Are there mushrooms around St Helens right now
Today's index is 64 out of 100. Middling: there will be finds, but you will walk longer than usual.
The forecast is computed at the nearest weather point — 6 km from the town. It is an estimate for the country around the town rather than a measurement in it: within half an hour's drive the weather barely changes, though any single wood can still go its own way. Data from 18 September 2026, 11:37 BST.
St Helens itself is not inside any of our forecast districts: ours are rural, and the town is its own administrative unit. Lancashire is the nearest district, and the numbers come from its measurements.
St Helens and the country around it
The ring marks St Helens, the dots are the rest of the measurement network in Lancashire. The field between points is interpolated; clicking a point opens its town.
Nearest towns
The forecast in these towns can differ — the further away, the more. In brackets, the best edible species today.
The week, species by species
23 species are in season in Lancashire right now — ordered by today's index. Another 3 species are out of season: the index reads zero all week.
Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria
Week's best 64 — on Fridayaverage 62by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today6418 Sept
- Sat6419 Sept
- Sun6320 Sept
- Mon6221 Sept
- Tue6122 Sept
- Wed6023 Sept
- Thu5924 Sept
Boletus edulis
Boletus edulis
Week's best 63 — on Saturdayaverage 60by the weekend steady
Conditions are best on Saturday.
- Today6218 Sept
- Sat6319 Sept
- Sun6220 Sept
- Mon5821 Sept
- Tue5922 Sept
- Wed5923 Sept
- Thu5924 Sept
Lactarius deliciosus
Lactarius deliciosus
Week's best 63average 61by the weekend steady
The week is flat — no day to pick, conditions are the same throughout.
- Today6218 Sept
- Sat6219 Sept
- Sun6320 Sept
- Mon6121 Sept
- Tue6122 Sept
- Wed6023 Sept
- Thu6024 Sept
Suillus granulatus
Suillus granulatus
Week's best 62 — on Sundayaverage 60by the weekend steady
Conditions are best on Sunday.
- Today6118 Sept
- Sat6119 Sept
- Sun6220 Sept
- Mon6221 Sept
- Tue5922 Sept
- Wed5823 Sept
- Thu5724 Sept
Imleria badia
Imleria badia
Week's best 62 — on Saturdayaverage 59by the weekend steady
Conditions are best on Saturday.
- Today6118 Sept
- Sat6219 Sept
- Sun6120 Sept
- Mon5721 Sept
- Tue5822 Sept
- Wed5923 Sept
- Thu5824 Sept
Leccinum scabrum
Leccinum scabrum
Week's best 59 — on Fridayaverage 57by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5918 Sept
- Sat5919 Sept
- Sun5920 Sept
- Mon5821 Sept
- Tue5622 Sept
- Wed5523 Sept
- Thu5424 Sept
Leccinum aurantiacum
Leccinum aurantiacum
Week's best 59average 57by the weekend steady
The week is flat — no day to pick, conditions are the same throughout.
- Today5918 Sept
- Sat5919 Sept
- Sun5920 Sept
- Mon5721 Sept
- Tue5622 Sept
- Wed5523 Sept
- Thu5524 Sept
Macrolepiota procera
Macrolepiota procera
Week's best 59 — on Fridayaverage 56by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5918 Sept
- Sat5919 Sept
- Sun5920 Sept
- Mon5821 Sept
- Tue5522 Sept
- Wed5323 Sept
- Thu5224 Sept
Amanita pantherina
Amanita pantherina
Week's best 59 — on Fridayaverage 56by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5918 Sept
- Sat5919 Sept
- Sun5820 Sept
- Mon5621 Sept
- Tue5522 Sept
- Wed5423 Sept
- Thu5424 Sept
Leccinum versipelle
Leccinum versipelle
Week's best 59average 57by the weekend steady
The week is flat — no day to pick, conditions are the same throughout.
- Today5918 Sept
- Sat5919 Sept
- Sun5920 Sept
- Mon5721 Sept
- Tue5622 Sept
- Wed5523 Sept
- Thu5524 Sept
Russula foetens
Russula foetens
Week's best 58 — on Fridayaverage 56by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5818 Sept
- Sat5819 Sept
- Sun5720 Sept
- Mon5521 Sept
- Tue5422 Sept
- Wed5423 Sept
- Thu5324 Sept
Agaricus campestris
Agaricus campestris
Week's best 57 — on Fridayaverage 53by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5718 Sept
- Sat5519 Sept
- Sun5520 Sept
- Mon5621 Sept
- Tue5122 Sept
- Wed5023 Sept
- Thu4824 Sept
Armillaria mellea
Armillaria mellea
Week's best 57average 56by the weekend steady
The week is flat — no day to pick, conditions are the same throughout.
- Today5618 Sept
- Sat5719 Sept
- Sun5720 Sept
- Mon5621 Sept
- Tue5522 Sept
- Wed5523 Sept
- Thu5424 Sept
Xerocomellus chrysenteron
Xerocomellus chrysenteron
Week's best 55average 53by the weekend steady
The week is flat — no day to pick, conditions are the same throughout.
- Today5518 Sept
- Sat5519 Sept
- Sun5520 Sept
- Mon5321 Sept
- Tue5222 Sept
- Wed5223 Sept
- Thu5124 Sept
Russula delica
Russula delica
Week's best 55average 53by the weekend steady
The week is flat — no day to pick, conditions are the same throughout.
