Truffle Hunting In Tuscany, £217pp
During the damper autumn months when the ground is still warm from the long Italian summer, fungi and truffles are among the abundant harvests being cropped in Tuscany and Umbria.
Guests staying at Borgo San Biagio, a magnificent and lovingly renovated hamlet 55km from Perugia, are invited to take part in truffle hunting on a local estate, and witness truffle-hunting dogs search out these highly-prized tubers. A mornings truffle hunt in the wooded countryside can be rewarded with a truffle tasting lunch with local wines. Parties of 10, 16 or 20 can enjoy the hamlet’s extensive lawned grounds and communal reception areas, formed from the original chapel and outbuildings, from £217pp, based on 20 sharing. Borgo San Biagios individual private houses, set metres from each other, sleep from two to four guests and include a four storey medieval tower for two with a roof-top terrace and hot tub, each retaining the hamlet’s original rustic stone features.
A weeks rental costs £2530 for 10 guests, £3600 for 16 guests and £4340 for 20 guests.
CV Travel, 020 7401 1039, www.cvtravel.co.uk
Olive harvesting in Provence, £570pp
Join local harvesters raking ripe olives from gnarled olive trees on a 25 acre estate in southernProvence, France. Those staying at the majestic country house `Notre Dame du Val’ in late November will have the opportunity to join in the harvest at their leisure, rake olives from the trees into the nets around the base, join harvesters for soup and sandwiches and learn about how the olive oil is processed. The estate produces some of the highest quality olive oil in the region, with the coveted AOC Aix-en-Provence accreditation, and guests participating in the harvest will be given a five litre container of olive oil to take home.
Notre Dame du Val is set in 25 acres of formal gardens, orchards, olive groves and woodland and when not joining the harvesters, up to fourteen guests can relax in its expansive and grand, majestically furnished accommodation, with grounds that includes a heated private pool, tennis court and gym in the orangery.
Rental is currently reduced from £9785 / week (14 sharing) to £7985 / week (saving £1800), equivalent to £571 per person, and is available through CV Travel, 020 7401 1044, www.cvtravel.co.uk
Harvest at home, hunt, gather and forage
Herefordshire is brimming with food producers and guests staying at The Court, a stately htrome set in fifteen acres of formal gardens and natural meadows near Hereford, can take part in apple picking in local orchards, visit cheese making farms and take part in a wine-discovery tour of local award winning vineyards. A weekend house party `food forage’ can be arranged at the stunning house sleeping up to 20 people until late November, organised by renowned chef Matt Tebutt and his forager Raoul. Guests would join a walk through the estate and the countryside to find fungi and foliage, returning to The Court to learn about how to prepare and cook the naturally found produce. For a more manly take on a weekend in the country, The Court will also organise `hunter / gatherer weekends, which combine shooting, fishing, foraging and cooking.
A weekend stay at The Court costs £2785 for for a party of 12. A weeks stay for 12 costs £6000, or £6500 for up to 16 people or £7500 for up to 20 people. The food foraging and hunter / gatherer experience is on request and payable locally, and can be organised upon booking through CV Travel, 020 7401 1086, www.cvtravel.co.uk
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