Where it all began…

One of the main reasons the UK government have a hard time regulating Magic Mushrooms in the UK is that they grow here naturally, in abundance!

Magic mushrooms grow in many countries around the World. Magic Mushrooms have been consumed in the UK hundreds of years, at least. The first documented case of Magic Mushrooms in the UK was  in London’s Green Park in 1799 when a man who had been picking mushrooms for breakfast accidentally sent his entire family on a trip. It sounds hilarious on the surface, but could you imagine feeling those affects back in 1799?! Witchcraft! There are a lot of Vikings shows on TV lately. Some of them depict Vikings as having consumed Magic Mushrooms. This has been dispelled as a myth though, as much as I love anything Viking. The reason being that the most likely Magic Mushroom that they will have consumed was the Amanita Muscaria, you know, the stereotypical Mario mushroom. All of the information points to the Vikings consuming this mushroom ready for battle. The myth doesn’t make sense though because if you know this mushroom, you will know that it would be no good for warriors going into battle.

The Godfather of Magic Mushrooms, Terence McKenna who died in 2000, was paramount to bringing Magic Mushroom knowledge to the general public after becoming infatuated with psychedelics. It was way back 1969 that McKenna travelled to Nepal where he sought out Tibetan Shamans having already having a thirst for Psychedelics.

It was Terence, his brother, Dennis McKenna and a few friends  who travelled to Columbia after their Mother’s death in 1970 who travelled to Columbia in search of a plant containing DMT. The plant, Anadenanthera peregrina is also known as yopo, jopo, cohoba, parica or calcium tree. This plant has been used in healing rituals for thousands of years. Guess what though, they didn’t find it! Instead, what they found were fields-upon-fields of Psilocybe Cubensis mushrooms, you know, the mushrooms that you are on this website to learn about! 

The brothers spent a number of years learning about this species of mushroom, documenting their research before releasing a book titled Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower’s Guide: A Handbook for Psilocybin Enthusiasts. They actually released this book under the pseudonyms O.T. Oss and O.N. Oeric. What’s the relevance of this information? The two brothers were the first to cultivate magic mushrooms indoors. Without them, a lot of what we are able to do would be impossible as it would be unknown.

Finding Magic Mushrooms UK

So this brings us on to finding magic mushrooms in the UK. We understand that growing mushrooms isn’t for everybody and that different people want mushrooms for different reasons, be it for recreational or medicinal use. There are four or five different types of Magic Mushrooms in the UK, but we will focus on the most common variety of magic mushroom that people are looking for in the UK.

Forewarning Before Picking Magic Mushrooms in the UK

Psilocin is a banned substance in the UK. It is in fact a Class A drug and has been since 1971. There used to be a loophole in the UK law where the terminology didn’t include fresh mushrooms but specifically stated that dried or packaged mushrooms were illegal. This was because dried mushrooms are dried for storage ready to consume. This loophole was closed in 2005 when the law added in the terminology ‘fresh mushrooms’ as well as dry or packaged. You can read about the loophole and subsequent change of law here in a Daily Mail article and you can read the UK law in section 21 here on the UK Government website.

Psilocybe Semilanceata – Libery Cap / Libs

Liberty Caps are the most sought after mushrooms when foraging for Magic Mushrooms in the UK. They are stronger than Psilocybe Cubensis mushrooms and grow around Autumn time. As you can see in the image, they are distinctive by the nipple on top of the cap. They are relatively small, typically smaller than 2cm but sometimes slightly larger. You can see in the image showing the hand that they can vary in colour depending on a number of factors such as age, temperature, humidity & weather.

One way to identify if this is indeed a Liberty Cap is to take a spore print. To do this, you remove the cap and place it cap side down on a piece of paper with a glass over it and wait for the spores to drop. You can read more about Spore prints here. The glass is simply to prevent any drafts blowing the spores away. If the spores have an almost brown/purple colour to them then this is possibly a Liberty Cap. If you are inexperienced at identifying Liberty Caps then it is imperative that you get a second opinion before consuming. I cannot express this enough as there are mushrooms in the UK that will kill you. Liberty Caps grow in fielded areas and can often be found in higher up areas where cattle such as sheep freely roam. Farmers fields that aren’t used for crops are a good place to start! They love to grow in Autumn time but providing the weather conditions are right, they can grow into winter too.

Magic Mushroom Map UK

There is an amazing free resource called the Magic Mushroom Map (I have no affiliation with them) which is an interactive map showing where is likely that you will find magic mushrooms in the UK. They use historical data along with other data points to make predictions on when and where to go looking.

Where I go Foraging

I’m local to the Bolton area and there are a few places around here that are good spots for foraging in Autumn. Over the years I have noticed that more and more people are actively foraging in and around Rivington, specifically around the Winter Hill area. Here’s a nice interactive map of the area I mean. The fields below the Pike Tower in the map below.

Alternatives to Foraging?

You could always take a look at our Golden Teacher Spores. We legally sell them for microscopic research purposes. This means that you can legally buy magic mushroom spores or purchase our most popular Golden Teacher spores from us. We also sell mushroom grow kits if you wanted to grow mushrooms. We’ve had thousands of happy customers and are with you from start to finish.