Scottish Picnic Customs: Compare and Contrast

[cessna152towser]

A couple of Scottish picnics:-

The Saltire at a picnic, Bowhill, near Selkirk, Scottish Borders, 27th March 2010.

Picnic lunch stop, Dundreich, near Peebles, Scottish Borders, 8th August 2010.

[Jack Daw]

According to the pics of the nics, it appears that large rocks are a necessary ingredient to a Scottish picnic. Cool.

[Bugbear]

Before this one, I almost started a thread asking if Scotland had grizzled hermits and mountain men. The kind who live in caves and makeshift shelters under giant boulders, rarely speak to anyone, and mostly live off the land.

Nice to know there is at least large rocks in Scotland, even if they don't have hermits living under them.

When I was growing up, I lived between two lake-dams within half an hour in either direction. At one of them there were giant sandstone boulders along the lake shore that were fairly flat, and two or three people could set up a picnic on top of many of the boulders. There were even some boulders that had craters, like pot holes, in the tops and a small fire could be built in the pot hole, assuming it wasn't full of water.

The other lake didn't have the boulders, mostly flat shore line. Both lakes had picnic tables and benches with awnings and fire grills and even camping areas.

A lot of picnics I remember were at those lakes. We had a few small parks too.

I spent a whole lot of time alone out in the empty fields around my home when I was growing up. They were full of desert grasses and mesquite bushes, prickly pears and giant sandstone slabs and boulders here and there on rolling hills ; cows up the road. You could pick a hand full of mesquite beans, and if you knew how, a couple of prickly pear fruit and eat them; sit out on a sandstone pile atop a hill and watch the cows grazing or the big rigs traveling down what once was Highway 66, I-40 now.

[kiltimabar]

One version only happens on those few warm, dry and midge-free days :

Is there a midge-less season (other than mid-winter) when one can plan on having an outing with a reasonable expectation of comfort?

[Schiehallion]

Getting back on the topic of a picnic My Scottish Dance Group have an annual picnic in a local park/beauty spot?
We bring and share so it could be Scotch eggs, green salad, rice salad, pasta salad, sausage rolls, olives, cheese dips, cheeses grapes, fruit cake, Tablet, ...Get the idea... some home made some from M&S or the supermarket.
Most important is...... Lots of wine, red white and rose, maybe bubbly? if we are lucky and well some bring beer and cider. We have a super time and yes we even do some Scottish Country dancing!

[Bugbear]

That sounds very nice, Schiehallion.

[MacRobert's Reply]

Is there a midge-less season (other than mid-winter) when one can plan on having an outing with a reasonable expectation of comfort?

Spring and autumn are usually midge free. Summer (June to August) can be bad except in bright sunshine and winds over about 4 miles an hour ... stay out of the shade and keep moving! They dehydrate in sunshine and can't cope with wind. Last year's hard winter froze the wee blighters in their shallow-water nurseries and cut their numbers in the summer. This year's big freeze should do the same. So picnics in hot sunny and/or windy places are possible even in Summer. The top of most Munros is usually fine.

[piperdbh]

I've not been to a picnic in a long time. Let's all head over to Alex's place tomorrow morning and hike to a good picnic site. I'll bring the cookies.

[Bugbear]

X Marks the Picnic.

[Tony]

According to the pics of the nics, it appears that large rocks are a necessary ingredient to a Scottish picnic. Cool.

Need something to shelter from the wind.

My picnics/beach trips usually had a thermos flask in there somewhere since we city folk didn't have the boiler Jock does.