Perfect picnic picks

As the Famous Five once said, food tastes better outdoors, so here are our picks for a perfect picnic.

First, you'll need a picnic basket. This hamper for two is perfect for a romantic picnic-a-deux, and comes with plates, wine glasses, cutlery and a handy food cooler. It costs £105 from Oliver Bonas.

If stumping up a hundred quid on a picnic basket is too extravagant, just shove these colourful butterfly plates in a Tesco's bag and be done with it. They cost £24 from Rocket St George.

To picnic in comfort, you need a picnic blanket. Otherwise, you're just going to sit on a stone, or get mud on your skirt or ants in your pants. Or maybe all three. This stag print blanket from Graham & Green is both funky and functional as it has a waterproof backing to stop the dew spoiling your frock. It costs £40.

Now I know you should really use plastic tumblers for a picnic, but these embossed vintage style glasses from Marks and Spencer are just too pretty to ignore. So be careful, ok? They're £19.50 for four.

Now for food. A pork pie is a must for any picnic. Mrs King's pork pies are the genuine Melton Mowbray article. A 450g pie will set you back £6.95 from Foreman and Field.

For cheese, head straight to Neals Yard Dairy, where you can pick a ready made cheeseboard, or get one of the helpful folk to find you your perfect cheese match. This is a selection of cheeses that are all made with vegetable rennet. It costs £50, but it does feed 14 people.

To go with it, why not try some Damson Cheese. It's not really cheese, silly. It's a sort of solid jam that's lovely WITH cheese. It's £3.25 from uber-posh Fortnum & Mason.

After all that cheese and pie, you might want to be a bit healthy and have some salad. But if you're going to do that, you'll really need a salad dressing. We like Tracklements' new balsamic dressing, which is tangy and sweet. It's also great on leftover roast chicken, if you're feeling less virtuous. It costs £3.55 and is available direct from Tracklements or lots of nice little delis around the country.

And finally, I think this beer bucket from John Lewis would come in handy at any outdoor event. Just fill it with ice and leave the bottles to chill. Picnic perfection.