Nice idea, but still a sandwich short of a picnic
A wet, dreary Sunday seems the ideal day to consider the great British picnic and this Country Life sponsored app.
Love
Regular visitors to the site will know that we are big fans of the great outdoors and the wonder that is the National Trust.
Although it’s a sponsored app, we like the fact that it focuses on the content and doesn’t push its sponsor too hard, with enough meat in the sandwich to make this worth a second look.
There are some surprisingly detailed descriptions of picnic spots from author Tess Sandilands, with so much text in fact that it needs a little breaking up. Each of her spots contains an associated recipe and even a link to the weather.
In addition, there are generally much briefer descriptions of farm shops, parks and other points of interest from users and the app makers alike.
There’s even an augmented reality gimmick to use your camera view to see which direction and how far away your nearest picnic spot is, although it’s not hugely useful compared to a standard map view.
Of course with so much of the great British country to explore, it wouldn’t be complete without the ability to add your own reviews. Adding a picnic spot with optional picture is easy enough although many users will be put off sharing by the fact you need to register your email address, no doubt to reduce spam and to satisfy the lawyers but an extra step too far for some.
Don’t love
The editorial reviews are strong, but of course the challenge is writing enough of them to make the app useful and this where it falls short and will have to fall back on less reliable user generated content. The labelling could also be clearer to explain the difference between the coloured circles as it’s easy to miss the ‘i’ for information that’s visible on the map view but not the list view.
Overall
This free app is worth a download to give you a little extra inspiration to get out and explore the countryside, even if it’s a little short on content. However, we think the key to a good picnic is to just get out there, explore and find a good spot with the help of a little serendipity and this app may just help you find the way.
Want more?
Fanboy store review: “I’ve got Scottish picnic spots on mine! Just have to look for the green dots, there’s dozens. I found Vogrie Country Park with the miniature railway. Recipes look good. Will be trying the sausage rolls. Nice app for free. I’d recommend it and will definitely use it for inspiration.”
Meh store review: “It has not crashed for me yet. I suppose this app will get better when more people add places to it but to be honest would you turn that little known beauty spot you discovered into somewhere known by the masses”
Get it: here.
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