Autumn walks can provide plenty of visual stimuli: hedges and trees are laden with bright berries, while leaves turn a beautiful gold and red colour.

Seeing so many berries around, it is worth doing some research into berries that are safe to eat, as some berries have good nutritional value.

Of course, you also need to be careful and avoid picking poisonous berries.

This is not a comprehensive guide and it is recommended to consult one or more guide books to identify plants.

Which Berries Are Edible? Which Berries Are Poisonous?

Edible berries include:

hawthorn
rowan (but only safe when cooked, taste not pleasant)
sloe or blackthorn
rose hip or dog rose
elderberry (only safe when cooked)
blackberry
viburnum or highbush cranberry or guelder rose (but only safe when cooked, taste not pleasant)

Edible Berries	Edible Berries When Cooked	Poisonous Berries
Hawthorn	Rowan	Cuckoo pint or Arum maculatum
Rose hip or dog rose	Sloe or blackthorn	Laburnum
Blackberry	Elderberry (unripe and ripe raw elderberry contain cyanide)	Jerusalem cherry or Solanum pseudocapsicum
Juniper (in small quantities)	Viburnum or highbush cranberry or guelder rose (unpleasant taste)	Doll’s eyes or Actaea pachypoda
	Elaeagnus umbelata or autumn olive	Black nightshade (toxic when unripe, edible when ripe but always ask an expert)
	Callicarpa or beautyberry	Woody nightshade
	Dogwood (not toxic in small quantities)	Yew (seed is toxic, pulp isn’t but check with an expert). Yew leaves cause skin irritation
	Pyracantha (not toxic in small quantities)	Aucubas
		Cotoneaster (low toxicity, but check with an expert)
		Berberis, (low toxicity, but check with an expert)
		Honeysuckle, (low toxicity, but check with an expert)
		Holly
		Buckthorn or Rhamnus cathartica
		Daphne berries or ligustrum vulgare
		Privet berries
		Pokeweed or phytolacca americana (can be safe with careful preparation, ask an expert)
		Mistletoe

Resources:

http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/wfs/wfsberries.htm