Thanks to Netgalley & Collins Reference/National Trust for the e-ARC.

The First-Time Forager is a beautifully illustrated and well written guide to foraging in a compact 176 page book, with the guide being divided into two sections, an A-Z herbal, a guide to avoiding poisonous plants and what aren't yet look very alike (aka if you are not sure avoid). The first part was certainly of interest to me, in part because I've learnt that some of the plants my mum inherited from my nan who was very into herbal remedies weren't just pretty specimens but functional as a lot within the A-Z includes recipes that include such plants. I'm hoping to test a few of the recipes out over the Summer and hopefully they bode well.

Would recommend to anyone wanting to learn about foraging or simply more about herbal plants.

The First-Time Forager is a very well written, precise, illustrated guide to foraging by Andy Hamilton. Released 11th April 2024 by the National Trust, it's 176 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats.

This guide is divided into sections. First, an A-Z herbal with illustrated entries for plants from Apple to Wood avens (Geum urbanum). Note that this guide is aimed at common plants in Britain, but many of them are ubiquitous to temperate regions the world over because of human introduction and natural occurrence. Each of the entries contains a common and botanical binomial (Latin name) followed by a description. The entries are accompanied by multiple photos of the various component plant parts. Pictures are clear and in color. The herbal also includes one or more recipe featuring the plants in question.

The second section of the book is a useful field guide to poisonous plants and lookalikes, with good advice on proper identification and safety. The author has included clear photos as well as what plants each of the dangerous plants looks like and with which they can potentially be confused. These poisonous plants are important in their habitats, often as host plants for species of insect and as food sources for wildlife. The author takes pains to show them for the important, useful plants they are whilst stressing that foragers should generally leave them well alone.

Although it's aimed mostly at readers in the British Isles, it's a useful resource for North America and Europe as well. The author/publisher have also included an abbreviate links list for further reading.

Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, for smallholders and self sufficiency folks, and for gift giving. It's lovely to see a burgeoning appreciation for foraging and using local fresh ingredients (safely).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A few years ago I went on a foraging course and thoroughly enjoyed it. As a result I have been on the lookout for good guides to help me when I am out walking either locally or when I am on holiday in Britain.
The author starts with guidelines on responsible collection of the plants you find, the law and promoting respect of our natural landscapes. The book then looks at 40 of the most common and easy to identify plants you can find in the British countryside. The plants are considered in A - Z order, with common and Latin name provided. The first page for each plant has a handy at a glance guide on the right hand side of the page, and we start with some background , how to identify the plant and where it can be found. The next page then has clear photographs of the main parts of the plant to enable identification and highlighting the edible parts. This is then followed by suggestions of how the author likes to use the plant and where appropriate recipes, I have used the one to make vegan honey using Dandelion heads and it really is fantastic.
After the edibles there is a short section on the common poisonous British plants, followed by an excellent list of resources and key books for further reading..
Excellent guide for starters and more experienced foragers.

The women in my family taught me how to tell an edible mushroom from a poisonous one, edible plants and what was foraging without risking.
I was lucky as I spent a lot of time in the country but if you always lived in the city this is the right book that could help you to start without risking you life (some plants are very dangerous)
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The First Time Forager by Andy Hamilton. I was interested to see what this book had in store as Ive always been interested in foraging but didn't know where to start. It was a very interesting book. One that would be great in paper format rather than digital so you could take it out with you. I was surprised at how many things in my parents garden I would be able to forage as well!!!

An excellent book for first time foragers but also for folk who already know what they are doing as it has some lovely recipes in it as well.

Thanks to Netgalley and Collins Reference for the ARC Copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

This is an excellent guide to foraging, explaining that many plants we see in the countryside are in fact edible. It emphasises the need to be cautious and 100 per cent certain they are safe to eat. Whilst many of the plants, flowers and fruits are well known e.g. cherry and blackberry, others are less obvious like gorse and Japanese knotweed. The plants are listed alphabetically and tell you where they grow, dangers, when to harvest and how to use. There are clear pictures of each plant and a fun fact which was a nice addition. An excellent section at the end highlights many common poisonous plants. There are food and drink recipes for many of these plants including Blackberry Sidecar and Wild Garlic Pesto. A great place to start if you are keen to have a go at foraging. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book has given me the confidence to forage for the first time . Although the family always insist that I try it first, they still think that I am going to kill them by accident. The book provides that you do not do that !

What a great idea for a book! Never even thought about us needing this book, and now that I have read it I am thinking "why didn't we have this book ages ago?". There are so many things for a forager out there, and this book gives the reader plenty of ideas where to look for food, what to look for, and what to do with the products. I got lots of nice ideas from this compact book!

