The best picnic hamper deliveries

Top tips for picnicking

A picnic should be stress-free, which is exactly what these prepared hamper boxes can offer. All that’s left then, is to choose a great location for your picnic, and to remember a few things to bring:

1. A bag for rubbish. Always leave your picnic location as beautiful and unspoilt as you found it.
2. A blanket for sitting on (of course). You can get blankets with a layer of lining underneath that stop damp seeping through.
3. An ice box to keep drinks cool, if you’ll be out for a few hours. Use cool bags with proper insulation, and take a few packed with lots of ice blocks. Rucksack-style cool bags are good, especially if you’re walking to your magic spot.
4. A sharp knife – you always need one.
5. Large umbrellas – they double as parasols if it’s sunny rather than drizzly.
6. The weather being what it is in the UK, it’s always good to bring extra socks and a jumper.
7. Vacuum flasks are also good for keeping drinks cool as well as hot. We like to pack one with ice for drinks.

The 6 best picnic boxes

Iberica Delicatessen Selection hamper with beer

Living up to their name, Iberica’s delicatessen picnic hamper offers treats from Spain. Our favourite of the delicacies inside has to be the pan con tomate, a slice of bread which can be toasted before you go, then topped with the tomato and oil goodness as soon as you hit the park. It’s refreshing and will make you feel those much-needed holiday vibes. Proper crisps, cooked in olive oil, and Spanish crisp bread are included to make sure the snacking is covered. And there’s cured ham, chorizo, and a little cheese selection of 5 full-flavoured Spanish cheeses. You can choose to include wine or beer with your box, and you’ll find a hessian bag included to transport everything seamlessly to the park. Available from Iberica (£40-65).

Provisions picnic hamper

Provisions picnic hamper includes a selection of their best snacking products: think tuna paté, organic houmous, Perello olives, and almonds. Then there’s the cheese! A perfectly aged, sweet and nutty comté – which even gets sliced into manageable chunks for you. There’s also a crottin de Chavignol, everyone’s favourite mini goats cheese. Enjoy alongside Italian smoked ham or green bell pepper spread and other patés, with bread or crackers. As for the wine: you can choose from French red, white, and rosé or Italian sparkling, safe in the knowledge that each wine is perfectly chosen to accompany this mega picnic spread. The hamper also comes with a picnic cloth, hessian bag, as well as sustainable bamboo plates and cutlery. This is a faultless, bargain of a hamper which feeds 3 to 4 people. Available from Provisions (£49 with a bottle of wine).

Melrose and Morgan picnic hampers

For a real sense of occasion to the feast, enjoy the range from Melrose and Morgan, who know how to do a picnic properly. We tried their ‘Traditional British’ basket, filled with generous pork sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, bacon and cheddar tarts, crisps, a punnet of fresh strawberries and rich chocolate brownies. What more do you need, really? They also have vegan options, or opt for the ‘Continental Picnic’ which includes Comté d’Estive and Langres, feta stuffed peppers and membrillo. Available from Melrose and Morgan (from £20).

Fortnum & Mason luxury picnic hamper

Okay, we’ll admit this one is a little pricier than your average picnic. But if you’re looking to go above and beyond for your next special occasion outdoors, read on… This hamper will have you sipping champagne whilst enjoying a truly spectacular selection of “best bits” from the Fortnum & Mason food hall: from smoked salmon and rye bread, to rare roast sirloin beef with horseradish cream. Then there’s crab salad, a cheese platter and scotch eggs… and that’s before we get to the dessert of almond brownies, and berries and clotted cream. There are a whopping 26 decadent delicacies inside, and this hamper will definitely feed a few more than 2. Available from Fortnum & Mason (£200).

 

Harvey Nichols picnic bag

When a delivery arrives with Harvey Nichols’ picnic box at the door, you know it’s going to be a good day. Their picnic box for two has everything you need to snack your way through an afternoon in the sun, from house champagne, to sharp rhubarb fudges (very sweet indeed) and their own emmental and onion cheese straws. It comes complete with a very good quality carry bag, with pockets and compartments, so you can pack and go, and reuse it in the future. You could fight over the cheese straws, but our tester noted that all the sweet stuff was very easily halved. It’s a very ‘snacky’ box, so not one that’s going to fill you up, but it would make a luxurious treat for an al-fresco first date or anniversary. Available from Harvey Nichols (£65).

Want something to drink with it? Try our round-up of the best new drinks to take on a picnic.