When it comes to picnics, my tastes mostly run to the classic. I love the notion of the beautiful wicker basket, the antique creamy cloth, the heavy monogrammed linen napkins, silver cutlery, the crystal glasses the proper china plates. But who, in this day and age, is going to carry it all? It’s just about feasible if you’re having an intimate picnic à deux but otherwise it has to be reserved, it seems to me, for picnicking at the bottom of one’s own garden (a practice much to be recommended) or for one of the grander opera venues where the car park is conveniently close to the picnicking grounds.

Of course at this summer’s most competitive picnic arenas — Glyndebourne, Grange Park Opera and Garsington — the classic picnic is still alive and well. Pukka candlesticks are ubiquitous and gazebos and even butlers make the odd appearance. And kitchen staff must have been slaving for most of the day to come up with spreads so lavish that one’s own modest offerings look paltry in comparison.

Ratty, Mole and co may well not have dreamed of packing melamine or acrylic in their baskets but I bet that even they might have liked some of the designs around this year, for they’ve just got more attractive than ever.

They’re not only jolly, often very pretty, but a lot of them are very reasonably priced, don’t break easily and — the biggest plus of all — they are extraordinarily light to carry.

If you haven’t got your picnic hampers sorted there are lots of places to go to. Head for Cath Kidston (www. cathkidston.co.uk) if you’re in the mood for something nostalgic. You don’t need telling that she is the designer who loves flowers and while her patterns would be too much to live with every day, they are perfect for a picnic.

Take them out when the sun shines and you feel as optimistic as Mary Poppins. The adorable Kidston strawberry print comes in melamine plates, cups and beakers or on paper napkins at just £3.50 for 20. You can match it up with trays, tablecloths and napkins in proper cotton if you want to or — if you’ve got lots of young children to think about — buy the floral patterned oilcloth by the metre.

If you’re in a funkier mood you could look at an updated version of the old Indian tiffin box from John Lewis which has been reworked in brightly-coloured melamine. It’s not only a splendidly practical idea as it has four different containers but, at £20, a not too expensive one either (www.johnlewis com).

A similar, but larger version is also available at Graham & Green for £43 and I’m enamoured with the same company’s elaborately baroque filigree bowls, jugs and glasses. They are to glassware what the Philippe Starck ghost chair is to furniture — a witty play on a traditional design. They come in gloriously kitschy purple, shocking pink and lime green. Prices start at £4.95 for the tumblers (www. grahamandgreen.co.uk).

At the V&A shop there is some cutlery that would work brilliantly with it — the DeBeauty baroque range is made of plastic but is wonderfully decorative and practical. It comes in clear, black, red, smoky or opaque white: £18 for a knife, spoon and fork.

If all that’s a bit frilly for your tastes Marks & Spencer has very plain and simple plates, bowls, mugs, jugs and champagne flutes all in lightweight acrylic. It also has a rather dull looking but eminently practical (and at £39.50, very reasonably-priced) picnic basket which is fabric-covered but with internal insulated linings, a proper handle and enough plates and cutlery for four people.

But if you can’t resist nostalgia or want a bit of romance and summer enchantment, there are two interesting sources of the old-fashioned picnic hamper. Harrods sells a range called Optima. Each one is individually packed and filled with linen, china and cutlery, glasses and cooler bag. The hamper for four costs £249.

There is also an enchanting range by Life’s a Picnic (www.lifesapicnic.co.uk) which takes traditional willow hampers and fills them with idiosyncratic pieces of china, glass and linen. Prices vary but most are just over £200. You can choose your hamper online, where they are photographed in considerable detail. But be warned, you won’t want to carry any of them too far.

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