- Today5518 Sept
- Sat5519 Sept
- Sun5420 Sept
- Mon5221 Sept
- Tue5222 Sept
- Wed5223 Sept
- Thu5224 Sept
Lactarius resimus
Lactarius resimus
Week's best 54 — on Fridayaverage 51by the weekend steady
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5418 Sept
- Sat5419 Sept
- Sun5320 Sept
- Mon4921 Sept
- Tue5022 Sept
- Wed5023 Sept
- Thu5024 Sept
Cantharellus cibarius
Cantharellus cibarius
Week's best 53average 51by the weekend steady
The week is flat — no day to pick, conditions are the same throughout.
- Today5318 Sept
- Sat5219 Sept
- Sun5220 Sept
- Mon5021 Sept
- Tue5022 Sept
- Wed5023 Sept
- Thu5024 Sept
Marasmius oreades
Marasmius oreades
Week's best 53 — on Fridayaverage 49by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5318 Sept
- Sat5119 Sept
- Sun5120 Sept
- Mon5121 Sept
- Tue4722 Sept
- Wed4623 Sept
- Thu4424 Sept
Lycoperdon perlatum
Lycoperdon perlatum
Week's best 53 — on Fridayaverage 49by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5318 Sept
- Sat5219 Sept
- Sun5220 Sept
- Mon5221 Sept
- Tue4722 Sept
- Wed4623 Sept
- Thu4424 Sept
Suillus bovinus
Suillus bovinus
Week's best 53 — on Fridayaverage 51by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5318 Sept
- Sat5319 Sept
- Sun5220 Sept
- Mon5021 Sept
- Tue4922 Sept
- Wed4923 Sept
- Thu4824 Sept
Kuehneromyces mutabilis
Kuehneromyces mutabilis
Week's best 52 — on Fridayaverage 49by the weekend falling
Today is as good as it gets — conditions do not improve later this week.
- Today5218 Sept
- Sat5119 Sept
- Sun5120 Sept
- Mon5121 Sept
- Tue4822 Sept
- Wed4723 Sept
- Thu4524 Sept
Collybia nuda
Collybia nuda
Week's best 56 — on Mondayaverage 53by the weekend steady
Conditions are best on Monday.
- Today5118 Sept
- Sat5019 Sept
- Sun5320 Sept
- Mon5621 Sept
- Tue5422 Sept
- Wed5323 Sept
- Thu5324 Sept
Collybia personata
Collybia personata
Week's best 48 — on Mondayaverage 45by the weekend rising
Conditions are poor: even the week's best day only reaches «slow».
- Today4218 Sept
- Sat4219 Sept
- Sun4520 Sept
- Mon4821 Sept
- Tue4822 Sept
- Wed4623 Sept
- Thu4724 Sept
The weather this number came from
On the left, what has already happened; on the right, what is expected. The left half matters more: a flush comes a week to ten days after the rain, not on the same day.
- 11 сент.15°2.0 mm
- 12 сент.16°5.7 mm
- 13 сент.18°0.7 mm
- 14 сент.19°0.3 mm
- 15 сент.16°10 mm
- 16 сент.14°4.0 mm
- 17 сент.14°3.7 mm
- 18 сент.15°4.5 mm
- 19 сент.17°0.3 mm
- 20 сент.14°—
- 21 сент.15°0.9 mm
- 22 сент.18°—
- 23 сент.14°3.6 mm
- 24 сент.14°—
Amanita muscaria near St Helens: where to look
Amanita muscaria: the species in brief
How to tell it
Usually easy to recognise: a red to orange-red cap with white patches, white gills, a ring on the stem and a swollen base with scaly bands. Heavy rain can wash the white patches away, leaving a plain red cap.
Where it grows
Common with birch, pine and spruce. It often grows in the same woodland as Penny Bun because the two species can share host trees.
This is a note about the species, not about what is in your basket. Full card with lookalikes →
Been out in St Helens? Tell us how it went
No sign-up, five seconds. Reports are visible to everyone and help us check the forecast — where people say “nothing out there” and the model promises a flush, the model is wrong.
Common questions
Are there mushrooms in St Helens in September 2026?
Today's foraging index is 64 out of 100. It is built from two weeks of rainfall, soil temperature, the length of the dry spell and each species' season, and it updates daily.
Which mushrooms are picked around St Helens?
There are too few records for this region to name species yet. We will not list them «from the field guide»: an unconfirmed list looks exactly like a confirmed one and is worth something else entirely.
How accurate is this forecast?
It is a model of weather and season, not an observation of the wood. It answers «is this week worth a trip» well, and it does not know what is growing round the next bend. We measure its accuracy against independent records and publish the result — without that number a forecast stays a promise.
The index is high but I found nothing — why?
The index reads weather and season — things that are the same for tens of kilometres around. It does not know your particular wood, and that is where the mushroom grows. The usual reasons: wrong trees — every species has its own, and no weather makes up for the wrong stand; the wood was felled recently or is young — the mycelium takes years to recover; the spot is picked out — everything near a road or a car park goes over a weekend; the flush has been taken — you came a day after those who came on time; or the flush passed and slugs and larvae got there first, which the model cannot see. The reverse holds too: a low index does not mean an empty wood. It means the conditions are against you, not that there is nothing there.