Charlotte Merriman
Why a lighter bag makes a gentler day
There's a particular kind of tiredness that comes from carrying too much food on a short walk. The rucksack digs into your shoulders, the flask sloshes against your hip, and by the time you reach the nice view you're more interested in putting the bag down than in looking at it. A gentle day out — two to four miles along a bridleway, a towpath or a quiet lane — calls for a much lighter approach.
The aim is simple: a picnic that weighs under a kilo per person including drink, packs flat, and produces nothing you have to carry home except a few crumbs. That means reusable wraps, a small flask, fruit, and a bit of thought about what actually travels well. Get it right and the bag becomes almost weightless, which matters enormously if you're walking slowly, using poles, recovering from an injury or simply out for the pleasure of it rather than the distance.
The kit that earns its place
You need less than you think. A 20 to 25 litre rucksack is plenty for two people's lunch, and a smaller daypack or a handlebar bag works if you use a wheelchair or scooter and want the weight low and stable.
- A sit mat or folded square of closed-cell foam. Far lighter than a blanket, and it means a damp gate or a mossy log becomes a comfortable seat.
- A wide-mouth flask of 350 to 500ml. Wide-mouth is easier to fill, easier to clean and easier to pour from without splashing your lap.
- Two or three reusable wraps — beeswax-coated cotton or a silicone pouch. They fold flat, weigh almost nothing and replace cling film entirely.
- A small flat container for anything that might leak, and a cloth napkin that doubles as a wipe.
Weigh the whole thing once at home. If it comes to more than about 1.5 kilos for two, something in there is trying too hard.
Food that travels well
The best picnic food is unfussy, sturdy and doesn't mind being squashed. Sandwiches made with a decent loaf — sourdough, a seeded bloomer, a baguette — hold up far better than sliced white, which goes limp within the hour. Butter both slices, or spread a little mustard or hummus, to keep the filling from soaking through.
- Cheese, oatcakes and an apple is a complete lunch and needs no wrapping at all.
- Hard-boiled eggs, peeled at home, travel beautifully in a small container with a pinch of salt.
- Fruit that can take a knock — satsumas, grapes, apples. Bananas are fine if you put them in a rigid tub rather than under the flask.
- A small pot of something sharp — chutney, pickle, a few cornichons — to lift plain bread and cheese.
Skip dressed salads, soft fruit and anything in a glass jar. They're the reason people end up carrying a bag of soggy regret for four miles.
Waste-free wrapping, without the faff
Reusable wraps sound virtuous and slightly fussy, but in practice they're quicker than cling film once you've got the knack. Warm a beeswax wrap in your hands for a few seconds, fold it round the sandwich, and the heat of your palms seals it. It unwraps just as easily and can be wiped clean afterwards with cool water — hot water melts the wax.
Silicone pouches are the better choice for anything damp or crumbly, and they're brilliant for grapes, cherry tomatoes or a handful of biscuits. A cotton napkin wrapped around the oatcakes keeps them from shattering. Everything then lives in one flat container at the top of the rucksack, which means no hunting around at the bottom of the bag while the wind picks up.
The reward is a picnic with no bin-hunt at the end of it. You carry out exactly what you carried in.
Drinks, flasks and keeping it simple
One flask between two is usually enough. Fill it with hot water first, let it stand for two minutes, tip that out and then add your tea or coffee — the flask stays hot for hours instead of lukewarm for one. In summer, the same flask does cold water with a few mint leaves, or dilute squash with ice cubes that melt slowly.
Take one small bottle of water per person on top of that, no more. Filling it at home rather than buying on the way saves both money and plastic, and a lightweight bottle is easy to refill at a churchyard tap or a village hall if you know one's on the route.
Rest stops, pace and all abilities
Plan the lunch stop before you leave, not when everyone's flagging. A bench, a stile with a flat top, a churchyard wall or a picnic table at the end of a level path will all do. The ideal gentle walk has somewhere to sit about halfway, out of the wind, with a view worth the pause.
Allow 25 to 35 minutes for every flat mile, and stop for ten minutes every half hour or so if anyone in the group finds walking tiring. A slow lunch — 45 minutes sitting down, boots off if the weather allows — is what turns a walk into a day out. And remember the rule that makes all of this work: the bag should be lighter on the way back than it was on the way out. If it isn't, you've packed too much, and next time you'll know exactly what to leave behind.
