I’ve visited Eltham Palace before, but when The White Company invited me to their summer garden party in the palace’s gardens there was no way I was going to say no! The gardens at Eltham Palace are top-notch. And the fact that we had free-reign of them was incredible. With a day full of sun, delicious food and free-flowing cocktails on offer, and a string quartet playing in the background, I was able to kick off my shoes (literally) and pretend that I was a lady of leisure in some 1920s drama. (Socialising like one of the bright young things, is obviously high up there on my fantasy list.)
I only needed to be there for a few minutes before it became clear that I’ve been doing picnics and garden parties all wrong and The White Company has been doing them all right. Their outdoor picnic blanket/mattress shot straight to the top of my “lusting after” list. (PS – it’s on sale). And their table spread was just a flat lay dream come true. You have to go look at the entire perfect picnic sections and you’ll not regret it.
Also, this event made me fall in love with rosé. I’m ashamed to say that I never liked it before. Every other time I’ve had a sip, I’ve thought it tasted like pink. (If you know what I mean?) But I’d clearly just never had a good rosé. Drinks were supplied by 31 Dover and I’m now a huge fan of Williams Chase Rosé.
We bookended all this revelry with first a tour of the gardens with a super knowledgeable Eltham Palace gardener, and finished with a tour of the house by a delightful young man. It was so inspiring to see a) how much they loved their jobs and b) just how invested they were in Eltham Palace. His stories about Virginia Courtauld make me wish that I could have been friends with this sassy aristocratic woman who shocked society by getting a massive python tattoo in the 20s.
It was also wonderful to meet so many news faces and to get to catch up with others! I got to chat with the lovely Angela and Katy, briefly with Jaclyn and shared a partial journey home with the fantastic Freya.
This photo was nicked from Angela. Many thanks, Angela!
Who doesn’t want this outdoor mattress? Aka something as comfy as a cloud for picnics?
There are few things I like better than getting to spend time outdoors. Especially when that time involves eating food in the sun.
What are your picnic essentials?