This book is a comprehensive guide to starting out with foraging. What I loved the most was the focus on cities / towns which is encouraging as you generally think that foraging can only be done in the countryside. I loved that there were pictures and the details for each plant were comprehensive. Everything you need and well put together.

Beautifully set out, this is a really handy book for those of us who like the great outdoors but would also like to get more out of what we find on our travels.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was really pleased by the National Trust who asked me to review this really interesting book. Since watching River Cottage and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall I have been really interested in foraging, yes we all pick blackberries late August but there is so much more to this as the book sets out.
What I love as well is the recipes you can do with foraged goods.
The book and author does show caution and there are dos and donts with foraging.
I love this book and will be using more than just blackberries and rose hips

Thank you Netgalley, National Trust and Andy Hamilton

I found this to be a really informative, and fun, guide to the edible plants that can be found around Britain! When I'm out for a wander locally I also wonder what I can and can't forage, and now I've got a better idea so I can be more adventurous than just sticking to the blackberries!!

The guide is presented in an A-Z format and shines a light on the wild food, fruits and flowers that can be good to eat - and those that you should avoid and be wary of!! There's also a helpful list of do's and don'ts so you can keep on the right side of the law, and also plenty of ideas of how to use the produce you find - making teas, using in salads etc.

As well as listing the fruits it also give some helpful recipes and there were a few surprises on the list to me especially magnolia flowers! The illustrations are in colour so it makes it easier to identify and I can't wait to get out wandering again in better weather to see what goodies nature has to share with me!

As long as you take this as a simple introduction to foraging it's ok and at least the author encourages everyone to get a decent book (preferably a flora) in order to identify things correctly. As a retired career botanist I think the illustrations are perhaps cute, as some folk would say, but may not be enough for a safe identification for any real beginners. Particularly true for any umbels - the carrot family - where there is some good eating and some very nasty poisonous ones. However, most of the offerings are easy to identify and it's useful to have habitat details, recipes and little snippets about history and so on. A pleasant enough book which might encourage people to use the wild offerings more and at least get out into the fresh air. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Good clear photos and descriptions of what can be foraged. Liked the inclusion of recipes. Difficult to do a complete review without a hard copy but looks good electronically.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is great! Since it's winter time there isn't as much to forage like the other times of the year but I was able to recognize some stuff and that alone felt great! I think the book comes in super handy and I love that I can walk around with it on my phone and look things up quite easy.

This book is just about right for a first time forager. There are some more popular plants and berries like raspberry and mint that it is likely most people can spot and do something with, there are also things that made me a bit more nervous like the big puffball mushroom. The images are good and give the plants description at the various stages of the year and importantly what it shouldn’t look like to stop errors with similar plants. There is a ‘at a glance’ section which is pretty vital for the first time forager and the nervous forager! This is helpful to show where the plant grows, a brief description, any dangers and also what can be done with the plant. There are some lovely recipes. This is definitely the book you would take with you to forage.

Myself and my family have always been a bit nervous about foraging, instead sticking to things that we grow ourselves and can be 100% sure on. Its something we have always wanted to venture more into and this book is a good introduction. I must say that I still feel a bit cautious having read it but I am more willing to give it a try, especially with some of the more easily identifiable plants that do not have dangerous lookalikes. We recently saw a giant puffball mushroom for the first time and I wish I had read this book then! I think lots of families will enjoy trying foraging (kids under strict supervision) and its a great book to give you useful information and images.

Who doesn't love a bit of foraging?
I love walking through the woods or countryside whilst on my dog walks and picking a sweet treat as I go, something I have done ever since I was little and my family used to go blackberry and chestnut picking, though my knowledge of what can and cannot be eaten is limited to the very basics; chestnuts, blackberries, apples, plums, in fact, I grow more edible plants in my garden then I do foraging them.
I really enjoyed this little book, it's light and easy to read. The author has obviously done his research into the topic and has written a knowledgeable and interesting book each edible plant has its own page full of insightful facts, detailed descriptions of identifying each plant, lovely illustrations and a passage on what to do with your produce.
It is definitely worth a look at for those interested in this subject!

This will be an invaluable guide to anyone starting out foraging. From easy finds such as blackberries and apples, this takes you through chickweed and Japanese knotwood and beyond. Very well illustrated, to avoid any mix ups, with a full intro for each item plus a recipe, this is the full package from finding, picking to preparing and eating - as well as pointing out common problems and things to look out for. Excellent!

The first time forager is more a book for reading and getting an idea of what's available to forage than a reference book. The pictures are no where near detailed enough to make proper identifications. I would not be rushing out to buy this book for my collection as there are many more much more detailed books or there.

I like the fact that it encourages foraging but no one should use this book alone to forage.