Wild food walk and boiler

We all had a fab time this evening on a guided wild food hunt at Lee Moor Farm (thanks to Ian for the loan of the farm and Anna for the guiding.) Anna gave us a short introduction and a cautionary tale about foraging for wild food - there are plants that look very similar to ones that are beneficial that can harm people, so there is a real need to be careful. If you are as knowledgeable as Anna, though, this is no problem and she shared her vast knowledge with us and even cooked some of it afterwards! We were all able to try some nettle soup made from ingredients entirely sourced in Northumberland - the nettles were picked during the walk.

While Anna cooked, the rest of us took a look at Ian's biomass boiler which heats both domestic and commercial property at Lee Moor. The wood for the fuel is also grown at the farm. Ian gave us a fascinating insight into the pros and cons of what is actually a very simple technology in it's basic form, vastly improved with the boiler at Lee Moor. Ian is in the process of tooling up for a factory to manufacture biomass boilers in the North East, so if you're in the market for one you know where to go!