There's not mushroom for doubt in the forest

Apart from the obvious reds, yellows, oranges and browns of leaves, berries and bracken, there is also a more subtle range of colours to be enjoyed, courtesy of the woodland fungi.

And not just colours; but shapes, sizes and textures too, for fungi are amazingly varied.

Autumn is normally the peak time for fungi, but the weather plays an important part. If it's mild and damp, we can expect to see a wide range.

If it's too dry we won't see many at all.

Last autumn, was a very poor one for fungi, although they compensated for it later by appearing in unseasonable numbers during the spring and so-called summer of this year.

There are around 3,000 species of larger fungi in Britain, with over 1,000 species of plants and animals depending on them for survival, whether for food, shelter or protection from disease.

But we ourselves have a somewhat wary relationship with wild fungi, in striking contrast to our neighbours in mainland Europe, who value them highly and look forward to harvesting and eating them each autumn.

In Britain, we tend to prefer tasteless, mass-produced mushrooms sweating inside supermarket clingfilm.

This may not be entirely a bad thing because there is some reason to be nervous of eating wild fungi.

You really do need to know what you're doing, because a very few species are so toxic that they can be fatal.

Others simply taste unpleasant, or don't taste of anything at all. Some ("magic mushrooms") are hallucinogenic, but we won't go into that.

About 30 species are considered good to eat, and interest in these is growing fast.

Every autumn, increasing numbers of people take part in "fungus forays", often organised by local authority countryside services and led by rangers. Local wildlife trusts sometimes organise fungus forays too.

However, fungi are an essential part of the ecosystem and it's essential that they are harvested sustainably.

English Nature and the Forestry Commission have drawn up a code of conduct which is available from www.english-nature.org.uk or by calling 01733 455101.

There is no space here to list the guidelines contained within the code, but it is important to emphasise that it is illegal, without prior permission, to pick fungi in protected areas or on Forestry Commission land.

Wyre Forest belongs to both these categories so if you are interested in picking fungi you must first contact the local forestry office.

A better idea is to join a fungus foray led by an expert. Better still, simply admire fungi and leave them for others to admire too.

And then, when their brief life as fruiting bodies is over, they will return to the soil to continue their vital role in the woodland ecosystem.

n Face the visitor centre, with your back to the woodpecker tree (a children's climbing frame) and look to the right, where you'll see a post marking a path which forms part of five different colour-coded routes, all initially heading in the same direction.

Three of them are waymarked with coloured bands around the post (red, green and yellow), the other two with arrows (green and blue).

Walk past the post. A little further on the path splits but it doesn't matter which option you choose as the two soon merge into one again. Keep straight on at the next junction, then left at another, by a butterfly sign.

Turn right at a junction marked by a yellow-banded post, just after a bench. Walk to another junction and turn left, following the combined red and green routes now.

A little further along, fork right on a bridleway, indicated by a horseshoe waymark, then fork right again at another horseshoe. Eventually, with a field on your right, you'll find you're approaching the far edge of the forest. Turn sharp left before you reach it, at another horseshoe, and keep straight on at all subsequent junctions, until you reach a T-junction.

Turn right, joining the red route, and you'll soon come to a giant signpost.

Turn left, towards the visitor centre, still on the red route. Walk to a cross-paths and turn right, leaving the red route and joining a cycleway.

Keep straight on at all junctions, passing an arboretum. Before long you'll find you're back on the red route, which joins the cycleway from the left.

Turn left towards the visitor centre when you come to another giant signpost. You're still on the red route, and you need to keep alert for the point at which it makes a sharp left turn.

Eventually, you will come to a post with a square red plate on it, displaying the number eleven. A few paces further on there is a cross-paths by a pond. Turn right here, on a bridleway (horseshoe waymark). Descend to a T-junction and turn left on a combined cycleway/bridleway.

Before long the red route rejoins again from the left. Keep straight on at the next junction. Turn left when you come to another giant signpost, following the combined red and green routes to the visitor centre.

PLEASE NOTE: This walk has been carefully checked and the directions are believed to be accurate at the time of publication. No responsibility is accepted by either the author or publisher for errors or omissions, or for any loss, accident or injury, however caused.

FACTFILE

Start: Wyre Forest Visitor Centre at Callow Hill, on A456 west of Bewdley, grid ref SO750740.

Length: 4 miles/6.4km.

Maps: OS Explorer 218, OS Landranger 138.

Terrain: Woodland. Mostly level, with some gentle slopes.

Footpaths: Superb.

Stiles: None.

Parking: At visitor centre.

Public transport: Train or bus (300 on Sundays, 303 hourly on weekdays, complemented by the infrequent 293/294) to Kidderminster (or Bewdley on Sundays) then Ludlow service 292 to visitor centre. Traveline 0870 608 2608 or www.traveline.org.uk

n Refreshments: Warm, welcoming, award-winning caf at visitor centre.