Wild Garlic at Formby:
Where to Find It in May

I grew up in Formby and I'll be honest: I didn't really notice wild garlic until a few years ago. Now it's one of the things I look forward to most in May. If you walk through certain parts of the pinewoods on a warm morning in mid-May, the smell hits you before you see it.

Where to Find Wild Garlic in Formby

The best spots are in the deciduous woodland sections rather than the Scots pine areas. Wild garlic needs damp, shaded conditions under broadleaf trees. The patches around the edges of the NT car park area and along some of the wetter paths toward the slack areas are the most reliable.

You'll smell it before you see it. That distinctive garlic scent in the air means you're close. The white star-shaped flowers in full bloom cover the ground in large drifts. Once you spot one patch, you'll usually find more nearby.

When to Go

Peak wild garlic season at Formby is roughly the last two weeks of April into mid-May. By late May the flowers have usually gone over and the leaves become less useful. Go now if you're reading this in May.

Early morning is genuinely better. The scent is stronger, the woodland is quieter, and you're not competing with the weekend crowds at the NT car park. An 8am walk on a weekday in May is one of the best things Formby offers.

Picking Responsibly

You can pick wild garlic for personal use on the Formby pinewoods paths, but a few rules apply. Don't strip any one patch bare. Take leaves rather than bulbs (the plant regenerates from the bulb). Don't pick in the NT car park areas where foraging rules may be stricter. And be certain of your identification: the leaves look similar to lily of the valley, which is toxic. Wild garlic leaves smell unmistakably of garlic when crushed. Lily of the valley does not.

What to Do With It

At home I use wild garlic a few different ways. The simplest is a pesto: blitz the leaves with olive oil, parmesan, pine nuts and a squeeze of lemon. It lasts about a week in the fridge. Goes on pasta, toast, scrambled eggs, anything.

Wild garlic butter is easier still. Chop the leaves fine, mix with softened butter and a pinch of salt. Roll in cling film and freeze. You've got flavoured butter for months.

The flowers are edible too and look brilliant scattered over a salad or on a bowl of soup.