Fungi Town is an annual three-day community led arts and science festival that celebrates fungi through talks, art, film, science and education.
The weekend has now finished and we will start on plans for 2027 - here is a list of what took place this year…
Hear Marlow Renton of Wild Food UK describe and introduce wild edible fungi and answer your burning mushroom questions!
Cook On The Wild Side!He will then demonstrate some amazing mushroom recipes from the Wild Food UK Forager’s Cookbook.
Free entry at The Globe at Hay
Fungi Town invites everyone to join our joyful mushroom parade. Wonderbrass, Wales’s biggest fun-loving community brass band, will lead the parade, from the Market Square to the Castle lawn, bringing the outdoor party with a mixture of jazz, pop, ska, funk and fun. We'd love to see some fungi fancy dress or just come as yourself and get in the fungi-groove to red hot interpretation of songs you know and love. Remember mushrooms dance best in the rain!
Join Tim Kaye from Cultivating Learning and Nature for a fungi hunt. Whether you’re a curious beginner or experienced mycologist, all are welcome. Dress for the weather, wear sturdy boots and, if you have them, bring a basket, small containers, penknife and hand lens. NB: This isn't a forage for food, but a chance to get a closer look at Hay's rich fungal diversity.
Meet at the Treehouse Cafe on the other side of the Wye.
Tickets £5 from Hay Castle website
Join James Scrivens from Coed Talylan for a practical introduction to growing your own oyster mushrooms at home. Oyster mushrooms are one of the easiest mushrooms to cultivate, making them a great place to start for beginners.
The workshop will explore several simple ways of growing oyster mushrooms using readily available materials and low-tech methods. You’ll learn the basic principles of mushroom cultivation, how to get a crop started, and some straightforward techniques you can try at home without specialist equipment. No previous mushroom-growing experience needed.
Salem Baptist Chapel, Bell Bank, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5AQ
SOLD OUT
Most of Britain’s mature oak trees carry heart-rot, a slow hollowing of the trunk caused by fungi. Far from being a disease to fear, heart-rot is one of the reasons the trees survive as long as they do, and provide one of the richest of woodland habitats.
Rich Wright has over 20 years of mycological experience, having held posts at Kew, Cardiff University and Plantlife. His research has taken him deep into the hollows of Britain's oldest oak trees, characterising the community of fungi that live there, and understanding how we can better protect them in the future.
In this talk, Rich rethinks decay, not as an ending, but as part of how ancient oaks, and the woodland around them, keep going.
Tickets £12 from Hay Castle website
Spend a morning playing around with collage. Using a selection of different paper materials to create super cute fungi pictures. All materials supplied and all abilities welcome. Refreshments provided.
Date/time: Sunday 4 October 10:30am-12pm
Location: The Oil & Oak Workshop, Castle Street, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5DF
Price: £20
Booking: https://www.oilandoak.co.uk/whats-on/p/meet-make-creative-workshop-jywz8-4pchh-actw7-52b5j-y4z2b
The Puff Ball is Fungi Town's big party on Saturday night at the Globe, featuring a set from local DJ and permaculture farmer Redwood - expect highly danceable underground electronic, breaks, afro house techno vibe….
There will be plenty of drinks including mushroom cocktails available and also a live action mushroom dance to Fungi Town's signature tune, brought to you by semi-professional line dancers Johnny 'Shapes' Furze and Dave 'Shapes' Prescott (disclaimer: Johnny and Dave are not semi-professional line dancers).
Feel free to dress in your most ridiculous mushroom-inspired clothes. Feel free, also, to bring puffballs, real or improvised.
Tickets £5 from Hay Castle website
What would a poem look like if it grew instead of being written? Mycologist and poet Nathan Smith has spent years finding out, developing forms of poetry shaped by the way fungi actually grow, branching, spreading, and reproducing without a fixed centre.
