thicker hedgerows by 2050.

Before we jump into the guide, a quick note on foraging. Foraging for food is something that is written into human history. It’s a wholesome and humbling activity and, one of the best ways to connect with nature. But, we share a planet with wildlife that, unlike us, solely relies on the bounties of nature that are near to them. So, please forage responsibly and carefully, and be sure to leave plenty of food for wildlife. With that in mind, let’s explore what you might find along a hedgerow near you this autumn.

Hawthorn

Man picking berry from hawthorn hedge
Hawthorn berries stay on the plant throughout winter | Guy Bettison

How to ID

Hawthorn is a common hedgerow plant (and is sometimes grown as trees, too). It can be found pretty much all over England. Its dark green leaves are lobed (which means they’ve got distinct protrusions) and the tips have jagged edges. The branches are thorny and the bark (if visible) is usually quite rough. The easiest way to identify a hawthorn is by its fruit. From September they should be covered in masses of small red berries, each housing a single seed.

When to pick

Hawthorn berries can remain on the plant until spring (if not eaten beforehand!) However, they’re best picked in early Autumn when they’re a deep shade of red and soft between the fingers.

How to prepare

The berries are fleshy and dry, so are not usually eaten raw by humans. But, when cooked, they make an excellent base for a ketchup (simmer in water with vinegar, strain, and simmer again with sugar and seasonings). You can also make jams and jellies with the berries.

Leave some for…

Haw berries are a enjoyed by many of our favourite birds, but they’re particularly favoured by blackbirds, redwings and fieldfares – as well as various finches.

Blackthorn

Purple-blue round, matte berries hanging off a branch
Sloes are a popular choice for flavouring gin | Julian Ackroyd / Unsplash

How to ID

A particularly thorny hedgerow plant, blackthorn treats us to a magnificent display of white, scented flowers in early spring. From late summer you can identify a blackthorn by its leaves and fruit (known as sloe berries). The leaves are oval in shape, with jagged edges, and the berries are a rich, dark purple (almost black). It’s also very thorny! (…did we mention that already?)

When to pick

Traditionally, sloe berries are said to be best picked after the first frosts, which might not be until October. When the berries freeze, they become sweeter and more flavoursome (thanks to science). If there hasn’t been a frost yet where you are, you can recreate this process by popping the gathered berries in the freezer. So, as long as they’re squishy, you can pick them in September.

How to prepare

Sloe berries are really juicy, and it’s tempting to eat them raw. But, they’re very astringent and will probably suck all the moisture out of your mouth! One of the best uses for sloe berries is in the making of sloe gin, which is really simple to do. Prick the berries and steep them in gin (a cheap one will do) with sugar. Over time, the gin will turn a beautiful deep ruby colour. If you start a sloe gin in September or October, it should be ready to drink by Christmas, but will be even tastier if left until the one after.

Leave some for…

Blackbirds and thrushes particularly enjoy soft and juicy sloe berries – it’s part of their staple winter diet.

Hazel

Green, unripe hazelnut on a tree
Unripe hazelnuts can be picked and ripened at home | Anastasiya Dalenka / Unsplash

How to ID

Hazel is a lovely native hedgerow plant, and you’ll often spot it as part of a mixed-species hedgerow along with hawthorn and field maple. The leaves are quite large (almost palm-sized), with jagged edges and a distinctly pointed tip. From September, hazelnuts will start appearing which grow in small clusters, with each nut set in a little green cup.

When to pick

Birds normally snatch hazelnuts before they get a chance to ripen on the tree! However, you can pick the nuts when they’re still green and ripen them at home. Just pop them somewhere warm and dry and make sure to check on them, and move them about regularly.

How to prepare

Hazelnuts are great just eaten as a snack, but you can also chop the nuts up and use in salads or as part of a fruit crumble topping. You could also make hazelnut butter by roasting the nuts and popping them into a food processor.

Leave some for…

Larger birds like woodpeckers and jays eat hazelnuts, but they’re particularly enjoyed by squirrels, dormice and other small mammals.

Rosehip

A hand reaching out to pick a red, ripe rosehip
Picking a rosehip | Jasmin Schreiber / Unsplash

How to ID

Rosehips are the fruit of the wild rose, which is quite commonly found scrambling through hedgerows. The bright red or orange hips stand out quite notably from September, and are usually round or elongated in shape. Other indications that you’ve found rosehips are of course in the branches – wild rose is scrambling and has very sharp thorns.

When to pick

Rosehips will start to ripen from September, and like sloes, are said to be best after the first frost, when the leaves drop off the stems. If there isn’t a frost in September, you can still pick them and pop them in the freezer to replicate this process.

