Along with Peggy’s mushroom-loving friend Faith, we headed to Tatton Park one Sunday for an organised tour of the grounds in search of all things fungal. This was a public event bookable via the website of Tatton Park and cost £20 each. They do many different events throughout the year so it’s always worth having a look for the coming season; tickets do tend to sell out pretty quickly though.
We were led on a four-hour tour of the grounds, with a stop for a picnic lunch, which included walking in areas not open to the general public. We covered a good four miles over the course of the walk and were pretty tired by the end!
We were led by a fungal expert who had been brought in by Tatton Park. There was no question that the chap was knowledgeable and his love for fungi was very evident (his bald head and arms were even covered in tattoos of fungi) but unfortunately there were times when his language and stories were totally inappropriate for young ears. I wish I’d said something at the start but I assumed he’d tailor his talk to the people present; obviously not! It didn’t spoil our day but it did make the girls feel awkward at times.
Another thing that surprised us was that he picked most of the fungi we found so it could be passed around the group. He kept stressing the importance of fungi and how many types are becoming endangered, yet he kept killing what we found. It wouldn’t have diminished the enjoyment of the day at all if they’d just been left in situ alive.
Aside from these frustrations, we found a huge array of fungi and the guide was able to name every single one and tell us plenty of facts about each of them. After a while, the names just went over our heads and we concentrated on just trying to find as many as we could. The girls went off to explore and called the guide over when they found something interesting.
We saw the hugest of fungi and also the tiniest as the pictures above show. Peggy was amazing at finding the smallest ones in the grasses. We were so surprised to see so many bright colours yet you couldn’t easily see them unless you were actively trying to find them.
We found all different shapes and sizes and it was fascinating to see their structures up close.
Right at the start of the walk we found a newt nest under a fallen log. The girls had never seen newts before and I had no idea that they nested in such great numbers so far from water. It triggered a lot of Google searches when we got home!
Overall, we had a great time exploring the world of fungi, despite some frustrations, and we enjoyed getting to understand a little more about these amazing organisms. The day soon become like a nature photography session and we came home with hundreds of photos of all our finds. We’re definitely keen to return to Tatton Park to find even more fungi but we most certainly haven’t remembered any of the names!