In this workshop, held fittingly in Hay’s Poetry Bookshop, Nathan introduces fungally-informed poetic structures and practices, and guides you through writing your own. No previous knowledge of fungi or poetry required. Just curiosity, and a pen and paper.
Poetry Bookshop, The Pavement, Lion Street, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5BU
Tickets from Hay Castle website
Saturday 3 October, 6-7pm
Somewhere in Kew Gardens sits a room holding 1.25 million dried fungi, roughly 60% of every fungal species known to science. It is the largest and most scientifically important collection of its kind in the world, and Lee Davies has spent his career running it.
From expeditions in Madagascar to teaching fieldwork techniques to visiting scientists, Lee has built a fascinating working life around fungi in all their weird and surprising diversity.
Join Fungi Town's Dave Prescott for a conversation with Lee about the specimens, the expeditions, and the fungi he's come to know best.
Tickets £12 from Hay Castle website
We're so excited to bring our unique social cinema formula to Fungi Town this October. As 99p Films, we've got an evening of breath-work, documentaries, group discussions and a feast coming right up! Roll-up to our pop-up cinema for films about mushrooms; stay for the stroganoff.
We're excited to partner with The Culturing Dish, a network of researchers, cultivators, educators and artists across England and Ireland. Openly sharing knowledge of all things related to fungi; members from The Culturing Dish will be there on the night to answer any questions with expertise.
Tickets CLICK HERE
Professor Andy Letcher of Exeter University discusses with Nina Lyon the cultural history of the magic mushroom. There is renewed interest in the potential of psychedelics to address a number of stubborn mental illnesses, as well as a burgeoning psychedelic underground, driven especially by people travelling to the Amazon to consume ayahuasca in healing ceremonies. In this talk Andy will challenge many of the myths that have arisen around magic mushrooms, answering questions such as: were the builders of Stonehenge tripping and was Santa Claus originally a mushroom munching shaman?
SOLD OUT
Fungi have long been the forgotten kingdom of conservation. Too hidden, too strange, too easy to miss. They weren’t even identified as their own kingdom of life - neither plant nor animal - until 1969!
Cardiff University's Dr Sarah Christofides is on a mission to change how we think about fungi and their importance to the natural world. She once built a scale model of Britain entirely out of soil, using blocks of fungus-colonised wood, sized to match, to stand in for its cities. “The fungi grew out from the ‘cities’ and made the motorway network” she said. “You could see the M5, M4, M1, M6.”
In this talk, discover the fungal species driving a major new conservation effort, learn why this matters and how you can get involved.
Tickets £12 from Hay Castle website
Lion's Mane, Reishi, Cordyceps, Turkey Tail: medicinal mushrooms are everywhere and promising miraculous results, but what does the evidence actually say? This beginner-friendly talk unpicks the evidence from the hype, explores the modern and traditional uses of medicinal fungi, and looks at how to identify good products.
A fascinating discussion between Kit Ondaatje Rolls, Hania Opienski and Oli Genn-Bash.
Tickets £12 from Hay Castle website
There are more species of fungi than plants and vertebrates combined, and almost all of them work unseen. Without fungi, life on land could not survive.
Professor Lynne Boddy MBE has spent her career studying this hidden kingdom. She has been a driving force behind UK Fungus Day and is one of the UK's leading fungal ecologists and most engaging communicators of fungal science.
In this masterclass, she introduces the kingdom that quietly runs the world above and below our feet.
SOLD OUT
Spend an afternoon experimenting with printing with mushrooms. We’ll learn and then use a selection of different techniques to create abstract prints of our favourite fungi. All materials supplied and all abilities welcome. Refreshments provided.
Date/time: Saturday 3 October 1.30pm-3pm
Location: The Oil & Oak Workshop, Castle Street, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5DF
Price: £20
Booking: https://www.oilandoak.co.uk/whats-on/p/meet-make-creative-workshop-jywz8-4pchh-actw7-52b5j
Join Jassy Drakulic and Lorin Von Longo-Liebenstein for an outdoor workshop on Hay Castle lawn.
