Making a picnic to take with you is one of the simplest ways I know to enjoy good food and the outdoors at the same time. There is something about eating outside that changes the experience completely. Perhaps it's because we've always eaten this way. Long before kitchens and dining tables, people carried food with them, stopping to eat wherever they happened to be. Our lives may have changed, but I think some part of that connection remains.

One of my favourite ways to spend a day is to pack some food into a rucksack and head off on foot. Walking with a picnic waiting at the end somehow makes every mile more enjoyable. There's a quiet satisfaction in reaching the place you've been heading for, whether it's over the next hill, through a stretch of woodland or beside a river. By the time you stop to eat, everything seems to taste better. Perhaps it's the fresh air, perhaps it's the effort of getting there, but a simple lunch can feel like a feast.