Although national picnic week has been and gone, the weather has actually improved since June and in Kent we’re enjoying glorious sunshine and high temperatures week after week.

And when the sun is shining and you’ve got a free weekend, there’s little better way of spending your free time than having a picnic with the family – and having fun.

As many of you will know if you follow my blog, we like exploring as a family – and that often means visiting new places if we get a spare weekend.

So with the sun beaming down on us one Sunday, we decided to pack up a picnic bag and do just that. But as it was a last minute decision, we needed to make a speedy exit if we were going to miss the traffic rush.

Fortunately my go-to picnic bag (a 27 piece bag from B&M) already has all the essentials I need for my family picnic – all I needed to do was add the food and drink.

So what’s in my picnic bag? (retails at £14.99)

A set of four knives, forks and spoons
Four napkins
Four wine glasses
Four melamine plates
A multi-function pocket knife (with bottle opener)
A striped picnic rug
A spice bottle pot
Reusuable ice cubes

The picnic bag is a lovely bright pink colour (also available in navy) and doubles up as a cool bag itself. It’s strong, sturdy and really great quality – which makes it even sweeter that it costs less than £15.

It’s also very roomy so you don’t need any other bags for your food – with the plates, glasses, cutlery, napkins, bottle opener and salt pot contained in a separate zipped compartment.

Oh and the bag also has the added advantage of a detachable shoulder strap, so if it’s a little heavy you can sling it over your shoulders!

What the kids loved (and made them feel very grown up) was drinking out of wine glasses while we dined al fresco, while VIP and I felt quite posh.

A Gillingham jaunt

We opted to visit Riverside Country Park in Gillingham, Kent. We hadn’t been there before, but VIP told me that it was amongst the top 20 Kent spots for picnics.

It took less than half hour to get there and there were already a few cars in the car park when we arrived mid-morning.

The coastal park is around 247 acres and is home to a plethora of wildlife – and the odd beached barge, which the kids loved.

We opted to take a walk on the peninsula along the river Medway, which was about a mile long. By the time we returned to where we started, we were definitely in need of refreshments!

On the way back the kids had clocked the adventure playground, so we decided to head to the picnic area and managed to find a free table to sit and enjoy our delicious picnic.

We packed: chicken and couscous, ham and cheese sesame baps, yoghurts, grapes, fruit salad, water, fruit shoots and crisps.

My essential picnic pack list:

Suntan lotion
Hats and sunglasses
Anti-bacterial hand wash
Wet Wipes – for sticky fingers!
Games – football / Frisbee and a pump in case the ball goes flat!
Fruit – to encourage the kids to get their five a day!
Water – and lots of it
Ice packs – to help keep food cool until it’s time to eat it
A magazine to read (if I want to sit out of playing games)

After a quick play on the monkey bars, the kids wanted to have a game of Frisbee and football (not at the same time!), so we set up our picnic rug in the adjacent field.

It was such a lovely day – I’d highly recommend visiting the park to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy a walk with some superb views over the Medway.