Stalker noticed in the post new year travel supplements that mushroom holidays are there to be booked already for November 07.
One can go truffling in Tuscany. As the promotional blurb puts it: "They can ,on certain occasions, make women more tender and men more lovable" as Dumas opined.
So try your luck on a truffle-hunting trip to Fattoria Barbialla Nuova, a farm near Pisa, where a two-night stay and loan of the farm's sniffer dog costs 167 GBP, through i-escape (00 44 117 942 8476, www.i-escape.com).
Fly to Pisa with Ryanair (if you dare) (00 44 871 246 000, www.ryanair.com) or BA (00 44 870 850 9850, www.ba.com).
Closer to home one could try and take in a forage for fungi in the genial company of "Big Bill" O’Dea, whose tutored mushroom hunts take place at Avondale House, Rathdrum Co.Wicklow generally in October.
To book call 00 353 404 46111. There are also walks organised from Longueville House in Mallow Co Cork (00353 22 47156).
Ballymaloe Cookery school do forays also at that time of year, when Darina Allen takes a walk on the wild side and participants go on a one day foraging course.
When it comes to mushrooms, Allen hands over to experts Roger and Olivia Goodwillie. Contact Ballymaloe on (00 353 21 4646 785).
There's gotta be the perfect mushrooming holiday for every mycophile out there.
