If you don’t fancy the walk, you can also picnic in the meadow in the front of the house, but you must pay an entrance fee.Where & when: Ham Lands, Richmond, Surrey (0181-940 1950); picnic anytime on the public land beside the river; house, Sat & Wed 1pm-5pm; gardens, 10.30am-6pm daily except Thur & Fri. How much: Ham Lands, free; Ham House & gardens, pounds 5 (pounds 1.50 gardens only).12BLUEBELL RAILWAYS, SUSSEX”It just sounds so pretty, and children adore it,” says Catherine O’Dolan of Britain’s earliest preserved steam railway, which passes through woodlands full of bluebells in late spring. It’s an 18-mile return journey, and you can stop off at stations on the way. Sheffield Park Station (about half a mile from the National Trust gardens) also has a museum, restaurant and gift shop. They have numerous special events and a Golden Arrow Pullman Dining train, which runs on Saturday nights and Sunday lunchtimes.Where & when: Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park Station, nr Uckfield (01825 722370; Pullman reservations 01825 722008); May-Sept daily 11am-4pm every hour from Sheffield Park Station.How much: adults pounds 7.40, children pounds 3.70, plus a reduction scheme for local residents.13BIGBURY-ON-SEA, DEVONLying on the coast between Plymouth and Exeter, Bigbury-on-Sea “is one of my personal favourite beaches,” says Chris Davis, who recommends it for “stunning scenery and clean bathing”. Essentials are catered for with toilets, a cafe and a beach shop, and a restaurant, and at low tide you can walk out to the famed Art Deco hotel on Burgh Island in the bay (above), where non-residents can have lunch and evening meals (01548 810514).

Or at high tide, take the sea tractor, a strange Heath-Robinson affair that travels through the water.Where & when: Bigbury-on-Sea, South Devon (tourist info 01548 853195); anytime.How much: free, but charges for parking.14DUN LAOGHAIRE, IRELANDIf you go on a day trip from Holyhead, “don’t bother heading into Dublin. The port of Dun Laoghaire has plenty to offer, especially for those on the James Joyce trail,” advises Simon Calder. Joyce lived for a short time in the Martello Tower at Sandy Cove, where he set the opening scene of Ulysses. The tower is now the James Joyce museum, with letters, photographs and personal belongings. Much more than just a ferry terminal, Dun Laoghaire (pronounced “dunleary”) has colourful and elegant terraces, and the East Pier is popular for promenading.Where & when: Dun Laoghaire from Holyhead on Stena Line (above) (0990 707070); daily from 4.10am.How much: usual foot-passenger fare is pounds 22, but the special duty-free fare, until 30 June, costs pounds 15 in the week, pounds 18 at weekends.15DUNDAS ARMS, BERKSHIRE”Fantastic setting and nice food, says Caroline Stacey of this old bar and restaurant where you will find a “hearty home-counties clientele” tucking into venison casserole, or smoked haddock and saffron risotto.

A great place for combining a stroll along the towpath with a good meal on the patios overlooking the River Kennet on one side, and the Kennet and Avon Canal on the other – but don’t expect Sunday lunch. “It’s our day of rest,” declare the owners, although the bar is open.Where & when: Dundas Arms, Station Rd, Kintbury, Berkshire (01488 658263); bar open daily; bar food lunch & dinner daily except Mon eve & Sun; restaurant Tues-Sat 7pm-9pm.How much: bar, pounds 3.50 for soup, around pounds 11 for main courses; restaurant, about pounds 25 a head.16GOATHLAND, NORTH YORKS”Catch the Pickering steam train and alight at the charming station of Goathland,” advises Susy Smith. “The village is right in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors, so take any path and find a patch of springy heather and a couple of sheep with which to share your picnic.” The producers of TV’s Heartbeat picked this beautiful village as the location for the fictional village of Aidensfield, but it’s even more attractive in the flesh.Where & when: Goathland, nr Whitby, North Yorks (North Yorkshire Moors Railway: 01751 472508); trains travel the 18-mile route from Pickering to Grosmont daily until Nov, first departure 10.20am.How much: adults pounds 9.20, children pounds 4.60.17WHITSTABLE, KENTNow so trendy that it has been featured in Vogue, this coastal estuary town is a firm favourite with the fashion mag’s junior editorial team, who covet its beach huts. Caroline Stacey is a fan of the Royal Native Oyster Store, a handsome fish restaurant popular with families, which is right on the pebble beach. If you want to stay overnight, try the fishermen’s huts on the beach, refurbished by the hotel and now very popular with families. If it’s raining, the same company is quids in, as it also runs the local cinema.Where & when: Whitstable, Kent (tourist info: 01227 275482); Royal Native Oyster Stores (01227 276856), Tue-Sat lunch & dinner, Sun lunch only.How much: Royal Native Oyster Stores, about pounds 30 for three courses, half portions for children.18NEWCASTLE ON GNERIf you live in the South-East, Simon Calder suggests you get on a train from King’s Cross and head to Newcastle for the day: “The train swoops past Antony Gormley’s gigantic sculpture, The Angel of the North, shortly before crossing the Tyne.” If you fancy something a bit livelier, GNER also do a Track One Night Out ticket, which combines a rail ticket with entry to two Newcastle nightclubs for just pounds 19.

