While lots of things such as shops, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, museums and more have now reopened, the prospect of a holiday abroad is still on the rocks. But now the sun has officially arrived in the UK (we can only cross our fingers that it’s here to stay), we almost don’t mind as a picnic in the park in anything above 23 degrees practically feels like you’re on holiday (if you close your eyes).
With that in mind, you need to be ready for a summer of picnicking – as anyone knows, an ill-prepared picnic will only result in warm wine, soggy sandwiches and bored faces. First you need to pick where to have your picnic, then make sure you have enough picnic blankets (one is never enough), choose your outfit (when it doubt, go for gingham) and, of course, arrange the food (a pre-made platter is always a good idea).
At this point, you might think you’re ready to go. But wait – what are you going to transport it all in? A wicker basket might seem like a cute idea, but the bulky, heavy things are impractical for covering any distance with. We think the best vessel is a cooler tote bag – insulated like any cooler bag to keep food and drinks chilled for longer, but shaped like a tote bag for shoulder-carrying ease.
Even better, we found cooler tote bags at Lidl and Amazon (below) that have built-in insulated compartments for decanting wine into, with a discrete tap on the outside of the bag for free-flowing vino wherever you are. Now that sounds like a party.
There are some extremely stylish cooler tote bags out there – have a browse of our top nine picks below…
9 stylish cooler tote bags for summer picnics
Insulated Tote, Medium, £55.31, L.L.Bean
Business & Pleasure Cooler Tote Bag Paisley Bay, £95, Latzio
PortoVino Beach Tote With Hidden, Insulated Compartment, £49.95, Amazon
Painted Bluebell Lunch Tote, £18, Cath Kidston
Fortnum’s Cooler Tote Bag, £35, Fortnum & Mason
Curated Tote Cool Bag, £14, Sainsbury’s
Wine cooler tote bag, £19.99, Lidl
Picnic Striped Cooler Tote Bag – 16L, £18, John Lewis
