Many of our picnic ideas are also great for school packed lunches, so if you are looking for some school pack-up inspiration, look no further!
Or during the school holidays, perhaps you find yourself making a lot of lunches and running out of ideas? We got plenty of inspiration for easy family lunches to make at home too!
Use the links below to jump to a section if you need to!
There are lots of fabulous picnic spots in York. Below are some favourite family spots with York Mumblers to inspire you and add some variety to your days out.
There are some fabulous parks in York, so why not visit one you don’t usually go to for a change? A trip to the park with a picnic is pretty much a free day out too!
Homestead Park, Clifton, York
This large park is well maintained and lovely to wander around with plenty of space for a picnic and lots of benches. There is a huge play area with a good range of equipment.
📍 Water End, Rawcliffe & Clifton Without, York, YO30 6WP
Rowntree Park, York
A short walk from the city centre, this is a huge 30-acre park offering plenty of space for a picnic. With a large pond and great play area.
📍 Terry Avenue, Micklegate, York, YO23 1JQ
West Bank Park, Holgate, York
Located in the middle of Holgate at first sight it seems small but is an impressive 20 acres and you can get a close-up view of the windmill if you walk all the way through the park.
📍 Acomb Road, Holgate, York, YO24 4NS
Little Knavesmire, York
An excellent spot for a picnic and also a great location for kite flying, If you go on a Sunday afternoon you can also watch the cricket matches!
📍 York, YO23 1EW
Near Millennium Bridge
By the River Ouse, just next to the ice cream boat is a great picnic spot. Close by to Cycle Heaven for coffees (and toilets!)
📍Hospital Fields Rd, York YO10 4EF
Check out our blog post with over 25 of the best parks and play areas in and around York for even more places to picnic in York!
Here are some great spots for a picnic in York City Centre.
Museum Gardens
Large gardens with plenty of grass for a picnic and lots for children to enjoy looking at. From spotting boats on the nearby River Ouse to admiring the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey.
📍 Museum St, York YO1 7FR
Dean’s Park
Tucked away behind the Minster this has to be one of the best views for a picnic in the world! Plenty of grass for a picnic and also lots of benches.
📍 2 Minster Yard, York YO1 7JJ
College Green by St Williams College
Again enjoy some lovely views of the minister and the building of College Street whilst you eat your picnic in this small green area in the heart of York.
📍College St, York YO1 7JF
Maybe not your usual picnic venue, but handy if you need lunch whilst you are out and about shopping, with the bonus of fun play areas for the kids!
York Designer Outlet
There are a few picnic tables and plenty of grass areas for a picnic before or after you’ve dragged the kids around the shops! There is also some wooden play equipment and a large covered play area.
📍 St Nicholas Ave, York YO19 4TA
Vanguard Shopping Park
The rocks area at Vanguard make a handy picnic area if you’ve been shopping, swimming or to the gym and want a picnic rather than rushing home for food. There is also a brand new play area!
📍Vangarde Way, Huntington, York YO32 9AE
One of the many Nature Reserves in and around York is the ideal venue for picnics. They often also provide more shady for days when it’s really warm and sunny.
Hob Moor & Railway Pond
Makes a lovely tranquil spot for a picnic. Whilst there aren’t lots of flat areas for a picnic with a rug there are plenty of benches around the pond.
Moorlands Woodland
Plenty of benches and lots of shady to be found in this enclosed woodland area.
For details of all the Nature Reserves in & around York, see our blog post here.
The Boat Yard at Bishopthorpe
A lovely picnic spot by the river with plenty of boats to spot. Also toilets, snack bar and picnic benches!
📍Ferry Lane, Bishopthorpe, York YO23 2SB
Millennium Green, Poppleton
A 5-acre field near the Church in Poppleton is a perfect location for a picnic. With a duck pond, sculptures, sundial and orchard there are plenty of things to spot. You can even see the trains passing by on the nearby railway line.
📍 Poppleton, York, YO26 6LB
National Trust Beningbrough Hall and Gardens, Beningbrough, York
Lots of perfect picnic spots in the gardens and plenty of benches dotted around the grounds. Entrance fee/membership required.
📍 Beningbrough, York, North Yorkshire, YO30 1DD (8 miles from York City Centre)
Nun Monkton
A lovely village about 20 minutes from York – great to stop at for a picnic. There is a pond and maypole!
📍 York, YO26
Burnby Hall Gardens, Pocklington
Lovely gardens with a play area and several large ponds where you can enjoy feeding the fish. Entrance fee/membership required.