You have to travel back before 9am the next morning, presumably having partied all night.Where & when: Newcastle by GNER (0345 225 225); daily from 6.15 am.How much: advance returns from pounds 30, Night Out tickets pounds 19.19LLANDDWYN BEACH, ANGLESEY”With its long ribbon of sand backed by forest and 5km of high dunes, and its spectacular views across the mountains of the Lleyn Peninsula dipping into the horizon, Llanddwyn is one of the finest beaches in Britain,” declares Chris Davis. It’s a great place for watching seals basking offshore, and you can explore the lighthouse keeper’s cottages on the point. No dogs are allowed.Where & when: Llanddwyn beach, Newborough Forest, Anglesey (tourist info: 01248 713177); anytimeHow much: pounds 2.50 charge for Forestry Commission car park.20NORTHCOTE MANOR, LANCS”This big, old, country-house restaurant at the foot of the Ribble valley is Michelin starred, but don’t let that put you off,” says Catey Hillier, “they do a real bargain lunch for just pounds 16.” The menu includes dishes such as celeriac and lovage soup, or braised chump of lamb with Anna potatoes and pickled red cabbage; you can finish up with iced apple crumble with cinnamon syrup. The hotel – run by chef/patron Nigel Haworth – is open to non-residents for both lunch and dinner, and you can combine a visit with a walk or drive around places like Clitheroe and Whalley.Where & when: Northcote Manor, Langho, nr Blackburn (01254 240555); ring for opening times. How much: pounds 37 for set gourmet dinner menu.21MUSSENDEN TEMPLE AND DOWNHILL CASTLE, CO DERRYSusy Smith recommends taking the A2 coastal road from Coleraine to Downhill, where you will find this 18th-century ruined palace in a spectacular clifftop location. The National Trust estate includes numerous picnic places: choose between a walled garden, woodland or cliff walks, or nose round the celebrated Mussenden Temple, which was built by the energetic Earl-Bishop Frederick Hervey and is now used to stage summer concerts.Where & when: Bishop’s Gate, 42 Mussenden Rd, Castlerock, Coleraine, Co Derry (01265 848567); daily 12-5pm (not Tue) to end Aug.How much: free.22LAUDERDALE HOUSE, N6The regular Saturday-morning kids shows here are adored by Catherine O’Dolan and her daughter Grace, who also love feeding the ducks on the two ponds in surrounding Waterlow Park, with its panoramic views over the capital. You can combine a visit here with lunch in the cafe or an exhibition in this community arts centre, or wander up to the shops and restaurants of Highgate village.

And there is always the historical/morbid fascination of Highgate Cemetery nearby – if your kids are in to that sort of thing.Where & when: Lauderdale House, Highgate Hill, London N6 (0181-348 8716); Sat children’s shows 10am & 11.30am, closed Mon & some Sat afternoons.How much: shows pounds 3.50 for adults, pounds 2.50 children. 23REIGHTON SANDS, N YORKSReighton Sands is a rural beach with a large expanse of sand at the southern end of four-mile-long Filey Beach. It’s a firm favourite with families, walkers and naturalists, according to Chris Davis. The unspoilt beach, which has basic facilities such as a cafe and toilets, is backed by towering cliffs, and offers magnificent views of Filey Bay and Filey Brigg. For a more substantial bite to eat, head for the pubs in Hunmandy, or into Filey itself.Where & when: Reighton, Filey Bay, North Yorkshire (tourist info: 01723 512204); anytime.How much: free.24OSTEND BY HOVERSPEED”A much-maligned resort in a much- ridiculed country,” says Simon Calder of Ostend. “The cognoscenti, however, appreciate the place for the gem that it is.” Much more than just a ferry terminal, Ostend offers museums and galleries, Leopold Park’s green spaces, an aquarium and designer shops.