Against popular belief, mushroom growing in gardens does not only work behind the house, tucked away in the shade. There are many ways to include fungi into gardens and even more good reasons to do so. Fungi play an incredibly important role in most ecosystems and including them in your garden can bring a variety of benefits to your green space that go beyond a delicious harvest.
SOLD OUT
In 2017, Dr Jassy Drakulic asked UK gardeners to report their sightings of honey fungus. Hundreds responded. It was the start of research that has reshaped how the RHS thinks about fungi in our gardens, not as pests to be eradicated, but as an ecosystem already quietly at work beneath our feet.
Jassy is a Senior Plant Pathologist at the RHS and author of the new book RHS Fungi for Gardeners. In this talk, she asks whether typical gardening habits are suppressing fungal life that is already helping your plants, and explains what recent research reveals about what is really going on underground.
You will come away with practical, low-effort changes: what to leave alone, what to avoid, and how to garden alongside fungi rather than against them.
Tickets £12 through Hay Castle website
Come and see, smell and touch some of the incredible mushrooms, toadstools and lichens growing wild around Hay. Bring in unusual fungi and see if our team of experts and enthusiasts can identify them.
FREE
Discover the microscopic world of soil and fungi with Hay Regenerative Soils & Soil Smiths from Soil Ecology Lab. Bring a sample from your compost heap to look at under a microscope, identify fungal hyphae, spores and microorganisms from the soil food web. Learn about the importance of below-ground biodiversity whilst checking if your compost heap is active. Encouragement to draw what you see, feel & talk about whilst looking down the microscope to be a part of an ongoing community exhibition of soils & fungi.
Taking place in the Great Hall all weekend between 10am and 4pm
Find the perfect gift for the mushroom lover in your life in Hay Castle’s pop-up fungal emporium.
Beetle Bird Hare (ceramics)
Lizzie Harper Illustrator
Marches Mushrooms
Wild Batch Ltd (kombucha)
Mycobio (tinctures)
Tertrim Teas
The Castle gift shop will also be selling a range of mushroom merchandise for every occasion in the Great Hall.
Join Tim Kaye from Cultivating Learning and Nature for a fungal exploration of Dorstone’s churchyard. Discover how important fungi are, find and identify as many types as possible, and play a game of Fungo!
This activity is part of the Dorstone Settlement Timeline project, based at St Faith's Church Dorstone, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
St Faith's Church, Dorstone, Hereford HR3 6AW (10am-1pm)
Free - drop in
The Castle's Columbian Printing press will be action, making fungi related letterpress prints.
Printers Graeme Hobbs and Francesca Kay demonstrate printing, and present a range of their own work, all with mushroom theme.
After last year’s sell-out talk, we’re delighted to welcome Ali Mac — AKA The FUNgi Guy — back to Fungi Town for another fungi-filled adventure, delivered in his own wonderfully inimitable style. Expect games, puppets, questionable props and plenty of audience participation. In Ali’s world, learning about fungi is anything but a chore.
Tickets £12/£6 through Hay Castle website
Ever wondered where our knowledge of fungi came from? Dr Nathan Smith, FLS, senior mycologist for the National Museum of Wales, explores the histories of fungi and the people that study them. Expect stories of drinking, betrayal, and a fair bit of mushroom-eating. There may even be a song or two!
Tickets £12 through Hay Castle website
Spend a cosy evening creating Mosaic Mushrooms. Learn the basics of mosaic making and come home with a mosaic mushroom of your own design. All materials supplied and all abilities welcome. Refreshments provided.
