The hot summer weather followed by a warm and wet autumn has created the perfect conditions for fungi this autumn.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s second Fungi Festival includes foraging walks, ID walks, log inoculation workshops, talks, craft sessions, and storytelling. The Trust is also encouraging young people to join a mushroom march with DIY mushroom hats.

Potteric Carr is home to a huge range of fungi, including a rare fungus found in only one other place in the UK which is thought to have arrived by train.

Do you know your jelly ears from your inkcaps? Can you spot a collared earthstar, pick out a puffball and steer clear of a stinkhorn?

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s annual fungi festival is back for a second year on 11th and 12th October, with its largest and wildest events programme yet. The hot summer and warm and damp early autumn has led to a bumper year for spotting fungi in our woodlands and grasslands – perfect for fungi fanatics and those keen to spot their very first fly agaric.

Visitors to Potteric Carr nature reserve in Doncaster that weekend can enjoy
Guided walks to explore the very best of the reserve’s fungi magic;
Fungi-focused talks from Mid-Yorkshire Fungus Group;
Log inoculation workshops to learn to grow your own;
Fungi stories with Mud Pie Arts;
Mushroom craft sessions - mushroom model making, fungi face packs or cardboard mushroom hats!
A mushroom marketplace with local craftspeople – see what fungi-themed gifts you can pick up for the mushroom mad in your life;
And a Mushroom March – download our free mushroom hat pattern and come and join our Sunday celebration as we march around the reserve in honour of all things fungi!

Potteric Carr nature reserve is home to a huge range of fungus species, from witches hats to wood blewits – but its rarest and most famous is known only by its scientific name Allopsalliota geesterani. The fungus is usually found in the Netherlands and has only been discovered at one other site in the UK in Norfolk - its spores are believed to have blown onto Potteric Carr after hitching a ride on the outside of a train a number of years ago. The east coast mainline runs along the north side of the reserve and can be seen as trains arrive or depart in Doncaster. The fungus is well established now, with an extensive underground network that means the fruits appear in different parts of the site in different years – making it perfect for an autumn treasure hunt.

Joy Little, Inspiring People Manager for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: “Autumn isn’t in full swing until a woodland wander through bronzed trees reveals little fungi jewels popping their heads through the leaf litter. I always make sure to get out and see what I can spot – it’s such a brilliant way for all the family to spend some time in nature without needing too much wildlife knowledge.

“Our events programme at Fungi Festival this year is the biggest yet, and we are delighted that so many groups, crafters and organisations are coming together to help us celebrate the spookily magical world of mushrooms.

“We launched our fundraising appeal last month focusing on our woodlands and how vitally important they are for biodiversity in Yorkshire – including our fungi, which rely on the huge variety of different tree species and abundance of deadwood to flourish and provide food and shelter for other wildlife. They aren’t just spooky species – they’re essential for keeping soil nutrient rich and maintaining the wood wide web.”

Information is also available on Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s fungi festival webpage ywt.org.uk/fungi-festival/plan-your-trip packed with information about each event and activity, our free downloadable mushroom hat pattern, and details for booking.

If you can’t get to Doncaster for the Yorkshire Fungi Festival, there’s plenty to enjoy online at ywt.org.uk/fungi-festival where you can download our free Fun-guide bursting with ID guides, fact files, puzzles and more - everything you need to delve in to the magical world of fungi. Consider donating to the Trust’s autumn woodland appeal, and help us to keep our woodlands wild for years to come.