How to prepare

Rosehips are packed with good stuff. They’re rich in antioxidants and vitamins, containing twenty times more vitamin C than oranges. They usually need to be cooked first though, after which point they can be made into syrups, wines, jams and jellies. They’ve got a delicate floral/citrus taste and are sweet and tart.

Leave some for…

Blackbirds, thrushes, fieldfares, redwings and waxwings will all go for a tasty rosehip or two, as will some small mammals.

Beech

A green beech hedge full of leaves
The leaves on a beech hedge are distinct | Alexander Schimmeck / Unsplash

How to ID

Common beech is a widespread tree and hedgerow plant in England – and is perhaps most recognisable for its beautiful copper/bronze leaves that sometimes stay on the plant until well into spring. Its oval leaves have gentle, wavy edges, a pointed tip and are up to 9cm long. The fruit, known as beechnuts or ‘beechmasts’ are only produced every 4-5 years. They’re triangular in shape and are housed in bristly husks.

When to pick

Beech nuts can be foraged from mid-September onwards, by picking them directly off the plant. Eventually, they will fall from the tree.

How to prepare

You’ll need to remove the outer case to reveal the triangular nut, which makes for a tasty snack when on your walk. You can also roast them and treat them a little bit like pine nuts. Beech nuts do contain quite a high level of toxins and tannins though, so don’t eat too many!

Leave some for…

Beech nuts are favoured by small mammals like squirrels, voles and mice. Some birds eat them, too.

Bramble

Young girl picking ripe blackberries on a family walk
Brambles are ripe when they’re dark purple or black | Chris Odonovan

How to ID

Bramble, or blackberry, is a scrambling shrub with thorny stems. It’s common across England and is often thought of as a bit of a nuisance plant due to its vigour. However, it’s a super wildlife plant and is beneficial as part of a mixed hedge. From late summer into autumn, you’ll be able to identify this plant from the fruit – the bramble. They grow in abundance on mature plants, and look a little like dark raspberries. It’s also got a messy growing habit; if you’re looking a thorny plant with a chaotic shape, you’re probably looking at a bramble bush!

When to pick

Brambles ripen from late July though to September, so there still should be a few knocking about at the moment – particularly if there has been plenty of sunshine and rain where you are. You’ll know if they’re ready by the colour (it should be deep purple to black) and the fruit should come easily off the plant. You can also give it a taste; ripe brambles should be a perfect blend of sweet and tart.

How to prepare

There are loads of things you can do with brambles. The simplest thing to do is just give them a wash and eat them raw, but you can also make bramble jam, jelly, coulis, cordial or wine. When ripe and cooked, they’ve got a quintessential summer fruit taste: rich, fruity, sweet and tart.

Leave some for…

Blackberries are favoured by lots of wildlife, which is why it’s so important to leave plenty. They’re enjoyed by blackbirds, thrushes and fieldfares, as well as squirrels, mice, badgers and foxes.

Elderberries

A cluster of elderberries on a branch
Elderberries shouldn’t be eaten raw, but make for a great wine, jam or jelly | Andy Rogers / Flickr

How to ID

More commonly a (slightly scruffy) tree, though you may still find elder along hedgerows, and it can be quite a vigorous grower. The leaves of an elder are feather-like in shape and have finely jagged edges. The fruit is small, dark purple/black and grows in large clusters. Elder is a generous tree indeed, as in early summer it treats us to elderflowers, which are pretty much the embodiment of summer in fragrance and taste!

When to pick

Elderberries ripen from July or August, through to October (depending on where you live). They’ll be a deep purple or black colour – and all the berries in the cluster should be ripe before you harvest.

How to prepare

Elderberry has a deliciously rich, dark fruit flavour, and can be used in all sorts of recipes: crumbles and pies, jams, jellies, wines and more. You can scrape them off the plant with a fork which makes the process much quicker. Elderberries are quite tart, so work best when cooked with sugar. It’s advisable to cook elderberries before eating them; in their raw state they contain toxins.

Leave some for…

Elderberries make a tasty snack for all kinds of wildlife. Blackbirds and pigeons enjoy them, and smaller birds also favour them because they’re easy to remove from the stem. Small mammals like mice, rabbits, foxes and badgers will also happily chomp on elderberries.

Close up of hands holding ripe blackberries
Deliciously ripe blackberries, great washed and raw, or in desserts and wine Chris Odonovan

Explainers

Dive deeper into the topics we care about with our handy explainer guides.