Last weekend myself and some of the Kitchen Witch posse went on an adventure...
We visited the Tuppenny Barn in Southbourne, West Sussex for a morning of foraging.
It is a beautiful 'small holding' with a heart of sustainability. In the centre is a round building that houses workshops, a kitchen, markets, school visits and even weddings. The surrounding area is filled with organic vegetable plots, an orchard and poly tunnel all edged with hedgerows full of nature's bounty.
We were led around the site and given folklore and remedy information for each plant that we came across - blackberries, herbs, rosehips, nettles and more. We made a stop at the blackberry brambles and collected a jar full each.
Once the guided tour was finished we ended back at the round house for tea and delicious homemade cake.
Then we were treated to a demonstration on how to create elderberry cordial (and given a bottle to take home) followed by instructions on how to create a blackberry vinegar from the ones we had collected.
It was a lovely morning and we will definitely be keeping an eye out for future events at the Barn.
There are some interesting looking markets and creative workshops coming up and they also host a shop selling their home grown produce twice a week too.
Definitely worth a visit...
https://www.tuppennybarn.co.uk/
The official blurb from their site:
Tuppenny Barn is a UK registered charity. We cultivate and harvest organic produce, using this to create learning experiences for all ages and to promote the benefits of growing, cooking and eating healthy food. From hosting school trips and after-school clubs, to workshops and holiday activities, we teach children where fruit and vegetables come from, the benefits of eating nutritional food and give them the skills to grow and prepare their own meals.We also provide educational experiences and activities for the wider community, to help people develop their growing and cooking abilities, alongside countryside skills like foraging, wreath making and willow weaving.Our Education Centre has been designed with sustainable principles at its heart and provides a beautiful space for meetings, community and music events, art exhibitions and special occasions like weddings. Our shop, open every Thursday and Friday sells delicious, fresh organic bread, cakes and bakes, eggs, preserves and the fresh organic fruit, vegetables and cut flowers we grow here.
