Service Description

I have teamed up with the brilliant David Atthowe, of Reveal Nature, to offer you a fantastic & unique nighttime adventure! David’s expertise in nature is remarkable, one of his specialities is biofluorescent fungi, flora and fauna! Unlike most animals, humans can’t see biofluorescence unaided, but armed with a special UV torch, the forest transforms into a neon light show! We can find fluorescing fungi, snails, slugs, centipedes, woodlice, worms, plants & flowers, and myriads more, it’s incredible to see the forest in a whole new light - literally! This will be a chance to connect with nature in a way that is both educational, as we discover and discuss how and why species might employ biofluorescence, as well as awe-inspiring to witness! Biofluorescence is a different phenomenon to bioluminescence, where animals such as fireflies and glowworms sporadically emit light resulting from internal chemical reactions. Biofluorescence is omnipresent in the organism, but we humans are only able to see it with the help of specialised UV torches, which reveal an assortment of bright and wonderful colours. It is one of Nature’s greatest hidden secrets, who knows what we might find combining mine and David’s knowledge, passion and curiosity for nature! We will meet at a very special location in ancient woodland, with an amazing repertoire of potential inhabitants, at 6.30pm, as the forest starts to darken. Before nightfall and darkness enshroud us, we will spend 1.5 hours exploring the forest, with regular torches as it gets darker, identifying woodland mushrooms, plants and critters, and finding hotspots with the highest concentrations of interesting species. We will then take a break as we wait for the darkness to peak, and enjoy foraged refreshments to keep us warm and fuelled up: wild mushroom miso soup & foraged mugwort focaccia; wild tea with lavender cookies. At 8.30pm the level of darkness will be perfect for us to retrace our steps, each person will be given their own UV torch & this is when the spectacular hidden-in-plain-sight colours of the forest will be revealed! As we revisit our most interesting finds, we will see what incredible biofluorescent secrets are revealed in the organisms, undoubtedly there will be new and exciting discoveries for all of our guests, and us! We are so excited to bring you this new offering, the first time I explored the forest in this way with him was absolutely mind-blowingly amazing, I can’t wait to share it with you!

Cancellation Policy

Refunds will only be issued if Gourmet Gatherings is forced to cancel an event due to circumstances such as dangerous weather. If you need to cancel or reschedule, please contact us 14 days or more, before the booked experience to be refunded or to reschedule. If the weather is prohibitive, we will contact you to rearrange. It is not possible to offer a refund for any cancelled bookings made within the appropriate time frame, for which alternative dates are available.

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