📍Pocklington, York YO42 2QF
Sandwiches seem a pretty obvious choice when it comes to picnics, so it’s time to get creative with those fillings and breads!
Here are some ideas for sandwich fillings 🥪
Plus some ideas to add some variety from sliced bread or rolls… 🍞
Here are some ideas of things to go with (or instead of) your sandwiches… 🥪
And finally some pudding ideas… 🧁
Using some of the inspiration above to add variety, you can also make your school packed lunch making even easier with the right containers
Bento style boxes
You can get them in any supermarket or order one online. It’s a great space saver because the entire lunch goes in one box and children love the little compartments.
Plastic/Tupperware boxes
These are great for keeping leftover bits and pieces, which you can then use in your lunches. Toddlers in particular love to discover what’s in the box and are more likely to try a bit. There’s definitely a novelty element to them.
Nowadays you also find a box for every purpose. Look around your local supermarket and you’ll find boxes for dips, with a long compartment for veg or bread sticks and another one for the dip. Even tiny tubs for salad dressing – no more soggy salad!
Thermos Pots
You can get some great thermos containers now designed for a small portion of hot food. This allows for options such as soup or pasta to be enjoyed warm at lunchtime. Obviously, consider the age of your child and their ability to manage this without burning themselves etc
During the school holidays it can be hard to think of different (yet quick and easy!) lunches to keep everyone happy. Hopefully, you will find plenty of easy family lunch ideas and inspiration here. Some of these also make great packed lunches or picnic ideas if you are bored of sandwiches!
Pasta always makes a quick meal. Rather than have it hot with sauce, why not try a pasta salad? This can be even quicker to make if you’ve had pasta the night before for tea. Just make sure you cook a bit extra, cool it under running water and then keep it in a sealed tub in the fridge until you need it the next day for an easy lunch!
This pasta salad recipe from BBC Good Food is really quick. It uses pesto, mayo and greek yoghurt to make a dressing and then you simply add your favourite vegetables and protein.
Other good combinations in pasta salads are:
Using wraps or flatbreads makes a nice change from sandwiches, and they tend to keep a bit longer than sliced bread. Why not set out dishes of chopped vegetables, meats and grated cheese and get the kids to fill and roll their own wraps!
Great filling combinations for wraps include:
Soup is really easy to make, and you can do a big batch and then freeze individual portions, so you really are your lunchtime future friend! It’s also a handy way to use up any vegetables in the fridge!
Lentil soup is probably one of the easiest and cheapest soups to make and always goes down well with kids. If you like to add a bit more protein, some crispy bacon works well. There is an easy Lentil Soup recipe on BBC Good Food.
Some great & easy soup flavours to try are:
If you enjoy baking with your children, why not have a go at some savoury muffins? They freeze well and you can use them for lunches whenever you are in a hurry or haven’t had time to go food shopping.
Again, they make a nice change from sandwiches. Taming Twins has a lovely recipe for cheese & sweetcorn muffins, which you’ll enjoy as much as the kids!
Flavour combinations to try include:
Yet another idea to ring the changes from sandwiches, and also works well hot or cold. BBC Good Food has a recipe here for toasting everything inside the pitta.
Some good fillings include:
Another great use of a wrap is to make a Quesadilla and have a Mexican inspired lunch. Simply fill half the side of a wrap, fold it in half and fry it to toast the outside and melt the cheese in the middle. You can find an easy cheesy tortilla wrap recipe here.
Some filling ideas include:
If you’ve got a house full of pizza lovers, then turning a toasting muffin into a mini pizza is a quick and easy lunch idea! Tesco Real Food has an easy muffin pizza recipe here that the kids will love – why not get them to help make them?
Muffin pizza topping ideas include:
Noddles are super easy and quick to cook, so it’s easier than you think to turn them into a soup. Plus you can add lots of vegetables making it a really quick and healthy lunch too. BBC Good Food has an easy noodle soup recipe here.
All you need to do is add noodles, vegetables and protein, such as chicken or egg to boiling stock. Add flavourings of your choice to pack in the flavours, such as soy sauce, lime juice, ginger and garlic.
Flavour combinations to try include:
Couscous is even quicker to cook than pasta and works well with similar flavours and combinations as the pasta salad ideas. There is a great 10-minute couscous salad recipe on BBC Good Food which uses cucumber, feta and pesto.
Other ideas to try include:
We hope you enjoyed our list of picnic spots in York and lunch ideas!
