For picnic perfection, pick a beach in Wales

FRESH air and a stunning backdrop are as essential to a British picnic as sausage rolls and warm beer.

So it’s no wonder the sweeping sands of Three Cliffs Bay in South Wales has been voted the best place in the country to lay your picnic blanket.

With its quirky rock formations overlooking the sparkling sea, the picturesque beach on the Gower Peninsula is guaranteed to perk up even the soggiest of sandwiches.

The beauty spot, near Swansea, topped a list of ten by 2,000 families as being picnicking perfection, with the breathtaking valley of Padley Gorge in the Peak District coming second. Perhaps it is because salt air seems to make everything taste better, but coastal views featured heavily in the top ten.

Aberporth Beach in West Wales was voted third, Whiterocks Beach in Portrush, County Antrim came eighth, and Stud- land Beach in Dorset ninth. Calm oases in cities were also ranked highly for al fresco dining, as Roundhay Park in Leeds came in fourth and the Zen-like atmosphere of the Japanese Kyoto Garden in London’s Holland Park fifth.

With so many delicious views on offer, it’s unsurprising that the survey, by entertainment app Disneylife, also found that a third of us would drive over an hour to discover the best spot.

And nearly a fifth of adventurous picnickers are willing to haul their hamper over two hours away from home.