A faery-tale scene, close to the Forth Bridges in South Queensferry, near Edinburgh. Malcolm brought me to this enchanted spot this morning. He’d stumbled upon this treasure yesterday whilst walking Rosie doggo in the woods under the iconic red railway bridge.

I must admit I did question whether he had set it up! It did look ‘too perfect’!

Pretty Perfect

I am delighted to confirm that there was no hocus pocus involved! These fungi are indeed growing out of a mossy bed in a nest!

One of my favourite books as a child was about a wee pixie called Pip. In ‘The Adventures of Pip’, Enid Blyton wrote about ‘A Nice Little Pot of Glue’. Pip made glue from the sticky buds of horse chestnut, keeping it in acorn cups. And he inadvertently painted male blackbird’s beaks yellow when they looked closely into his tin of yellow paint. I think this nest of Scarlet Elf Cups would be quite at home in Pip’s pages!

Magical Moments

Unlike Pip the pixie – a playful sprite – an elf is believed to be a glowing spirit, protecting nature. I wonder if it’s the alcoholic type of spirit which enables glimpses of elves in the woodland… I like to think the elves themselves might use the cups for some special spring-time spirituals!

We first came across Scarlet Elf Cups [Sarcoscypha coccinea] on a foraging course with Galloway Wild Food’s Mark Williams. They are a firm favourite where they are abundant. They are easily identified and without any look-a-likes (bar the Ruby Elf Cup, which can only be distinguished using a microscope). Both are edible, though Mark advises to eat a small amount of cooked fungi the first time of trying – just to be on the safe side.

Full Flavoured

We’ve enjoyed them in salads, soups and stews, but there is nothing quite as good as a shared nibble in the woods in the fresh air with the whisper of the faeries on the wind…

(We left these elf cups exactly as we found them!)