A park in south London has been ranked as the UK’s best picnic spot.
This week marks National Picnic Week, running from 15 to 21 June, and data from The AA ranked the UK’s best picnic spots, with Richmond Park in south London taking the top spot.
More than 100 large parks in Britain were analysed and were chosen based on their size and popularity as public green spaces suitable for outdoor leisure.
They were rated on factors including Google search demand, visitor ratings, Instagram popularity, parking costs, and average June sunshine hours and temperatures, and were given a score out of 100.
Richmond Park was ranked in the top spot, given 91.75 out of 100, coming in ahead of Box Hill in Surrey, which ranked second.
Spanning 2,500 acres, Richmond Park is the largest of London’s Royal Parks and is home to herds of free-roaming deer, with fawns becoming a natural spectacle at this time of year.
The park earned its spot on account of its vast, open green spaces, providing ample space for picnicking spots, along with its natural landscape and ancient woodland which offer scenic views across the park.
Its free-roaming deer were another key draw, with the park being home to more than 600 red and fallow deer, which were first introduced there in 1637.
The park offers a mix of scenic viewpoints and more secluded, shaded areas, making it one of the most popular places, according to the findings, to take a picnic on a warm day.
The AA particularly highlighted King Henry’s Mound, with its views of St Paul’s Cathedral, making it a prime location to set up a picnic with views of the city skyline.
However, the park also came out on top for its accessibility, being free to enter and offering affordable parking for visitors travelling by car.
Richmond Park also benefits from being accessible by public transport from nearby Richmond station, offering links to London via National Rail, Underground and Overground services, as well as nearby bus routes.
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