Date/time: Friday 2 October 6pm-7.30pm
Location: The Oil & Oak Workshop, Castle Street, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5DF
Price: £25
Booking: https://www.oilandoak.co.uk/whats-on/p/meet-make-creative-workshop-jywz8-4pchh
This talk will provide the very latest insights into the use of mycoremediation - the use of mushrooms to clean and filter water - in a rapidly growing project being undertaken by Flete Field Lab CIC. Alice Sophia Pefanis and Honor Wolf are jointly offering this talk. They bring together expertise in mycology, fungal ecology, ecosystem restoration, and community engagement to support research, education, and practical environmental action.
Tickets £5 from Hay Castle Website
Join seasoned guide, Head of Nature at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, and self-declared ‘mushroom tickler’ Dan Ryan, for a family-friendly fungi hunt through the hills above Hay. Whether you’re a curious beginner or experienced mycologist, all are welcome. Dress for the weather, wear sturdy boots and, if you have them, bring a basket, small containers, penknife and hand lens.
The forage will be walking to Cusop.
NB: This isn't a forage for food, but a chance to get a closer look at Hay's rich fungal diversity, and collect specimens to display in the castle.
Tickets £5 through Hay Castle website
Lorin Von Longo-Liebenstein and Kit Ondaatje Rolls join Hay Primary School pupils for an introduction to the weird and wonderful world of fungi. From glowing mushrooms to growing mushrooms and everything in between.
As Hay is transformed into the UK’s first ever Fungi Town, local shops will be dressing for the occasion. Take a tour of the town’s shop windows and choose your favourite display. People's choice votes can be made at Oil & Oak (deliver to the GIANT mushroom).
You can also collect the letters on your journey, find them all and decipher the mushroom name and be entered into our prize draw for a chance to win an epic fungi award. Trail Maps can be found at Oil & Oak, Hay Castle and Londis, completed maps can be given in at Oil & Oak, deliver to the GIANT mushroom.
Shops involved include: Addymans Books - Baka Bakery - Bartrums - Dugans - Gay-on-Wye - Golesworthys - Hay-on-Wye Booksellers - Bohemian Folk - Hay Deli- Londis - North Books - Oil & Oak - The Wobbly Owl and many more!
Marlow Renton demonstrates some amazing mushroom recipes from the new Wild Food UK Forager’s Cookbook.
Mushrooms are woven into Japan’s food culture, valued for their rich flavours, textures and umami. Enjoy a Japanese lunch by Kazuko of Belmont House, featuring four carefully prepared mushroom dishes, accompanied by traditional shiitake mushroom tea. 12pm until 6pm
£25 per person belmonthouse@btinternet.com 07983 523989
Visit Hay’s Saturday market - the last of 2026 - and discover speciality foods, artisan makers, local producers, gatherers and vintage resellers.
The vibe is always relaxed. Visitors can shop, sample produce, and sit on the square and Castle terraces to eat, drink and soak up the Fungi Town ambience.
The square has a focus on food, with the Buttermarket showcasing fledgling and established designer makers.
Timings: 3 Oct, 10am-4pm
Free
Join us at FIR By Matt Sampson for a special evening, Matt and his team will be putting together a full tasting menu focussing around some of his favourite mushrooms and truffles all the way through from snacks to desserts! Friday 2nd October with very limited availability.
6:15-6:30PM Arrival
65 GBP Per Person
6 Course Tasting menu focussing on Mushrooms + Truffles all the way through
Bookable via our website https://restaurantfir.co.uk/
Origin Pizza champions quality produce and traditional methods, while bringing their own creative approach to seasonal toppings and flavour combinations. They are passionate about serving memorable food and sharing great pizza with great people. For Fungi Town, Origin Pizza is embracing the festival spirit with a selection of mushroom-led specials, showcasing fungi in all their delicious forms alongside their much-loved favourites.
Hay Cinema Bookshop
Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd October in the evenings from 17:30 - 20:30
Website: https://www.originpizza.com/
The Globe Kitchen.
For the Fungi Festival, The Globe Kitchen at The Globe at Hay will be serving a special mushroom-inspired burger, specially created for the festival. Come along and try our unique fungi-inspired creation, made especially for this celebration of all things mushrooms!
