Looking for Picnic Ideas or Inspiration?

Then let's maximize your picnic potential - whether you're planning your very first alfresco meal - or you're already a veteran picnicker!

Welcome!

This website is evolving because I love "eating out". I'm putting together examples of various outside dining occasions, food options, games and other outdoor ideas.

I hope I can prompt you to enjoy the freedom of eating out more often - to linger a little longer over alfresco food than you would indoors, to enjoy the scenery, play a game or two with your children or friends - and de-stress!

I also hope you might join in and share your own ideas with other visitors - everybody needs inspiration or extra motivation from time to time and it's good to share.

The meal itself

I have to admit that it is very convenient to buy ready-made picnic food these days. It's often so convenient that we overlook how easy many things are to make ourselves - and usually tastier and cheaper too.

It is sometimes essential to buy food "on the way" - but with a bit of planning and a simple recipe or two at our fingertips, an average alfresco meal can be turned into something rather more special.

Other elements

The word "picnic" can mean so many different things.

Not simply food eaten outdoors, combined with a unique sense of freedom, it can also involve a multitude of different choices:

The meal can be carried in a lightweight backpack, a simple lunch box, an over-flowing hamper, or a mélange of coolers, bags and baskets . .

The location could be a tree-lined meadow with the scent of wild flowers; under a parasol, beside gentle waves breaking on a sandy shore; a leafy haven in the middle of a city; or . .

It could include an exhilarating cross-country ramble with friends; children scampering after balls on the beach; a quiet snooze on a blanket shared with a loved one; etc. .

Each can be special

Whatever the occasion, eating outdoors makes the food itself that much more memorable.

It can be a very impromptu affair, a necessary means of replenishing energy outdoors, or planned in a huge variety of ways and held in a multitude of different locations.

Alfresco meals can be lavish fresh air feasts, or simple snacks. You can dine outside in strictly grown-up style, have great children’s parties or family fun days in the open air. Most are arranged purely for pleasure, to share tasty food and good company in the great outdoors.

Outdoor fare can be turned into the most relaxed and enjoyable of meals, whether eaten on the beach or in a meadow in the summer - or simply from the back of a car in the winter.

With a little bit of planning, the right equipment and a menu to suit the occasion, the climate and the venue, each one becomes a joy to look back on.