Sunny, lazy summer days are upon us. The skyscrapers wobble in the heat, frappes melt to watery coffee, the city is shimmering.
The days are beautiful and the evening are sultry. This is not indoor weather.
Invite someone on a picnic: take them to an abandoned church with leafy windows, or an overgrown orchard and an opera.
Just don't forget the bottle opener.
Visit the Horniman Museum's gardens. Entry to the museum and its 16.5 acre gardens is totally free. In the gardens, there's a bandstand that's over a hundred years old and a nature trail, as well as giant garden xlyophones. The museum's summer season this year is themed around an Indian Summer. Look out for film screenings and family events. On Sundays in August there is lovely live music at the bandstand.
In your hamper: Tamarind prawns and mango lassi
Read more ...
St Dunstan-in-the-East was a parish church on St Dunstan's Hill, but it was bombed in World War II and its Grade I-listed ruins have become a public garden. It's had a long life - it was originally built in 1100 AD. Winter's bark, an original treatment for scurvy, grows in its shadow. In the week office workers picnic against its crumbly walls. The week ends, when the City empties out, leave the site peaceful and atmospheric.
In your hamper: Home-grown garden salad and ginger biscuits.
Read more ...
If you don't fancy your chances of a restful picnic after seeing KAW's six-metre high sad toy sculpture, the Frieze sculpture park has plenty more places to wander. Set in Regent's Park, this is a picnic where exploring is mandatory. Look out for Ugo Rondinone's summer moon (2011), a gorgeous, ghostly tree.
In your hamper: Build your own masterpiece with bruscetta, tapenade and sun-dried tomato.
Read more ...
The sumptuous courtyard of Somerset House used to be a car park. Now it's a neoclassical Nirvana, and in August you can sit in the middle and watch a selection of films with your own picnic. See The Philadelphia Story (1940). Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn star. Remember, whilst a fine picnic is required, you can only take in plastic bottles and cushions (no glass, and no chairs or inflatables).
In your hamper: Posh popcorn and a thermos of boozy hot chocolate.
Read more ...
Here's one where you don't have to provide your own picnic. In July, the Tate Britain invites guests to brunch on its lawns at noon on Saturdays, providing a three piece jazz trio for the occasion. It's bound to go down a treat.
On the menu: Freshly shucked oysters and Bloody Marys, provided by the Tate Britain.
Read more ...
Peacocks strut around the Kyoto Garden of Holland Park. This traditional Japanese garden, with koi carp, blossom trees and a rock garden, was founded in 1992. As a park within a park it's a peaceful space for a picnic - bar the occasional, bewildering birdcalls from the resident ravens and peafowl.
In your hamper: Sushi and edamame salad.
Read more ...
The baobab tree in his home village inspired Berlin-based architect Francis Kéré to design this year's Serpentine Pavilion, which opened in June. The original tree in Gando, Burkina Faso, was a meeting place, and this futuristic pavilion in Hyde Park is designed to be one, too. Meet here to admire cutting edge architecture, and then take your picnic between the nearby trees.
In your hamper: Casual cucumber sandwiches and lemonade.
Read more ...
The ultimate romantic picnic comes with a side serving of country house opera - the newest is at West Horsley Place in Surrey, where the summer bill includes Wagner's Die Walkure (The Valkyrie - you'll know it). If you've brought your own furniture (think picnic table and chairs, not chaise longe) then you'll be confined to the orchard. Else get a marquee near the crinkle-crankle wall.
In your hamper: At The Theatre in the Woods you're nothing without your Fortnum and Mason hamper.
Read more ...If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use
