Our kitchen puts together three picnics to take out with you, packed in cooler bags and ready to collect. They need 72 hours’ notice, which is the one thing worth knowing in advance, so it’s a decision to make when you book rather than on the morning. Here’s what’s in each one and how to choose.
The three picnics
| Traditional | Posh | Walker’s | |
| The idea | A proper spread to sit down to | The Traditional, with more to it | Something to carry and eat on the move |
| Includes | Caramelised red onion, goats cheese and walnut tart, pâté, tarragon chicken, pasta salad, potato salad, pork pie, Scotch egg, fruit salad with meringues, artisan breads with olives and butter | Everything in the Traditional plus sliced White Hart ham with piccalilli, prawn cocktail, rare roast beef with tarragon sauce, chocolate brownie bites and a British cheese plate | A fresh White Hart sandwich, crisps, a savoury snack, a homemade sweet snack bar and a piece of seasonal fruit |
| Suits | A blanket, a few hours and no particular plan | A birthday, an anniversary or showing someone the county properly | A long walk where the food goes in a rucksack |
How to order one
Give us at least 72 hours’ notice so the kitchen can prepare everything fresh. Ring reception or mention it when you book your room, and the team will take you through the options.
Everything comes packed in cooler bags, and you choose how you’d like it served. China crockery makes it feel like an occasion, metal service ware travels better, and there are disposable options if you’re walking a distance and would rather not carry anything back. Glassware works the same way.
Wine can be pre-ordered to go with it, or picked up from the bar on your way out. Full details are on our picnic packages page.
Which one to choose
The Walker’s Picnic is built for movement. It’s a sandwich and a snack rather than a spread, so it fits in a bag and doesn’t need a flat surface or a free hand.
The Traditional is the one for actually stopping. There’s enough there to spend a couple of hours over, and the mix of tart, pork pie, Scotch egg and salads is designed to be shared out rather than divided up.
The Posh Picnic adds the things that make it feel like a celebration: the rare roast beef with tarragon sauce, the prawn cocktail, our own ham with piccalilli, and a cheese plate and brownie bites to finish. It’s the one to order when the picnic is the occasion rather than the interval in the middle of a walk.
Where to take it
Dorchester-on-Thames sits in good picnic country, and there are three spots close by that our team tends to point people towards. Dorchester Meadows is the easiest, being flat, open and a short walk from the High Street. Days Lock and Little Wittenham give you the river and the Wittenham Clumps within reach of each other, which suits the Walker’s Picnic rather well. Shillingford Bridge is the one for watching boats go by with a glass of something.
Ask at reception when you collect and the team will happily talk you through what’s looking best that week and how long each is to walk. There’s more on the area in our guide to riverside picnics and pub stops in the Thames Valley.
If the weather turns
It is England, so it’s worth having a plan B. The restaurant sits in a converted historic bakery with ancient beams and a baker’s fireplace, and lunch is served from noon, so a picnic that becomes a table indoors is no great tragedy. Our dining pages have the current menus, and Sunday lunch here is a feast with all the trimmings if your walk happens to fall on a Sunday.
Planning a day out? Let us know 72 hours ahead and we’ll have your picnic packed and waiting. Ring reception to order, or mention it when you book your stay.