Wild blueberries, known as bilberries or whortleberries, abound in pine forests and heathland in the North East; you just have to know where to look, and they are surprisingly common. They usually fruit in late July, depending on the weather, though they were a week early last year. They are traditionally used in a pie, which has the affectionate name in the North East of funeral pie due to its striking purple colour – the Victorian colour of mourning. You … Continue reading Funeral pies and the whortleberry hunt