It doesn’t take much to encourage a British person to think about a picnic. A glimpse of sunshine, a sniff of scotch egg or finding a blanket in the back of a car is enough to get us flocking to the nearest park with the family.
Everyone has their own picnic spot, but there are a few universals that make some places simply perfect for picnics. Here are a few to choose from in and around Oxfordshire.
There are some lovely picnic spots at Greys Court only a short walk from the car park. Just bring a rug and throw it down under the oak trees. Alternatively, for a picnic with a view, the lower lawn is a favourite spot, as there are lovely views over the Chiltern Hills from there. You can watch the cows grazing peacefully in the foreground and the red kites swooping in the distance.
The rolling countryside of West Oxfordshire is ideal for walking and picnics. Why not take a stroll around Coleshill village and into the parkland before sitting down to enjoy your refreshing picnic in the idyllic countryside.
White Horse Hill has to be one of the best viewpoints for a picnic in the whole of the South of England. In fact you can probably see most of its counties from this vantage point. Pack a kite and some wind-proof clothes as it can be breezy.
In previous years at Stowe, you'd not have been able to picnic on the south lawn for fear of a hard golf ball coming your way. All evidence of the golf course has now been removed and the area is gradually being restored back to its eighteenth-century heyday. Views are being opened up, hay meadows restored, and 60 lime trees have been planted in the area known as Queen's Theatre. It's a lovely place to picnic with the grand house at your back, overlooking Octagon Lake.