It’s National Picnic Week!

The weather is perking up just in time for the weekend and it’s National Picnic Week this week! Head for your favourite park with a book under your arm and some delicious snacks in your bag. We’ll be doing just the same here at Bookends HQ, take a look at some of our favourite picnic spots, recommended reads and excellent picnic recipes.

Helena

I was gifted a National Art Pass for my birthday last year and it’s given me access to a whole host of green spaces and stately homes to explore. Ham House in Richmond is my new favourite place to explore, there are so many places to spread out with your picnic blanket and a brand new book. If the weather perks up I’ll be reading Emma Cooper’s heart-warming novel The Songs Of Us and cooking up some of Mary Berry’s scones from her baking book Fast Cakes…what better than sitting outside with a book and some classic English scones?

Amy

Having grown up by the seaside, nothing beats a beach picnic for me… so I’ll be heading for Brighton this weekend to brave the pebbles and enjoy a proper British picnic by the sea! To keep myself occupied – I’m not sure I’ll be feeling quite brave enough to venture into the water – I’ll be bringing along Holly Bourne’s hilarious, moving, and amazingly honest adult debut, How Do You Like Me Now? For food, nothing says picnic to me like a good old-fashioned cucumber sandwich. I’ll be revisiting this trusty Deliciously Ella recipe (which uses rye bread and adds in lemony butterbean hummus to help you feel extra virtuous!) and getting excited about her new book, The Plant-Based Cookbook – coming in August!

Vicky

I’ll be heading to Peckham Rye – enough space to find a quiet spot with lots of hidden gardens and undulating terrain whilst being close enough to a shop to top up your cold Prosecco supply! I’ll pack The Story Keeper by Anna Mazzola – the perfect book to lose yourself in afternoon with. Find a shady spot and immerse yourself in to the world of folk takes, disappearances and injustices on the Isle of Sky. I’ll also be packing some iced queen cakes from Mary Berry’s Fast Cakes – Besides being so summery and pretty to look at. They only take 30 minutes to make! More time in the sun or with a book!

Hannah

My ideal picnic location would have to be on the beach at Sheringham in Norfolk – it’s beautiful and not too busy and they have perfect sunsets there – ideal! For snacks, I’ll be cooking up something delicious (most likely featuring pomegranate) from Anne Shooter’s Cherish – boy does that woman know flavours. And what picnic would be complete without a beautiful book to read? I’ll be taking Return to the Italian Quarter by Domenica de Rosa – read an exclusive extract here.