This summer we’ve been touring the South West of England in our trusty caravan, Jupiter. From our home in North Yorkshire we stopped first in Salisbury then crossed to Paignton, on into Cornwall stopping at Mevaguissey, Newquay and Bude, and finally finished off with a few nights in Cheddar, Somerset. In total we’ve done 17 nights in 6 different locations!
That’s a lot of travelling! And it didn’t stop there: at each location we visited at least 2 major local tourist attractions in order to give our children a flavour of this region of the UK. We love to make the most of the great outdoors whatever the weather so castles, gardens, beaches, zoos and treasure hunts all featured on our itinerary.
As usual, you can’t rely on the British summer to be glorious but we still took a picnic everywhere with us, after all it saves us money and we know the kids will eat it. We ate pate at Stonehenge, pork pies at Tintagel Castle and olives in the Lost Gardens of Heligan!
AD | I have been or could be if you click on a link in this post compensated via a cash payment, gift or something else of value for writing this post. See our full disclosure policy and privacy policy for more details.
As always I took my favourite Sunbites Grain Waves along which come in a choice of 6 delicious flavours: Sour Cream & Cracked Black Pepper, Sun Ripened Sweet Chilli, Honey Glazed Barbecue, Cheddar & Onion, Tomato & Mozzarella and Lightly Sea Salted. My favourite has to be the Honey Glaze BBQ. I love Sunbites because they are made with 3 types of grain and shaped in waves which make them super crunchy as well as tasty, and they are high in fibre. Sunbites are also really convenient for throwing into a picnic bag as they don’t need to be kept cool, perfect when there are so many other things to consider!
Unfortunately it seemed to rain on us, or at the very least blow a gale, virtually every time we opened our picnic bag so we thought it would be fun to share our
10 Top Tips for an Enjoyable Rainy Day Picnic!
1. Take a picnic blanket with a waterproof backing. Throw it down so everyone can sit down and keep clean and dry (on the seat of their pants at least!). We have 8 of the best picnic blankets here.
2. Take a large umbrella for the kids at least to huddle under.
3. If you’ve got space for a light rug too that can be lovely to throw over your knees and keep the wind off.
4. Pack your picnic in a waterproof picnic bag or cooler.
5. Put any unpackaged food in Tupperware to stop it going soggy.
6. Walkers Sunbites! They are a convenient and great tasting snack that have become one of my go-to picnic essentials. Find out more about Sunbites at https://sunbites.co.uk/
7. Take a thermos flask of tea or coffee. A warm cuppa always helps make things feel better.
8. Make sure everyone is wearing waterproof coats and shoes. If you can keep the kids dry they’ll be much happier.
9. Small towel/tissues for drying off the kids’ faces and hands before eating and some hand sanitiser gel to kill the germs.
10. Take something else for them to do. Our kids often finish quicker than us as they eat less. It’s a good idea to have some activities for the kids to distract them from thinking about the weather so a camera, binoculars, treasure hunt cards, quiz or ball game can be a good idea.
However, if the weather is really that bad consider having your picnic in the car instead. This is still my children’s favourite place to eat!
If you enjoyed this post, why not PIN it for next time you are facing a rainy day picnic!
Ian & Emma Phillips live in Bolton with their three children, two boys aged 8 and 6 and their little girl who is now 4. Emma also writes over at Fuelled by Latte.
Wow, that’s brilliant! I can’t believe how much you packed in to your trip! Well done to you all! And yes, picnics are brilliant!!
I need to remember the waterproof backed picnic blanket – raining or not, it opens up where you can sit without getting mucky blanket! Top tips x