Mastering the art of picnics

Following on from last week’s article (Lunch on a Hill), we have received a number of requests for hints and tips on how to turn your picnic into a magical event, whether it’s in the rolling Hampshire hills or on the dunes of a wind-swept Cornish beach. We hope these help.

• We love picnics and lunches on the ground, so if you aren’t going down the more formal table and chair route, make sure that you have enough rugs to cover a decent amount of ground. You don’t want to run out of space!
• If you don’t have access to enough chairs for your guests, bring as many cushions with you as possible. This will give you and your guests something to lie back on, to recline on and generally make the whole area that much more comfortable. Using coloured cushions adds a little spark to the party.
• If you have a nice low table that you can put in the middle of your picnic, or even to the side, try and find a way to bring it. Failing that, a couple of picnic baskets side by side with a beautiful tablecloth over them will work a treat. Your table will add that little edge of sophistication and will be the most glorious way to display the beautiful food and drinks that you will have brought with you.
• If you are brave enough, bring your best dishes and cutlery with you. By this point, we hope that you will have gone the whole hog with your party as there’s nothing more disappointing than relaxing with a glorious view, perfect food, fine wine and… plastic plates and glasses!
• Decorate your low table with flowers. Use wild flowers and hand picked garden blooms. This adds a lovely soft touch and if you incorporate the floral arrangements with thyme/rosemary or lavender you will have the most fabulous scent.
• Never underestimate the weather. A gazebo that goes up in seconds is always useful; otherwise bring garden umbrellas with you – the bigger the better (you can use them for shade if you are lucky!). Bring throws, wraps, and beautiful blankets to keep out the chill as your afternoon turns into an evening.
• Bring lanterns with citronella candles inside to keep the mosquitoes away. They create atmosphere, magic, and again, that little ‘extra touch’ that will set your event apart.

We’re sure you can remember times when you have turned up at the beach, walked miles before you finally found a spot, released you have forgotten something and after 5 minutes are frantically brushing sand off everything! Hopefully these tips will help you avoid some of these common pitfalls:

• It’s not always feasible to recce your picnic spot before the day. Of course, if you can, then you should! Don’t worry if you can’t, but make sure that you have contingencies for the perennial beach/food/event issues. Take as many windbreaks as you can, stoppers for bottles and covers for jugs and bowls.
• Sometimes, we get a little tired of sitting on rugs in the sand; it’s just never as comfortable as it’s meant to be! So at a recent beach event, we took inspiration from our wonderful lunches in the cockpits of yachts and dug space in the sand to place chairs inside, with space enough for a folding table in between. With rugs under foot, cushions on backs and real shelter from the wind, what followed was a less sandy and more elegant picnic to the envy of all who passed by! Just remember to dig shallow and wide!
• Get to know your beach and adjust your menu accordingly! If you will be surrounded by dry dunes and heavy winds, then we don’t suggest laying out food. Instead, have gourmet sandwiches already prepared which will be easier to manage in handy focaccia rolls than food on a large white plate. Bottled chilled gazpacho is delicious and perfect for drinking out of a tumbler.
• Water, water, water. You can never have enough, and you’ll use it in more ways than you can imagine. Think of a larger amount than you would normally take, and then double it! Washing hands, (washing feet before you get back in the car!), plates, cutlery and of course your jugs in the centre of the table!
• Go back to basics with fresh fruit soaked in Pimms, all set in strawberry jelly. These timeless classics are guaranteed to cut through the salt and sand, and are a refreshing treat on a hot and windy day.
• No more cool packs! If can get your hands on one, why not take a portable fridge with you. At Snapdragon we always have at least one plugged into the back of our cars; our champagne is always chilled and our food is as fresh as can be. Never too warm and never frozen!

(Photo credits: 1,2,4,5 The Style Files Blog, 3 Troy Grover Photographers, 6 Marghanita.com, 7 Design Interiors)

By Julia Dowling