Mushroom Cocktails at The Globe
Join us at The Globe at Hay for a special mushroom-inspired cocktails created especially for our mushroom festival. We’ll be serving a selection of creative cocktails inspired by woodland flavours and seasonal ingredients, with drinks such as our Woodland Mule, vodka, ginger beer, fresh lime, mushroom syrup and rosemary. Come and enjoy a drink with a deliciously earthy twist while celebrating all things mushrooms at The Globe.
The Globe Café
Set inside a beautifully converted chapel in the heart of Hay-on-Wye, The Globe Café offers a unique range of mushroom-inspired drinks.Enjoy freshly brewed coffees, including creamy lattes, a selection of herbal teas, and our signature mushroom hot chocolate a rich and comforting twist on a classic favourite. A cosy and welcoming space to discover something a little different, one cup at a time.
The Old Black Lion are putting on some special, exciting dishes inspired by all things fungi. Our Chef team are busy using different ingredients to create tasty, creative and moreish dishes which we'd love you to try over the weekend. Using local suppliers and ingredients we will enjoy celebrating this years' Fungi Town with unique plates of food to be enjoyed over the weekend.
Lunch service: 12 - 2
Evening Service 6 - late
Book online or call 01497820841
Dugan’s Food and Wine will be putting on special mushroom based food over the weekend of Fungi Town. You can find them on their website
Shepherds is joining Fungi Town with a special menu celebrating the variety of seasonal mushrooms. Alongside its popular grilled sandwiches, home-baked cakes, scones and savoury bakes, look out for wild mushroom, thyme and shallot tart, chestnut mushroom pinwheels, a roasted Portobello mushroom melt and a shiitake, Taleggio and parsley pesto toastie. And for something warming, try the special Fungi Town hot chocolate, made with dark chocolate, organic oat milk and Lion’s Mane powder.
Shepherd’s Parlour, 9 High Town, Hay, HR3 5AE
The Fudge Shop in Hay are making a Fungi Fudge for Hay's Fungi Weekend! Chocolate fudge with Lions Mane Mushrooms! 🍄
Only a limited number of bars of fudge will be made! Available to buy from the shop from the 2nd October 🍄
Baka will have a variety of mushroom themed baked goods on offer from garlic mushroom focaccia to our fan favourite mixed mushroom soup. As well as our mushroom specials our usual fresh baked sourdough bread, savoury pasties, French pastries and cakes will also be available.
Opening times for Fungi Town weekend:
Fri 2 Oct - 8am-2pm
Sat 3 Oct - 8am-2pm
Sun 4 Oct - 9am-2pm
Marlow Renton demonstrates some amazing mushroom recipes from the new Wild Food UK Forager’s Cookbook.
Hear Marlow Renton of Wild Food UK describe and introduce wild edible fungi and answer your questions.
Join local writer and yeast expert Simon Poffley from The Fermentarium for a deep dive into the fizzy, flavoursome world of yeast-based drinks. Learn about the cultural journey of kombucha from Tibet to California, wrap your taste-buds around different yeast-derived items, and create your own kombucha.
Tickets £25 from Hay Castle website
Join local author and forager Liz Knight from Forage Fine Foods on a masterclass to help you preserve and pickle seasonal food - including mushrooms!
Booking: Email tim@clan-cic.org
Opera singer and chef Haydn serves up home made garlic mushroom soup from Leaf Kitchen on Lion Street.
Baka Bakery will be featuring special mushroom fayre over the weekend of Fungi Town. You can find them on Facebook
Hay’s popular Saturday market will have plenty of treats in store for fungi lovers, from handmade foraging baskets by Sarah Adby, to specialty fungi from Marches Mushrooms, and don’t forget all the delicious yeast products, such as cheeses from Monkland Cheesmakers and 100% Hay, organic wine from Blackmountain Vineyard, and award-winning cider from Artistraw Cider.
