Edible seaweed foraging courses in Devon

Devon seaweed foraging courses

What to expect on your Devon seaweed foraging course

Step into the fascinating world of coastal foraging as you discover the incredible diversity of edible seaweeds along Devon’s beautiful shoreline.

During our time together, you’ll be introduced to a remarkable variety of edible seaweeds – learning when and where to collect them, their nutritional profiles, sustainable harvesting methods, and their distinctive tastes and textures.

If luck is on your side, you might even encounter the prized pepper dulse, known as the “truffle of the sea” for its exceptional umami flavour.

You’ll have the opportunity to sample various prepared seaweeds – dried, roasted, and crisped – including sea lettuce, dulse, pepper dulse, oarweed, wakame, sea spaghetti, and furbellows.

To showcase seaweed’s culinary versatility, you’ll also taste delicious laverbread oatcakes and dulse pâté, opening your eyes to the gastronomic potential of these marine plants.

The course goes far beyond basic identification, covering:

  • Sustainable foraging techniques tailored to each species’ growth patterns
  • How to identify clean gathering locations
  • Understanding tides and intertidal zonation
  • Introduction to seaweed biology, morphology, and habitats
  • Nutritional benefits and medicinal applications
  • Processing techniques for home use
  • Using seaweed as a natural fertiliser for gardens and houseplants
  • Historical and cultural uses throughout the ages
  • Creative applications in crafts, including cyanotypes and pressing techniques

You’ll even learn about seaweed-based body care, with a demonstration of hair and body wash made from three seaweeds and five plants, plus samples to try.

Adam Reeve (your guide) is a current BSc student in Marine Biology and Coastal Ecology.

He is a member of the British Phycological Society with advanced seaweed identification training.

Adam has been a regular speaker at the Clovelly Seaweed Festival since 2017 – ensuring you receive expert, scientifically-sound instruction throughout your coastal adventure.

Price and location

  • Time: See below as it varies depending on the tide.
  • Location: 30 minutes outside Exeter. Accessible by car or bus (location revealed after you book). The precise location is revealed after booking
  • No dogs allowed as the beach is dog free
  • Cost: £65 per person

2025 seaweed foraging course dates

Click the dates below to book places.

Please note that the email address Adam receives with your booking is your PayPal registered address; if this is an out-of-use email address, he won’t be able to contact you with course details.

Important: Adam Reeve takes all bookings. Eatweeds only lists courses. If you have a question, please send him an email at, adam.reeve235@gmail.com

Get updated when new dates are released

Join my course announcement list, and I’ll let you know new dates 24 hours before anyone else. You’ll hear first, even before the dates go public, so you get the first choice.

Those hours of your course on the beach were fascinating. A whole world has opened up that was under my feet but remained almost invisible. It will remain a highlight of my life. You’re a great teacher. I enjoyed the mix of practical and information at different levels of complexity. – Melanie, May 2023

Thank you for such a brilliant session! I really enjoyed the mix of knowledge, tasting, and the tips for foraging ourselves. I look forward to applying these learnings on my trips to the coast. – Leona, March 2024

Adam Reeve is your edible seaweed foraging course guide

Many years back from the confines of my vegetable plot I was taken on a journey sparked by the curiosity of the acorn. “Can it be used for food. If so, how? What about the beech nut? And all these leaves and flowers! ” As they say, ‘from tiny acorns …’

I went on to complete a year-long practical course of study in wild food covering inland and coastal plants through the season, fungi and, of course, seaweed.

It was seaweed which caught my imagination and lured me to live ever closer to the coast in Devon where I have taught on seaweed walks, delivered demonstrations at the Clovelly Seaweed Festival and given talks at local community events.

There is a magic held within the inter-tidal zone where, at low tide, the jewels of the ocean are uncovered for only a short time before being consumed once more by the beautiful brine.

Seaweed can play a vital role in our daily life, our health and well-being. As well as being packed full of nutrients, they also have anti-cancer properties, support gut health and can help manage Type 2 diabetes.

So, do you recoil or rejoice at the thought of filling your soups and stir-fries full of seaweed? Can you tell the difference the wracks from the kelps? Allow me to guide you through the channels and rocks pools and reveal the wonderful world of seaweed!

Devon seaweed foraging courses

Here’s what people have said about previous edible seaweed foraging courses

Thank you very much for this and for a lovely afternoon on Saturday. We both really enjoyed it. You are a very interesting person and it is so nice to meet someone so passionate about what they do. Thank you so much for all the info. – Sarah-Jane, September 2024

Rob and I really enjoyed the course. We especially liked your detailed explanation of all the different seaweeds and the fact that you had brought all those tasing samples for us – appreciated all the effort you put into that. Would love to keep in touch as we continue our journey! – Jane and Rob, September 2024

Just wanted to thank you soo much for a great session yesterday, I found it soo informative and very interesting. You are very good at explaining everything. I’m trying the kelp method now. Good luck with your studies and hopefully we will see you again at a book signing. – Sandi, September 2024

I had a great afternoon and came away inspired to find out more about seaweed and certainly to cook with it. Thank you. – Jane, July 2024

Thank you very much, Adam. I really enjoyed the afternoon and learnt a lot. I made some dulse and sea lettuce crisps in the air fryer which were tasty. Thank you for all the info. I look forward to carrying on learning about seaweeds. – Karen, July 2024

We wanted to say how much we enjoyed the foraging and can’t wait to practice although will need to go further west, away from the muddy Severn and our leaky sewage plant! – Eleanor and Simon, June 2024

It was such an amazing course – thank you! Thank you again. Happy foraging. – Annie, June 2024

Thank you for such a brilliant session! I really enjoyed the mix of knowledge, tasting, and the tips for foraging ourselves. I look forward to applying these learnings on my trips to the coast. – Leona, March 2024

Thank you so much for the list below and all the links. I think my favourite is the seaweed and soda cocktail. David and I both enjoyed Saturday’s journey through your seaweed knowledge. We found it engaging, interesting, extensive and delicious. There were many advantages to coming on the course in March. The spring tide, the cheap car park, the relatively empty beach, hopefully dogs with balls notwithstanding. The weather did not postpone us but it did chill me to the bone despite my many layers. But overall definitely an experience I shall talk about enthusiastically to anyone who will listen. – Claire and David, March 2024