The entire of month of July is officially National Picnic Month. As the weather gets warmer, the great outdoors beckon. In local parks, national parks, back gardens and fields, picnics can finally be unpacked, laid out and enjoyed with enthusiasm.
Sausage rolls, fresh strawberries and orange squash are hallmarks of a great outdoor picnic. National Picnic Month encourages you to get out and celebrate the warm summer days and find your love and wonder of the outdoors again while enjoying some great food amid the company of family and friends.
How to celebrate National Picnic Month
Get your family, friends, work colleagues or Rounders team together at a nearby park and bring a selection of food that can be eaten cold for a traditional picnic; or a disposable barbecue and prepare some warm food on the spot! It’s that easy to celebrate this exceptional month.
Rounders England Recommendations
We asked our team to recommend their favourite picnic locations that they been to before or are planning to visit this summer. Here’s the shortlist that resulted. You might have visited them already or you could add them to your list.
Rachael
My favourite picnic location is Padley Gorge near Hathersage. It has beautiful walks on the rocks at Stanedge Edge, a lovely stream running through, where you can cool yourself off or just dangle your feet in and has an amazing ice cream van to treat yourself too just before home time.
David
A lovely, relaxing spot which we have used in the past on family holidays is at the RSPB Bempton on the East Yorkshire coast just outside Bridlington. Amidst all the seabirds and wildlife viewing (including puffins, gannets & guillemots) they have a picnic area that you can use or alternatively find your own spot with a great view of the sea and coastline. Lots to do and see!
Alison
Though not a traditional location, Cartmel Racecourse, set against the backdrop pf the beautiful Lakeland fells in Cumbria, provides a unique twist to any picnicking occasion. As well as trying your luck betting on the horse races, visitors are obliged to bring a picnic, even bringing your own alcohol is consented, and as dogs are permitted, the event really can extend to include the whole family!
Dan
Living in Sheffield it would be difficult not to list the Sheffield Botanical Gardens in my top three favourite places to go for a picnic. I ventured there as a young boy with my parents and brother and am now retelling those experiences with my own young family. It is a remarkable landmark, in the heart of this vibrant city.
Julia
My favourite place to picnic, when I visit my family home in Ireland, is Florence Court, in County Fermanagh. Steeped in history, it has the oldest Irish yew tree alive. It is believed that almost all Irish yews worldwide descend from this particular specimen. I can recall my father telling me this particular story many times throughout my childhood, while visiting this beautiful location.
Kathryn
Every year we take a picnic and walk from Ambleside to Rydal Hall in Cumbria. There’s a red squirrel population in the trees, which we’ve never seen because we make too much noise! Though there’s a tea shop that serves rather nice cake, we picnic in the woods, where there are little soft-toy animals hidden in the trees in little green huts, as well as a great sculpture trail.
Jenny
We love to picnic on Filey beach. We have fond memories of family holidays and group camping holidays in Filey. We have visited every year at some point, since our daughter was born 18 years ago.
